SPRINGFIELD — After years of sitting on the waiting list, Harriet Tubman Park will get an overhaul to better serve children, their families and people who are disabled.
The city recently received a $500,000 state Parkland Renovation and Acquisition for Communities grant that will allow the small park off Hickory Street to see improvements.
The total price for the improvements is expected to be $850,000. The City Council last week agreed to accept the grant and a proposed match of $350,000 in city funds to make the changes.
“This was a park I grew up in, in the inner city as a child. We would play basketball,” Councilor Melvin Edwards said.
The project calls for an outdoor classroom, new playground equipment, a picnic pavilion and a fishing area on the banks of Watershops Pond that it abuts, said Patrick Sullivan, executive director of the city’s Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management Department.
Improvements also include enhanced landscaping, including more planted trees and upgrades to make it more accessible to people with disabilities, Sullivan said.
“I’m really happy for the Old Hill neighborhood,” he said.
The city has been trying to make improvements to the park for some time, and initially it was planning to do it in phases because of budget constraints, the grant application said.
“The overall improvements to this park have been put on hold due to fiscal budget constraints preventing the city from proceeding with the improvements as a single comprehensive project,” the application said.
Under the grant, the city must complete the work by June 1, 2025.
In 12-0 votes, the City Council also accepted grants to improve two other parks.
The approximately 18-acre Richard Neal Park, on Page Boulevard, received a $1.5 million grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is operated collaboratively by the state and National Park Service.
The council also agreed to spend $1.6 million in Community Development Block grants to meet the 50% match requirement and complete the improvements, which include new athletic fields, playground equipment, a splash pad and handicap-accessible walkways.
It also voted to accept an additional $1 million Land Water and Conservation Fund grant and an allocation of $1 million in city money to provide the required match to make improvements to Gurdon Bill Park on Liberty Street.
That project, to begin in the spring, will include additions of a bike and skate park, water splash pad, an improved playground with swings and additional tree plantings.
