ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Upgrades are coming to several Allentown parks after city council approved almost three-quarters of a million dollars for various projects this month.
Members set aside $200,000 to repair stone structures at Union Terrace Park that were built by the federal Works Progress Administration in the 1930s amid the Great Depression.
The repair project also got $100,000 in March from the city’s Trexler Fund. The Harry C. Trexler Trust donates about $6 million each year, with one-third of annual contributions earmarked for Allentown parks.
That project is set to include repairs to Union Terrace Park’s WPA stage and stone columns, according to city council documents.
Union Terrace Park, Cedar Beach Park and Bucky Boyle Park are due to receive major funding injections for projects there.
The funding, allocated this month, also includes $130,000 to upgrade Cedar Beach Park’s basketball courts, $123,000 for a “mini-pitch” system and $100,000 to design improvements along the D&L Trail.
Bucky Boyle Park also is set to get upgraded basketball courts, thanks to a $100,000 pass-through grant from the state that will also pay for a new fence and a master plan at the park along the Lehigh River.
Allentown's administration secured about half of the $728,000 in total funding through state grants, while the rest came from transfers from other projects in the city's budget.
Progress in the parks
That funding was part of a strong few weeks for the city’s park system.
State Sen. Nick Miller on Tuesday announced a $50,000 grant for Midway Manor Community Association. That money was part of the funding package council approved this month.
Midway Manor board President David Tagg said the organization’s plans for the money include updating playground equipment and a snack stand and buying new uniforms and sports equipment for kids.
City officials on Wednesday announced a new nonprofit called the Allentown Parknership that will help the city expand projects and programming in its parks.
The Harry C. Trexler Trust spent more than a half-million dollars over the past five years to establish the Parknership, which recently received a $75,000 donation — its first major gift — from the Rider Pool Foundation.
Hundreds of East Siders descended on Andre Reed Park on Friday evening to enjoy the newly opened Irving Pool.
The pool already was at capacity by the time officials cut the ribbon to formally open it, and a long line of hopeful swimmers stretched through the park.
This year could also see the start of a long-awaited project to restore and rehabilitate Bogert’s Bridge on Lehigh Parkway.
City council in March accepted a $1.3 million federal grant to help pay for crews to evaluate the conditions of the aging wooden bridge and restore its structural stability.
That project is expected to cost just over $2 million.
