Improvements to the Museum’s grounds include widening and naturalizing Fassnight Creek, which flows through a concrete channel directly south of the Museum, to mitigate flooding risk for the Museum as well as creating trail connections to nearby amenities including the WaterWise Garden south of the Museum and Phelps Grove Park to the west of the Museum. Parking will be relocated and expanded on the north side of the Museum grounds to create additional greenspace for the Museum’s WPA-era Amphitheater, located on the western edge of the grounds, to the Museum’s West Entrance. This will also improve connections between the Museum grounds and Phelps Grove Park, located to the west of the Amphitheater.

Fassnight Creek Naturalization/Stormwater Improvements

Project Status: Completed as of June 2022

While developing the site plan it was discovered that FEMA was in the process of redrawing flood plain maps and planned to place the Museum in both the 100-year and 500-year flood plain. To correct this, the City of Springfield is working to widen and naturalize Fassnight Creek. These improvements will include native Missouri plantings to create an urban wildlife habitat, pedestrian/bike trails, and outdoor sculpture.  

Funding for this project is provided through Missouri Department of Natural Resources Stormwater Grant, Missouri Department of Conservation Native Planting Grant, Environmental Protection Agency 319 Grant, and 1/4-cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax. For more information about the Fassnight Creek Stormwater Improvement Project, visit the following weblink: Click here.

Fassnight Creek Greenway Trail Connection

Project Status: Under construction. Anticipated completion February 2023

A key goal of the site plan is to connect the Museum and its grounds to sites and amenities throughout the City via our stellar Greenway Trails. This goal will be met through the future construction of a multi-use trail connection, planned for completion in fall 2022. 

The connection will begin at Clay Avenue, continue east through Phelps Grove Park and end at Brookside Drive. The new 1,600 linear foot path will include a bike repair station, ADA ramps, and will connect to shared bike lanes on Brookside Drive via a new pedestrian bridge. 

The trail project began construction in October 2022 and is anticipated to take approximately four months to complete. When all is complete, this section of trail will stretch from the Museum to Phelps Grove Park to Parkview High School and Fassnight Park and will ultimately connect with the future Grant Avenue Parkway BUILD grant project. For more information about the Grant Avenue Parkway project, visit the following weblink: https://grantavenueparkway.com/

The Fassnight Creek Greenway Trail project is fully funded through federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funds with the City funding a 20% match through the 1/8-cent Transportation Sales Tax.

Western Northside Parking Improvements and Amphitheater

Status: Completed as of September 2022

Work on the grounds will also include improvements to parking, which will be relocated to the north side of the Museum property, creating better connectivity between the Museum grounds and Phelps Grove Park as well as additional greenspace for the Amphitheater. In addition to expanded parking, these improvements will include enhanced access to the Museum grounds through trails and walkways, improved lighting, attractive landscaping, and stormwater management features such as pervious pavers and other improvements that will help water quality by addressing nonpoint source pollutants.

Western Northside Parking Improvements

Parking improvements will be completed through a phased approach. Phase 1 includes construction of westside parking with most of the Museum's current parking lot remaining. This is to ensure handicap accessible parking is available for the Museum's current west entrance. The sketch below illustrates the proposed improvements.

Northside Parking Improvements

The Museum will complete all northside parking improvements with construction of the West Entry portion of the site plan. The sketch below illustrates the proposed parking improvements to be completed in conjunction with improvements to the West Side Entry.

Stormwater Management

As part of the Northside Parking Improvements, the Museum will work to implement environmentally sustainable solutions including those intended to address pollutants from parking lot run-off, referred to as "nonpoint source pollutants." This will be achieved through pervious pavers, native plantings, and other measures that will help filter pollutants before they enter the water supply. The sketch below details a cross section of the proposed parking lot improvements and the measures taken to address stormwater management.

The Northside Parking Improvements are generously funded by The Sunderland Foundation.