Emerson Wight Park re-opens with improvements
Date: 8/22/2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — For the children playing at Emerson Wight Park, the new features and renovations clearly were exciting, but for some of the adults gathered for the official re-opening, the new park brought about a sense of nostalgia.
"This [the park] is something near and dear to my heart," Mayor Domenic Sarno said. He noted he spend a lot of time as a teenager and as a college student in the park.
Leo Florian, president of the South End Citizens Council, said of the park, "This was our backyard."
Emerson Wight Park is the only city park in the South End neighborhood and its renovation is part of the ongoing effort to revive the neighborhood as a residential area. Next to the park is the Hollywood section of the neighborhood, which is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation of many of its apartment buildings.
"Significant improvements to the park are an important step to creating a better neighborhood for residents, businesses, and visitors. Emerson Wight Park is a major asset to this neighborhood that has suffered from disinvestment and we've been working hard to make strategic public investments to help spur private investment," Sarno said.
In order to improve the park, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority bought nine houses on Marble Street, relocated the tenants and demolished the homes, adding to the park's size and creating a new entrance. A new spray park was added along with a regulation-size basketball court, a playground, a running track and a baseball field.
The renovation project received $500,000 in funding from the state's Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs. The total cost of the project was $1.2 million.
Patrick Sullivan, director of Parks, Facilities and Recreational Management, said that while the renovations seen last week were the direct result of two year's work, he had been advocating for the past 15 years to improve the park.
State Rep. Cheryl Coakley Rivera said there was a time when children were afraid to use the park, but that will no longer be the case.
Speaking directly to the children present she added, "This [park] is what adults are supposed to do for you."
Sarno asked the children to do something for him. "I'm counting on you to keep a watchful eyes on this park. Keep it clean, keep it free of graffiti," he said.
