PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Jeffrey Stewart says his daughters love playing outside, and seeing a new playground in the works has them all excited.
“I’m going to do the big slide,” his daughter Cory said.
“It makes me excited because it’s so big and there’s lots to do,” his other daughter Zoey said.
Friday morning, they stopped by a new playground at Portsmouth City Park, eagerly waiting for the gates to come down. Stewart says he tries to take them to parks nearby, but he says there aren't many other options where he feels comfortable taking his girls.
“Not in Portsmouth, not where we feel safe,” Stewart said.
He said that's why this new playground means so much.
“It’s pretty unheard of in Portsmouth, at least for me," he said. "We’ve been here for a couple years. So, definitely haven’t seen anything this big in our neighborhood.”
Parks and Recreation Director Mark Palamarchuck said they're making this playground the largest in the city to match the park it's in.
"We of course want to have safe spaces for all of our communities to come and play," Palamarchuck said. "And City Park is Portsmouth’s flagship park and this will be our flagship playground as well.”
For nearly three months, crews have been working on the setup.
Kids can climb, slide and do much more with this new equipment.
“We do have some instrument components on the one side as well," Palamarchuck said. "It’s completely ADA accessible playground with a sensory area.”
Palamarchuck said the 17,000 square foot park cost $1 million, all funded through community block grants.
“The former playground that was here was here for over 25 years," he said. "So, it was definitely in need of replacement and we had some funding that became available, all grant-funded. And they said, ‘Do you have any projects?’ and I said, ‘I have the perfect project.’”
This is the third neighborhood park that’s been renovated this year.
Palamarchuck said there are a few more playgrounds on the renovation list.
The city expected to open the playground last month. Rainy weather and material shortages delayed its opening.
They hope to get it open the weekend of Aug. 28.