THE NEW MELROSE COMMON is expected to be finished later this year.
MELROSE — The City of Melrose was recently awarded a $200,000 grant from Governor Patrick and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental affairs as part of The Our Common Backyards Grant Program.
“I want to thank Governor Patrick, Senator Lewis, and Representative Brodeur for their efforts in helping Melrose receive these highly competitive funds. This grant program is a tremendous opportunity to rebuild the most used playground in the City, one that serves both our two-to-five-year old population and five-to-12-year-olds. The committee put together to oversee this project includes abutters, parents, and a landscape architect, and they have identified a vast number of safety and equipment improvements,” said Mayor Robert J. Dolan.
The Common Playground Committee has been working with Johnathan Law, landscape architect for Carol Johnson Associates, to create an experience for children and adults like no other in Melrose.
The playground at The Common was quickly identified as the ideal location, according to Dolan. “As part of the grant requirement, playgrounds attached to schools were not eligible for funding. In addition, the Recreation Department services all neighborhoods in Melrose from the Common with the majority of their programming.”
In addition to new and upgraded equipment, the new Common Playground will include rubberized safety surfaces instead of mulch, an open plaza style entrance, bike racks, benches, additional picnic areas, new landscaping, and a cement path connecting the playground to the basketball court. No changes will occur at the very popular bike track area.
The new playground at The Common is slated to open in mid-November.
