New Playground Design Coming to Arbor Villa Park in Brookside’s Armour Hills Neighborhood

Arbor Villa Park is nestled in the center of an established, well-known subdivision called Armour Hills; it has a tennis court, a playground, a kiddie pool, a couple picnic tables and a small grassy area to run and play. The playground at Arbor Villa Park is currently under construction with a new playground design and all new equipment, and I couldn’t be happier. As a mom of a toddler in Brookside, you can imagine that I am quickly learning all the ins and outs of our public neighborhood parks and playgrounds. We love them all – Loose Park, Holmes Park, Brookside Park, but my most frequented is Arbor Villa Park, which is within walking distance of my home. While we loved the charming setting, the proximity to my house, and the community aspect of this park, I hated that dangerous old playground equipment and the sand pit was always a muddy mess.
 
Recently, the playground equipment was removed to be replaced with updated equipment this summer. This is the current state of the park: And this is the proposed design:
I recently contacted Erica Flad, PLA, LEED Green Assoc., who is a
Senior Landscape Architect, Park Planning & Design, in the Parks and Recreation department at the city. She is the project manager for this Arbor Villa project. Here is what I learned about the Arbor Villa playground construction project:

-The Armour Hills neighborhood association was awarded PIAC funds to replace the old, existing play equipment.

-The equipment is being replaced because it was older and heavily used through the years.

-Weather permitting, the anticipated completion date is mid-July 2016

-The project is funded by District 6 PIAC funds.

-The contractor may use some of the open grass area for their equipment but the pool and tennis courts should not be affected.

-The original limestone wall around the playground area (in my muddy photo above) will stay. Thank goodness!

You can follow along on the Armour Hills neighborhood Facebook website for updates.