The flat farmland, most recently used for sod, has been formed into rolling hills, with ponds dug and filled. Construction of the buildings and pathways has begun northeast of Fairview Avenue and Eagle Road.

Sandwiched between subdivisions and the proposed Meridian Town Center, an upscale retail complex, the park is planned to offer a quiet, peaceful retreat from the rush of life. It was designed and is being developed by the Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park Trust, comprising Julius Kleiner’s son, Eugene Kleiner of Seattle, and family friends Elden Gray of Boise and Mike Huter of Nampa. The trust will donate the park to the city of Meridian after construction is finished.

“My father had a deep attachment to the Treasure Valley and a deep personal interest in farming for food production as the basic occupation,” Eugene Kleiner said at the groundbreaking last July. “He was committed to charity in general, and certain charities in particular, like the Mercy Medical Center in Nampa and the Salvation Army. This is my way of giving his cherished land back to him.”

Julius Kleiner was born in 1892 and came to America in 1916. He moved to Idaho in the 1920s, owning the creameries in Caldwell and Nampa at different times and a poultry business. Kleiner purchased the Kleiner Park property from the Morrison Knudsen Co. in 1944 and turned it into a dairy farm, which operated until the 1970s. Kleiner died in 1972.

“I spent many years making the land flat for farming, and it’s full circle for me to see the park plan so full of rolling hills and large lakes,” said Gray at the groundbreaking. Gray managed the Kleiner farm on the site for 20 years. “This is a once-in-a lifetime kind of opportunity, and I am proud to help Eugene realize this dream.”

Sandra Forester: 377-6464