Thursday, March 31, 2011 | 9:05 p.m.
Wells Park
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Henderson officials and residents gathered Thursday afternoon in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods to break ground on a $1.8 million improvement project at Wells Park.
Characterized by smaller, older homes, the Pittman neighborhood sits in the middle of the Eastside Redevelopment District, one of five such areas in Henderson. One of the cornerstones of the mature community, Wells Park, more than 40 years old, is in need of improvements, city officials said.
Unsheltered basketball courts are empty in the sweltering summer heat. Lighting around the park is inadequate, giving rise to vandalism at the nearby Boys and Girls Club. And there simply weren’t as many amenities, such as a splash pad, that some of Henderson’s newer, award-winning parks boast.
Pittman is “a neighborhood where there is not a lot of recreational activity for kids,” said Ken Rubeli, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson, located within Wells Park. “The neighborhood loves this park, but it’s become a bit dated.”
About 150 city officials and residents, including children, gathered at the park, 1640 Price St., on Thursday for a ground-breaking and to celebrate the end of a one-year public-input process to determine what Pittman residents wanted for Wells Park.
City officials had several ideas to boost the number of outdoor recreational areas in Pittman, including adding several smaller parks to the neighborhood, said Michelle Romero, the redevelopment manager for Henderson’s Redevelopment Agency.
But over the course of several community meetings, it became clear that instead of adding new parks, residents wanted to modernize the existing one, she said.
The revamped Wells Park will have an urban design, providing children with more creative elements to play with, officials said. The cul-de-sac in the middle of the park will be replaced with a game plaza, which will sport a life-sized chessboard, game tables, hopscotch and foursquare areas.
Other amenities being added to include a splash pad, pool slide, resurfaced deck, exercise track, climbing wall, tot lot, picnic pavilions, skateboarding elements and additional shade structures and lighting.
“This is a great example of what can happen when neighborhood and government comes together to better an area,” Romero said.
The project will be paid for with redevelopment funds. The 4,500-acre Eastside Redevelopment District is Henderson’s largest and has received more than $870,000 in housing improvement assistance from the city in recent years.
Improvements at the pool are expected to be finished by Memorial Day, and park construction is slated for completion by early fall, officials said.
Rubeli, who sees Wells Park as an extension of the Boys and Girls Club, said the park improvements will revitalize the Pittman neighborhood.
“We’re looking forward to having updated equipment,” he said. “Neighborhood pride will step up.”
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