This new $4 million park in Pierce County has a barn play area with a tractor, swings
Residents in the city of Edgewood will soon have another park to play in before summer hits.
The city will host an opening ceremony for the Edgewood Community Park 10 a.m. Saturday, March 26. The park is at 10324 36th St. E., near 36th Street East and Meridian Avenue East.
Attendees can take home commemorative coins, but supplies are limited. There will only be a couple hundred coins available at the 18-acre park, public works director Jeremy Metzler said.
Attendees can expect to see a playground with synthetic surfacing as well as a barn-like play area that has a classic tractor. Children will have a lot of opportunities to climb on things, Metzler said. Swings can be found at the park, too.
There is a grassy amphitheater area as well as a picnic shelter and tables. Paved trails can be found around the park for those who like to walk, run or jog. There is also a parking area and restrooms.
“This is the biggest park that we’ve ever had,” Metzler said.
In addition to this park, other parks in the city that are considered active-use include Edgemont Park at 11001 24th St. E. and Nelson Nature Park at 2228 118th Ave. E. Active-use parks are defined as areas that offer recreational activities to the public.
The park costs about $4 million. About $730,000 went to sewer while the rest went to the features and design of the park, Metzler said. About $1 million of the total cost is covered by a state grant while the rest is paid by park impact fees paid by developers.
“Fortunately we were able to make that happen without any tax dollars,” Metzler said.
The city first acquired the property from the Puyallup School District in late 2004. Around 2007-08, the city put forward a bond measure that asked voters to pay an additional tax to help fund the park. Voters rejected the bond.
“There just wasn’t the support for that at least at that time,” Metzler said.
Instead, the city decided to collect impact fees over the years to cover the cost of the park, Metzler said. The city started creating designs for the park around 2015. The city received the $1 million grant from the state in 2018.
The City Council voted to move forward with the plans for the park in 2019. The city completed the design and had all the funds in place by 2020, Metzler said. Construction began in 2021.
“This park is meant to have a little bit of everything for everybody,” Metzler said.
