Gorgas playground on Jefferson Street
Harrisburg has received an extension to complete several park renovations.
City officials said that they now have until March 3 to complete work at 7th and Radnor Park, Gorgas playground, Wilson Park and Reservoir Park using a $13 million state grant.
In October 2022, the city was awarded a $13 million reimbursement grant for COVID relief by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for improvements at the parks.
Harrisburg is on its fourth extension for the grant funds, which would have originally expired at the end of 2023. The previous extension ended at the end of January.
“We realized that we weren’t going to finish for a variety of reasons,” said Parks and Recreation Manager Kevin Sanders of the latest extension, during a recent City Council meeting. “Reservoir’s still going to have some issues finishing.”
In November, TheBurg reported that three of the parks, not including Reservoir, were on track to be mostly finished by the end of December, according to city officials. While officials have now said that those three parks are about 90% complete, they’re estimating completion in March or April. No estimated end date was provided for Reservoir.
Because the grant is a reimbursement grant, the city must spend the money first and then send invoices to DCED to get reimbursed. According to DCED, as of Feb. 2, Harrisburg has been reimbursed for $5.6 million of the total $13 million, although Harrisburg officials told TheBurg they have received $7.1 million to date.
The city said that remaining work at 7th and Radnor, Gorgas and Wilson parks includes mainly final surfacing, fencing, landscaping and select facility installations.
At 7th and Radnor, in Uptown, new basketball courts, dugouts and scoreboards, pavilions, concession stands, restrooms, pedestrian infrastructure and more have been installed. A press box, bleachers, safety netting and finishing sidewalk and landscaping have yet to be done.
At Gorgas, which neighbors 7th and Radnor, playgrounds, pavilions, paving and more have been done, with final paving and fencing work still needed. At Wilson, in Allison Hill, sidewalks, retaining walls, playground equipment and more are complete. Additional playground equipment, pavilions, restrooms and more have yet to be done.
Of the parks, Reservoir Park has the most work ahead as construction just began in November. Plans for the park include creating a splash alley with water features, among other upgrades.
Officials said that earth work has been initiated, with a site layout done and splash pad equipment delivered. Upcoming work includes construction of restrooms, installing electrical piping and relocating internet cables.
“Despite a later project start, work is progressing well and remains consistent with the planned construction sequence,” said a statement from the city to TheBurg.
The statement from Parks and Rec said that the complexity of the project and the location of the splash pad require extensive reviews.
However, during their most recent update in front of council, Sanders expressed concern that Reservoir would be done by the grant deadline.
“No claw-backs?” asked council Vice President Lamont Jones at the January council meeting.
“Outside of Reservoir, I can’t really speak to things. Reservoir is very difficult,” Sanders said.
According to the grant contract, the city must incur all of the funds by the end of the contract or unspent funds will be revoked. The contract states that the city has 30 days after the deadline to submit invoices.
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