The public is invited to weigh in on the future of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, where officials want to build a public park and open space.

A community meeting will be held at 7pm Thursday in the Fiesta Hall on the fairgrounds site. The hearing is part of a multi-year effort by the county to encourage public participation in the plan to develop the underutilized property. Feedback from Thursday’s meeting will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 26.

At 155 acres, the fairground is one of the county’s largest contiguous sites in Silicon Valley. The county hired a developer to renovate the fairgrounds back in 2008, but the economic downturn a year later waylaid those plans.

For the past year, however, C.H. Johnson consultants have drafted a blueprint to revive the project. The county’s vision is to create a landmark gathering space on the sprawling site—half for public parks and open space and the rest of active recreational use.

In the past year, the public has had several chances to share their ideas and review preliminary plans for the site. According to the county, more than 2,700 people have provided their input in person while another 2,800 weighed in through an online survey.

The county has uploaded a library of documents related to the project online for public review. Click here to take a look.

WHAT: Fairgrounds planning workshop
WHEN: 7pm Thursday
WHERE: Fiesta Hall, Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Rd., San Jose
INFO: www.sccgov.org/fairgrounds