PPPI Capital Improvements Begin!

[Kelly Larabee]

 

Friends of Encanto Park formed when a group gathered around the notion that Encanto Park wasn’t meeting its potential and needed an advocate.  We established our mission to:

×          support Encanto Park improvement and beautification;

×          collaborate with the existing park management team and Phoenix city government; and

×          be open in encouraging participation from all parts of the community.

 

Our first plan was replacing the fencing along Encanto Boulevard and cleaning up the Lagoon and water ways.  We were naïve yet thankfully optimistic since it would have been discouraging to know it would take 7 years to get a new fence!  As the timeline has stretched, so has the vision. The talent and generosity of volunteers has demonstrated the goodwill Encanto Park radiates.   It has been delightfully inspiring to witness the transformation of this splendid public asset.

Thanks to the excellent people who represent us from the City of Phoenix, and the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative (PPPI), new high- quality and finial-embellished fencing will replace all existing city fencing surrounding Encanto Golf Course.  By New Year’s Eve we should be able to stroll along Encanto Boulevard admiring the new fence and enjoying the set-back that makes the sidewalk more walkable. 

The remainder of the Encanto Park PPPI fund will be used, between now and June 2013, to build: 

×          Restrooms and Entry Projects (design, abatement, entry improvements)

×          Sports Complex Projects (Tennis court replacement, resurface basketball and volleyball courts)

×          Ramada/Hardscape Projects (New shade structures, cement picnic pads, tables, grills, ADA improvements throughout the park)

×          Playground Areas Project (Demo & replacement of B-side playgrounds, landscape improvements and work out stations)

×          Irrigation/Lagoon Projects (watervision conversion, convert controllers to i-central, flood irrigation improvements)

These developments will join the Historic Little Red Bridge, the Garden of Dreams, flower beds, trees, Clubhouse renovations, the Entrada,  and beyond that have bettered Encanto Park for the Phoenix community and its visitors.  Each contributor’s efforts can be applauded as we build upon the foundations laid 77 years ago and help spread enchantment.  

¡Cresimiento Encanto! Together we grow~