The new playground at Silver Beach County Park in St. Joseph is beginning to take shape.
Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams tells us that the equipment arrived in late February, and contractors have been taking advantage of the recent nice weather to install it.
“We’re seeing progress every single day,” Adams says. “It’s very exciting to see it come together, sort of leap off of the page. Now it’s physically going up and you can see it taking shape and the sidewalks have been poured and it is really coming along nicely, coming along quickly.”
Adams mentioned that the goal is to have the new playground open before Memorial Day, and she is confident this will be achieved.
“I think because of the progress that we’ve had so far, I believe the structure will be in place, the sidewalks will be poured, and the parking lot, ADA accessible parking improvements will be done in a good timeline,” Adams says.
This project is replacing the previous 30-year-old playground equipment.
The total cost of the project is $1.25 million with the bulk of that, $850-thousand, coming from a state SPARK grant. The remaining funding was generated through local grants and a public fundraising campaign.