"We are very excited to support this project," said Matt Thornton, president and CEO of the convenience chain. "We believe in supporting the communities that we serve, and wanted to help the city of Louisville provide a clean and safe environment for future generations."
21st Century Parks, [image-nocss] established in 2004, is responsible for fundraising, land acquisition, construction, operations and maintenance of the new parks system. The Parklands of Floyds Fork is a nearly 4,000-acre public parks system under development along the Floyds Fork watershed in eastern and southeastern Louisville. One of the largest and most ambitious metropolitan park projects in the nation, The Parklands is comprised of four parks linked by a park drive, a world-class urban trail system and a remarkable water trail, all tracing Floyds Fork, a classic Kentucky stream.
The award-winning master plan includes numerous community spaces, such as a signature 23-acre great lawn, a half-mile, tree-lined promenade, a beautiful community center, an education and interpretive center, unique picnic pavilions and scenic overlooks. In addition, the plan preserves 80% of the land in natural habitat; building and maintaining acres of forest, meadows, wetlands and wildlife habitat. Major construction for The Parklands is planned to begin next spring and be complete in 2015. An initial demonstration project, a children's playground and sprayground will open next spring at Beckley Creek Park.
Dan Jones, chairman and CEO for 21st Century Parks, said, "We are thrilled by Thornton's generous support and look forward to bringing a new world-class park system to Louisville with their help. The Parklands of Floyds Fork is one of the nation's largest new metropolitan parks projects and we believe can be a model for cities around the world."
Thorntons is a leading independent gasoline/convenience chain retailer, marketing throughout the Midwest under the brand name of Thorntons. It is Kentucky's largest privately held company, ith more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue. It operates 163 gasoline/convenience stores, one travel plaza and seven car washes. The company also distributes petroleum products through its wholly owned Thornton Transportation Co. and operates a river bulk storage terminal in Louisville.
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