Bennett Farm, Powell's planned 32-acre park with trails, wetland boardwalks and a community event barn, is still years away. Its first piece is due before the year is out. That piece is about 2,000 feet of asphalt along the south side of Powell Road, and the City's target for it is "by the end of 2026."
The City is working on several fronts at once: repairing a damaged path bridge, resurfacing path segments across town, rebuilding one playground in phases and extending a path to Arbor Ridge Park. Nearly all of it improves the routes between parks residents already use. New destinations come later.
The Park Arrives as a Path First
The Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path will connect Bartholomew Boulevard to Arbor Ridge Park along State Route 750. City Council approved Law General Contracting's bid on September 15, the preconstruction meeting was held September 24, and construction started October 5, 2026. According to the City's September 2026 City Manager Report, the contractor had mobilized and put its erosion controls in place soon after. The construction budget is $440,000. The City has not published a lane-restriction schedule, so expect some work-zone slowdowns on Powell Road through year-end.
The park itself is moving at a very different pace. Council approved Powell's first Parks and Recreation Master Plan on July 21, 2026. It is a 15-year framework, and the City noted that adopting it did not by itself fund or authorize any individual project. The next real step for Bennett Farm is design. The 2027–2031 Capital Improvement Plan sets aside $342,800 for Bennett Farm schematic design and $150,000 for site maintenance.
The farm's historic barn is on hold too. In August, Delaware Source reported that Council approved taking the barn apart, storing it and putting it back together later as an event barn and classroom, with the contractor's payment capped at $87,441. So the barn will sit in storage while the path opens beside the land it came from.
The new path also links to another project. Powell Road South at Arbor Ridge Park is on this year's path maintenance list. In other words, the Bennett Farms path ends at a stretch the City is already resurfacing.
Three Repairs Underway at Once
The other path work this fall fixes routes that broke or wore out.
The Halverston–Rutherford bridge. Trees fell on the pedestrian bridge between Halverston and Rutherford roads during the June windstorms, and the City closed it for safety. By mid-September, after an engineering assessment and an insurance review, the City chose repair over full replacement. Crews started on September 17 on a damaged section of about 20 feet, replacing treads, handrails and the framing underneath, and the City expected the bridge to stay closed for about one more week. The City said it would post a notice when the bridge officially reopens, so check its news page before planning a ride that depends on it.
The Adventure Park tunnel. The CSX pedestrian tunnel at Adventure Park is open again after temporary repairs. Design consultant GPD has started final design for permanent repairs and nearby stormwater improvements, with $1.2 million budgeted for construction.
The 2026 Street and Path Maintenance Program. Strawser Paving is running Powell's program of nearly $3 million. The City lists shared-use path work on these segments:
- Sawmill Parkway
- Powell Road, Sawmill Parkway to Traditions Way
- Murphy Parkway, Powell Road to Wagon Trail
- Library Park
- Grey Oak Drive, Sawmill Road to Shyanne Drive
- Salisbury Drive, Zion Drive, Laurel Valley Drive North and Grandshire Drive
- Powell Road South at Arbor Ridge Park
Delaware Source reported that Strawser sets the schedule and that the City Manager expected most of the work to be done "by the end of the year." The City says it will share schedules for specific locations as they become available. Murphy Parkway appears twice: its path and the road from Powell Road to Wagon Trail East are both on the list. So residents near Murphy Park may run into work on the road and the path at the same time this fall.
Adventure Park Is Being Rebuilt in Phases
Adventure Park, at 260 Adventure Park Drive, may be the most-used park in the network. It has the skate park, a playground, pickleball and basketball courts, playing fields, bike paths, the recreation offices and the Powell Pool. The City expanded the parking lot beside the pool by about 98 spaces for pickleball players, pool visitors and downtown businesses. That project is complete, and a new path connection through the North Depot Street extension links the lot to downtown.
The playground is next. In July, City Council unanimously approved $449,473 for new equipment to replace the 20-year-old playground. Delaware Source reported that the price includes a $250,000 equipment discount, which the City gets as a PlayCore CORE National Demonstration Site for Inclusive Play. According to the City memo cited in that report, the design includes accessible routes, inclusive play equipment, sensory play features and gathering spaces.
"This will be the first-of-its-kind investment in the city: a new park system that will be accessible to a wider demographic," City Manager Andy White told council, per Delaware Source.
The surface was the most debated part of the project. The approved plan uses rubber surfacing in some areas and engineered wood fiber mulch in the rest. Several parents asked Council for a fully rubberized surface. Director of Public Service Charles Duke said a crew would start preparing the site shortly after approval, with the rubber surface going in during early 2027. The Delaware Gazette reported that the project could run into 2027 because rubber surfacing depends on timing and temperature. No opening date has been announced.
The 2027 budget plans for more work here. The 2027–2031 CIP includes $145,000 for Phase 2 playground equipment at Adventure Park, $300,000 to resurface the skatepark and $200,000 for Powell Pool improvements. So the playground, skatepark and pool will all see work over the next year.
The Other Playgrounds
While Adventure Park is rebuilt, five other City parks have playgrounds. Each one has something different to offer alongside the swings:
| Park | Address | What else is there |
|---|---|---|
| Arbor Ridge Park | 500 Bennett Parkway | Accessible playground, tennis courts, open green space, Powell-Kiwanis Community Garden |
| Library Park | 420 South Liberty Street | Athletic fields, pickleball court, native trees, Powell Branch Library |
| Meadowview Park | 329 Ashmoore Drive | Forest trail, fishing pond |
| Murphy Park | 47 Murphy Parkway | Two playgrounds, horseshoe and bocce areas, summer shelter |
| Seldom Seen Park | 3240 Seldom Seen Road | Five soccer fields, two baseball diamonds, nature preserve, multi-use paths |
Three of these parks also sit on this fall's construction map. Arbor Ridge is where the new Bennett Farms path ends. Library Park and Murphy Parkway are both on the path maintenance list. Murphy Park is also in the 2027 CIP, with $250,000 for shelter improvements. Seldom Seen is busy for a different reason: the City's partnership with i9 Sports has more than 700 children in introductory leagues there.
Village Green Park in Winter
Village Green Park, at 47 Hall Street, is the downtown park best known for the Powell Festival, its splash pad and a solar picnic pavilion that helps power the Municipal Building next door. The splash pad is closed for the season and is scheduled to reopen on Memorial Day 2027. The 2027 CIP also includes $150,000 to design a replacement splash pad. The pad residents use next summer may be one of its last seasons in its current form.
Village Green will be busy again in early December. The City's Holidays in Powell event runs Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 4 to 7 p.m. The tree lighting is at 6 p.m., and the evening includes an iceless rink, a bonfire with free s'mores, photos with Santa, performances and roaming entertainment. The City says more details are coming. If the City meets its targets, the Bennett Farms path will be close to finished by then and most of the Strawser resurfacing will be wrapping up.
If you're wondering how a finished path, a rebuilt Adventure Park or a future Bennett Farm might affect your street's appeal to buyers, Teresa Powell and Luxe Home Team can show you what recent nearby sales say. Request a complimentary market report, and we'll put it in context for your corner of Powell.
