Wadsworth City plans to replace the nearly 30-year-old Kaleidoscope playground and add many new additions to the surrounding area at Memorial Park.
The plans for this new destination playground have been in the planning phase for over a year now.
The current plans for reconstruction include: a new playground, installation of a splash pad, redone parking lot, a new bathroom and pavilion building, a zip line, and upgrades to the athletic courts and Memorial and Durling Parks which will include new tennis and pickleball courts.
The new playground that will replace the current playground at Kaleidoscope will be approximately 23,000 square feet. The new playground hopes to include the following features: a large play tower structure; a medium play structure, a large climbing net, a spinner net, a sensory play area, music space, trek-fit area, swings, an inclusive accessible swing, poured in place & synthetic turf safety surfacing, play mound features, a playhouse, balance beam and much more.
Another planned addition to the playground will be a zipline which will be constructed to be adjoined to the playground. Next to the playground both a 2,000 square-foot splash pad will be built and a new restroom & pavilion space.
Along with the new construction, there will be renovations to current utilities in the park. These renovations include reconfiguration and improvements to the underground utilities serving this location and the parking lots to aid in convenience and safety for families and park users.
Lastly, there will be upgrades to the athletic courts at Memorial & Durling Parks which will include new tennis and pickleball courts.
This project is projected to cost five million dollars total. The playground project by itself will cost an estimated 1.8 million dollars. The splash pad, zip-line and restroom/pavilion building has an estimated project cost of 1 million dollars. Utility extension and parking lot upgrades are estimated at 2.2 million dollars.
As of now, construction is planned to begin in the late Spring with the hope that the projects will be completed by the Fall.
Matt Hiscock, Director of Public Safety and Interim Public Service Director has taken on this project as part of his responsibilities as Interim Public Service Director.
All information in this article was provided by Matt Hiscock.
