Come Saturday, the children of Hammond will have a new place to play to their heart’s content.
The city of Hammond has commissioned a new playground at Jackson Park, the first park on the west side of Hammond-located between Harden Drive and Barnes Street.
“Mayor Mayson Foster believes that every child deserves a safe and fun place to play,” said Lacy Landrum, Grants Manager of the City of Hammond. “The parks throughout our community serve as places where families grow and play together, so we are doing everything possible to modernize these spaces for years to come.”
The process of planning Jackson Park was costly and spanned over several years. The city spent $75,000 to purchase 10 acres of land for the park in May 2011 and began clearing the originally forested site in fall 2013 while saving large live oaks and other trees. A contractor was then hired for $18,600 in 2014 to complete the clearing and install a concrete surface for the playground. The playground equipment itself cost $57,200, though $20,000 of that was covered through a grant from KaBOOM!
The playground was designed based on the wishes of Hammond’s residents.
“We use a community build model to design and construct the new playground,” said Landrum. “We held neighborhood meetings to hear what the residents wanted to see in the park, and we asked children to draw what they liked the most at playgrounds. While the adults brainstormed ideas and discussed their desires and concerns, the children looked at catalogs of playground equipment, told stories about their favorite parts of playgrounds and described and drew pictures of what they wanted. We then took those ideas to playground companies for them to design the space.”
Based on the concepts discussed, a list was created, and the city approached four playground vendors to provide detailed drawings and a cost for the equipment. The City Council accepted the lowest bid, a design from Planet Recess. The company will provide project management and tools for its construction.
A community build will take place to erect the playground on Friday, April 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Saturday, April 5 from 7:00 a.m. until the park’s completion. Volunteers are needed to unload and assemble the equipment and set the swing posts in concrete, as well as to organize kids’ games and assist with food and cleanup. Many businesses have donated food and other goods to assist volunteers in assembling the playground.
Students who would like to help volunteer at the community build this weekend should call the City of Hammond’s Grants Department at 985-277-5650 and sign up beforehand.