JACKSON SQUARE PARK RENOVATION

The playground equipment at Jackson Square Park, located at 23rd Avenue and Jackson St NE, has been there since 1973. Aging and out of compliance with current safety and accessibility standards, its replacement is long overdue. The shelter building, built in 1953, is aging and unsightly and has become a magnet for graffiti. In meetings that began last fall (2003), neighborhood residents and Park Board staff worked together to plan the park's renovation. In addition to replacing the play equipment, the shelter building will be demolished and the wading pool filtration system upgraded.

A little history

The city block that is now Jackson Square Park was acquired by the Park Board in 1905. Originally home to Long John Pond, it was officially renamed Jackson Square in 1907. Because the area was becoming a neighborhood dumping ground, the Park Board had the pond filled in and fenced that same year. A merry-go-round was installed in 1908, and in 1909, the east half of the park was raised to street grade and the west half was graded to form a sunken playground in summer and a skating rink in winter, transforming Jackson Square into a "neat little park," according to then Superintendent Theodore Wirth in the 1909 Annual Report.

A field house was built in 1910 at a total cost of $12,582.83, and playground equipment was added in 1911 and 1916 (see photo). Over the years the building settled unevenly into the soft peat soil and was demolished in 1952 (see photo).

Today

Today the park includes two softball diamonds in the below-grade west section of the park; a basketball court, two playground areas, the wading pool, the shelter building, and a scattering of benches and picnic tables claim the narrower east, street-grade section of the park. The MPRB programs summer activities in the park, and Edison High School depends on the field space for soccer practice. The basketball court, the most consistently used amenity in the park according to neighbors, needs resurfacing.

An active group of neighborhood residents has been working diligently to restore their park. The Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association, through its Environmental Committee, surveyed the neighborhood to learn its priorities for the park before the official park planning process got underway.

Improvements: Back to the Drawing Board

The dollars allocated for the park's renovation through the Capital Improvement Program ($450,000) were designated for playground replacement and wading pool upgrades, for which every dollar is needed. The Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA) stepped forward with $155,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization Program dollars to address the building challenges. It was thought that this contribution would make it possible to construct a small restroom building that would also house the pool mechanicals as well as demolish the building. However, when the project, which included the small toilet building, went out for bid in September, the low bid came in well over budget

Project manager and landscape architect Deb Boyd, therefore, is back at the drawing board exploring alternatives. A meeting to discuss alternatives with the Citizen Advisory Committee is tentatively planned for November 11. Watch this space for details.