NEW ALBANY — Now that the New Albany Bicentennial Commission has secured a $250,000 grant from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County for a park, officials will consider how to fund the remainder of the project.

New Albany Bicentennial Park is planned for the corner of Spring and Pearl streets, and the total project cost is estimated to be $750,000. The city purchased the lot for $165,214 last year, and sold a portion of it to River City Winery so it could have outdoor access to the park.

Of the $250,000 approved by the Horseshoe Foundation, $25,000 is earmarked for bicentennial fundraising events the commission has scheduled for the coming months leading up to the city’s 200th anniversary next year.

Those events along with private donations are expected to garner the commission the bulk of the additional funding needed for the park, but the lot has been placed in a tax-increment financing district making it eligible for additional city funding. The New Albany Redevelopment Commission also paid $50,000 last year for the Louisville firm Rundell Ernstberger Associates to design the park.

City Councilman Kevin Zurschmiede, who also sits on the Horseshoe Foundation board, challenged New Albany “corporate citizens” to match the casino grant.

“I think the park is going to benefit not only the citizens of our community, but the whole area in general,” he said.

Council President Diane McCartin-Benedetti — who like Zurschmiede is a member of the Horseshoe Foundation board — said commission members are slated to speak to the council during its Thursday meeting about bicentennial events and the status of the park.

“I think within the last 90 days, the bicentennial commission has really made strides to come together and to form different sub-committees,” Benedetti said.

The commission consists of volunteers and is appointed by the mayor and council. Councilman Bob Caesar is the body’s liaison on the commission.

“It just means a tremendous amount to the city of New Albany for them to volunteer their time,” Benedetti said.

Mayor Jeff Gahan credited the commission for planning events and overseeing bicentennial projects including the park over the last two years.

“I completely support the work of the bicentennial commission. I think they’ve done an outstanding job and I’m here to help in any way I can,” Gahan said Tuesday.

A commemorative book, an old-timers celebrity baseball game and multiple style shows and formal balls are among the planned fundraising events offered by the commission. But if there’s a gap in the funding needed to construct the park, Gahan said he wouldn’t be opposed to the possibility of dedicating more public money to the effort.

“If the project is going to be completed, we have to have a robust funding effort, and that’s going to take a lot of help from a lot of different sources,” he said.