Major updates to The Commons’ indoor James A. Henderson Playground are underway, and the goal is to finish in March.
Commons manager Shanda Sasse said that PLAYTIME LLC, the main contractor hired for work on playground improvements, began work on the week of Dec. 7. She said they’re “making great progress” and will finish the “demo portion” of the work by the end of the year.
“The design of the playground is going to have different elements to it, so there are some things that need to be removed, and then there will be new flooring as well,” she explained. “So the pour-in-place flooring is being pulled up, and then there will be new pour-in-place flooring that will be installed in the new year.”
Parks director of business services Pam Harrell said that PLAYTIME is also doing measurements so that they can begin building off-site.
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PLAYTIME isn’t the only company who has been involved with the playground updates. Sasse said that Luckey LLC did maintenance work on the Luckey Climber in September.
“They were here for 30 days, and they completely recabled the Luckey Climber, and then they also redid the platform that you climb up and down on,” she said.
Harrell said that they’re also working with a vendor to get information and quotes about lighting work for the project, which will be done “in unison with all of the other aspects of the playground.”
“On the lighting vendor, we are working with Dunlap and they are subcontracting some of the electrical work,” she said. “We have removed some of the old lighting and patched drywall because the new lighting is not the same size as the old lighting. We had the patch work done last week and are awaiting the new lights to come in for installation once the paint and drywall work is complete.”
Harrell said that the goal is for the whole playground project to be finished on March 1. She said that while $1.4 million was the fundraising amount set for the project, it will likely be a little cheaper since plans for a fan have been scrapped. She said the budget for the project includes a $150,000 contingency fund in case of change orders.
Both women said they were enthused to see the playground updates moving forward.
“Things are starting to be removed, and we landed on a design, and it definitely feels like the ball is rolling, and it’s very exciting,” Sasse said. “We think the community is really going to enjoy this new playground.”
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According to the project description, the planned repairs and updates to the James A. Henderson Playground include:
- Repairing and resurfacing the “pour and play surface"
- Replacing the Luckey Climber cable coating
- Fixing broken equipment on the toddler area and music wall
- Increasing lighting to allow play for evenings
- Redesigning the current lighting system to help with future maintenance
- Removing barrier walls so parents can watch their children more easily
- Purchasing “new playground technologies” that will make cleaning easier
- Making designated, safe play areas for infants and toddlers
- "Creating inclusive play opportunities will give every child with any ability the opportunity to explore the playground and play together without barriers"
- Adding "sensory play" to help the development of language skills, motor skills, and problem-solving skills
Not all of the work on the playground is contracted to PLAYTIME; lighting work and Luckey Climber repairs are separate and will not be done by the company.
The city’s “only free indoor playground” at The Commons sees more than 100,000 visitors annually.
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