Dr Pepper Snapple Group and national nonprofit KaBOOM! have once again awarded the City of Azusa a $20,000 grant, according to a City of Azusa announcement last month. The city will use the grant to build a new playground in Downtown Azusa, which is on Azusa Ave. and 6th Ave. about two miles from campus.
The grant is part of Let’s Play, a partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids active by building playgrounds throughout the nation. This is the second grant awarded to the City of Azusa; the first went to the construction of Zacatecas Park in south Azusa.
“We have a good relationship with them,” said Azusa Recreation and Family Services Director Joe Jacobs. “We have received two grants prior with them, because our city is considered a playful city. We have nice parks and keep our facilities clean.”
This year’s money is going to the installation of a playground downtown at Edwards Park on Sixth Street. Its total projected cost is $150,000, which goes toward a new play structure, drinking fountains, benches and a statue to honor veterans. It is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 30.
“Edwards Park was a passive walk-by or sit-on-a-bench kind of park,” Jacobs said. “Now we are creating a more active park with playground equipment to bring people back downtown. The city (government) is always trying to rejuvenate the downtown area and this is the Office of Recreation and Family services’ attempt to do just that.”
The Rosedale Housing development contributed $110,000 to construct the playground, along with small contributions from KaBOOM! and an annual local golf tournament.
“The majority of the money came from the Rosedale development to ensure the parks on the south end of town did not look like stepchildren parks,” Jacobs said. “There is money on a separate account that allows for park improvements on the South Side.”
Rosedale is a new community next to APU on the north end of town that is building nine new parks, six of which have already been completed.
The park downtown will be fenced off with retractable gates to ensure the safety of kids from traffic when the playground is assembled.
“It is going to be high-end,” Jacobs said. “There is a lot of residential housing nearby that will give these kids a chance to use these facilities. It will also give us an opportunity to facilitate that downtown vibe. Where you can go out to dinner and then take your kids to the park.”
When construction finishes Saturday, Nov. 30, Edwards Park will host a community build event with approximately 75 local volunteers to install the playground material, put in swings, and assemble trash cans, benches and drinking fountains from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:15 p.m.