TACOMA, Wash. — Another bit of good news is coming for Tacoma’s South End and East Side.
Charlotte's Blueberry Park, 7402 East D St. will see the construction of a new playground, with completion tentatively set for July, according to Andrew McConnico of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit.
The trust’s Northwest office teamed with Metro Parks Tacoma on the project.
Additionally, the group is assisting with a park area next to the Eastside Community Center on the grounds of First Creek Middle School. That work still is in its concept phase, with the project to start early next year along a future phase of the Pipeline Trail, according to McConnico.
"We do a lot of mapping to understand where park needs are the greatest," McConnico told The News Tribune on Tuesday.
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The new Charlotte’s Blueberry Park playground will be next to the community garden that was opened last fall.
“We had a lot of feedback from families excited about being able to garden with their kids close by,” McConnico said.
Funding for the Blueberry Park improvements that included the garden, pathways, water and utilities comes from Metro Parks’ capital program, with a total project budget of $250,000, supplemented with a $100,000 donation from the Trust for Public Land via a Kaiser Permanente grant, to add the play equipment.
The playground will include slides, a climbing structure, balance beams and an elevated lookout offering a view over the park’s iconic blueberry bushes.
“It’s a great addition in a part of town that needs a great addition,” said president Aaron Pointer of the Metro Parks Board of Commissioners in the park system’s recent announcement.
The park already is known for its more than 3,000 blueberry bushes producing five different varieties of berries, free for the picking. It also has faced problems in the past with a nearby vacant wetland that had become an eyesore.
That’s all about to change.
The wetland is undergoing a transformation, with a portion soon to see new homes in The Preserve community, now under construction.
The Preserve plans its grand opening in mid-June with its first model homes, according to co-developer Michael Pressnall.
Nearby, new apartments are planned at the current site of Pacific Lanes Bowling, 7015 S. D St.
With the new neighborhood and new playground coming soon, the park will gain new life with new visitors. The park already serves more than 3,600 residents within a 10-minute walk, including more than 900 children, according to the park system.
McConnico credited the park’s community action group for its efforts.
“They provided a lot of input and are such strong advocates for the park, so they helped rally this cause,” he said.
The park will have a volunteer work party, April 27 (also parks appreciation day) and May 25, to remove invasive plants and for general cleanup. More information is at https://www.metroparkstacoma.org/charlottes-blueberry-park.
The News Tribune
