With a ribbon cutting ceremony this past Tuesday, April 11, Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese officially opened a new playground at Edgewater Park. The improvements are part of an overall city park improvement plan unveiled by the Mayor last September.

Renovations at Edgewater Park were completed iby the city’s Buildings and Grounds Department. The Franklin Indiana Residents Standing Together Neighborhood Association helped to gather donations for the new playground and will assist with maintenance and security moving forward.

Members of the F.I.R.S.T Neighborhood Association were on hand to help cut the ribbon, and students from the city’s Tolson Community and Youth Center and nearby Woodland Elementary School were the first to try out the new equipment.

“For over three years, this park has sat empty after the previous playground equipment was destroyed by arson,” Neese said in a statement released by the City of Elkhart, “What we see here today is an excellent example of how public/private collaborations can enhance neighborhoods and make the city a more vibrant, safe place for our youth.”

Edgewater Park is the second park renovation completed under Mayor Neese and is the first of 2017.

Additional renovations are also slated for High Dive and McNaughton Parks later this year.