Last week, Shelby Farms broke ground on their new "Heart of the Park" expansion. 

Adorable day campers "breaking ground" with oars. 

This is the next phase of the master plan to improve the park.  Projects from the master plan like the Wolf River pedestrian bridge and the Woodland Discovery Playground are already finished. The new projects include a new visitor's center with a big "front porch" area, a restaurant and retreat facility, a stage for events and concerts, and more.

Patriot Lake will be expanded from 52 acres to 85 acres and have a new boat dock where people can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats. 

The park should remian open throughout construction, and should take about two years to complete. You can read more here.

Photo via Go Ape's Facebook Page from one of their other U.S. locations.

Update Jan. 15, 2015: In addition to all of these improvements, Shelby Farms has brought in a zip line company, Go Ape, to turn six acres of the Park into a zip line/ropes course with 42 obstacles, including ladders, trapezes, and bridges. According to the Commercial Appeal, it will cost about $57 to go through the two- to three-hour guided course. The Shelby Farms zip line course is expected to open in March of 2015.

Here's an animation of some of the other Heart of the Park changes.

Heart of Shelby Farms Park from Jen Andrews on Vimeo.