Marcus Carnegie, with the Thrasher Group, discusses one of the proposed designs for the Spencer’s Landing property during a public meeting Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

VIENNA — A public meeting was held Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building in Jackson Memorial Park to discuss proposals for growing the public park at Spencer’s Landing.

With about 70 people attending, the Thrasher Group presented its plans and the meeting also included small group discussions to allow residents to voice their opinions.

Vienna City Council chose the Thrasher Group in 2024 to work on developing Spencer’s Landing. Council also developed a steering committee to get both council and citizen input on the project.

Marcus Carnegie, representing the Thrasher Group, welcomed people to the meeting and said he was impressed with the response to a survey Thrasher put out on the project, which drew about 1,000 responses.

Carnegie said earlier discussions and survey responses focused a lot of attention on the idea of an amphitheater, with both pros and cons being expressed, and he asked those attending to continue such discussions and provide input.

Some of the requests in the survey included river access, whether through boat docks or kayak access, or both, and the need for amenities like public restrooms, green space, parking and multi-use public areas. The existing Gold Star Memorial would also be a feature of the park.

In preparing for Tuesday’s presentation, Carnegie said the Thrasher Group focused on two main concepts. They shared many similar features but were structured or laid out in different ways to highlight different aspects of the proposed park.

Among the shared features would include a stage, playground, green space, a walking trail or loop around the park, parking and river access. The plan labeled concept 1 featured a playground close to the river and surrounded by a fence and a stage oriented toward the river. Concept 2 placed the playground further from the river and oriented the stage away from the river but still away from the nearby residential area as well.

Following Carnegie’s presentation, he and other Thrasher representatives broke the attendees into smaller groups to continue discussing the proposals and other input from the public.

Vienna resident Jim Dickey said he liked the first concept.

Marcus Carnegie, left, with the Thrasher Group, takes notes on comments from Vienna resident Jim Dickey as people discuss proposed designs for Spencer’s Landing during a public meeting Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“I use the park a lot to walk in,” he said, adding the proposal would allow people to walk less on River Road.

Carnegie said grant funding could be a key to developing Spencer’s Landing and proposals like the ones presented Tuesday will be important steps in obtaining those funds.

“That’s essentially where we are,” he said. “We’re putting this together so that this is a tool that everybody has in your community to pursue grant funding.”

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City Editor Evan Bevins contributed to this story.

Vienna City Councilman Jim Leach hands boards featuring two proposed designs for the city property at Spencer’s Landing to Kim Mathers, left, and Darla Batten during a public meeting on the project Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Marcus Carnegie, with the Thrasher Group, discusses the company’s work on the Spencer’s Landing project during a public meeting Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Approximately 70 people attended a public meeting about the Spencer’s Landing project Tuesday at the Vienna Community Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)