The City will begin construction on $5 million worth of upgrades and renovations to several parks this spring and summer, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. The scheduled projects include rebuilding the baseball fields and loop path at Carr Park, renovating the Morrison Park Playground, expanding accessibility at Gillis Park, completing the Tufts Pool Renovation, and a reconstruction of the basketball and tennis courts at Hickey Park. 

Since 2020, the City has worked on and invested in several completed upgrade and renovation projects, including basketball and tennis court renovations at Barry Park, Dugger Park, and Playstead Park, playground resurfacings at Capen Park, Cummings Park, and Tufts Park, upgrades at Condon Shell, playground renovations and a fence addition at Harris Park, a mural and lighting upgrades at LoConte Rink, multiple ADA compliant upgrades and added features at Tufts Pool, repairs, ADA compliant picnic tables, and a mural at Wright’s Pond, and more. A full list of current and completed projects can be found here. 

“Our parks and open spaces provide our community with so many incredible experiences and opportunities so making these upgrades is a top priority,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “Thanks to the work of all on our monthly parks team meetings, our Planning, Development and Sustainability Office as well as our Recreation Department, we’re able to direct this funding to improving our parks one at a time, with more to come.” 

After an extensive planning process, Carr Park Phase I is scheduled to begin in June 2023. The Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability has secured $2.6M for Phase I, coming from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding (which is pending City Council approval), and the Federal Land & Water Conservation Fund. This portion of the project will include an accessible path that circles the entire park field, reconstruction of two baseball diamonds, a wetland area cleanup, fully dedicated pickleball courts, and more. Securing the funding for Phase II of Carr Park, which consists of over $5.5M of work, is also in the works. This portion of the project will include new basketball courts, one of which would be covered with solar panels on the roof, a universally designed, four-season playground with integrated water features, teen swings and spaces, and much more. 

The new Morrison Park Playground is funded by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that totals just over $400K. The renovation is scheduled to start in March and expected to be completed in time for the summer. The project will bring a new preschool-aged play area to the playground, which includes a sandbox, swings, balance balls, and a new fishnet climber. The entire site will be resurfaced with an accessible poured-in-place rubber surface. Porous rubber surfacing will also be used to protect the roots of the large pin oak tree at the park. 

The Gillis Park accessibility renovation will cost $1.2M, utilizing Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC), ARPA and CPA funding, and is scheduled to start July 1, pending City Council approving the use of these funds. The renovation will address two key issues: drainage and accessibility from the street. Irrigation and correcting grades to make the park accessible from the sidewalk will be implemented. Other new features include a picnic area, adult fitness area, and a new concession stand and bleachers. 

The Tufts pool deck project that was started last year will be completed in the spring. Piping and drainage have been installed, and the fencing and the water mushroom installation will occur this spring. 

“We’ve already completed so many great projects at some of our parks, including added ADA compliant features to make the spaces accessible to everyone in Medford,” said Amanda Centrella, Planner in the Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability. “The next round of work beginning this spring and summer was designed according to community advocacy and will also promote some of our Climate Action and Adaptation Plan goals.” 

Work to reconstruct the basketball and tennis courts at Hickey Park is scheduled to start early in the summer. Through CPA and ARPA funding, $219K is allocated to the project. 

Other upcoming projects include a natural play area at Logan Park and a tennis/lacrosse back-board for Dugger Park, and many more. For a more detailed breakdown of Medford’s many park projects, see the Parks Projects spreadsheet, linked here. With questions, please contact the Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability at [email protected] or (781) 393-2480.