Improving our Parks
Parks are often the focus of neighborhood life — from more than 150 Division of Parks and Neighborhoods parks of all sizes to 30 community and senior centers, 17 pools (14 outdoor, three indoor), seven golf courses, three splash pads, 81 playgrounds, 48 basketball courts, 78 pavilions, four dog parks, 80 tennis courts (12 indoor, 68 outdoor), and more. Parks has more than 3,200 fixed assets (benches, trash cans, water fountains, etc.) throughout 116 developed parks. Citizens have identified key priorities that include more splash pads, more and better walking trails, better connections to other parks, and amenities such as wireless internet in parks and fitness rooms in community centers. Accelerate Memphis will attempt to address many of these issues while bringing vibrancy back to assets throughout the city.
Bringing our park assets back to life
A wide range of maintenance needs exists in our parks system. By investing $35 million in deferred maintenance, we will make significant, noticeable improvements to the assets citizens use on a daily basis.
$5 Million Aquatic Facilities
Fourteen indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities will be renovated based on recommendations from an assessment conducted by Duffield Aquatics for the Division of Parks and Neighborhoods. For example, a new splash pad will be installed at Hollywood Community Center based on community input.
$3 Million Golf Courses | Walking Paths
Seven city golf courses will receive clubhouse, cart path, and grounds maintenance. Cart paths often informally double as walking trails, meaning the cart path investment will benefit both golfers and walkers alike.
$10 Million Community & Senior Centers
This allocation will allow for repairs to be addressed at all 30 community and senior centers. The site assessment categorized repairs into five priority levels; this allocation will enable repairs for priority levels 1 through 4.
Examples of projects include roof repairs, HVAC, and plumbing.
$8.64 Million Greenways | Greenlines
(Not included in $35 Million Assets Maintenance)
Chelsea - Shelby Farms - Wolf River - Heights Greenlines
Immediate investments in community-identified improvements ($40 million).
These are either new amenities or significant renovations to existing facilities:
$425,000
Audubon Park
Construct a new picnic pavilion on the north end of the park.
$1,075,000
Chelsea Greenline
Design, acquire right-of-way, and construct a 2.5-mile shared-use path in the unused Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way adjacent to Chelsea Avenue from Evergreen Street to Washington Park. The project will also include modernization of traffic crossing at Chelsea Avenue, west of Watkins Street. This is a 20% local match to 80% federal grant.
$1 Million
Douglass park
Build a splash pad, improve the sports fields, and repave asphalt. This would match a federal grant.
$8 Million
Gaisman Community Center
Replacement of current facility, which was constructed in the 1960s.
$1.1 Million
Gaisman Park
Construction of two new soccer fields on the south end of the park and upgrades to park furnishings and paving.
$4 Million
Gaston Community Center
Complete renovation of facility.
$4 Million
Heights Line
Enables construction of a new 1.75-mile linear park and multi-use path in the Highland Heights community, located in the median of National Street between Summer Avenue and Bayliss Avenue, connecting to the Hampline and Wolf River Greenway.
$1.5 Million
May Park
This heavily used soccer complex will receive two rebuilt primary soccer fields and new paving on all drives and parking areas.
$4 Million
Pine Hill Golf Course
A new clubhouse will be built both to serve the golf course and as a multipurpose room for the community.
$600,000
Pine Hill Park
Construct a new playground and picnic pavilion.
$2 Million
Riverview Community Center
Renovation and improvements to existing facility.
$1,065,000
Shelby Farms Greenline
Construction of a bridge over the CN Railroad allowing westward expansion of Shelby Farms Greenline into Tobey Park and Liberty Park/Fairgrounds via Flicker Street. This is a 20% local match to 80% federal grant.
$1 Million
Southwest Twin Drive-in
Acquisition and demolition of former drive-in movie theater on South Third, for future conversion into community asset.
$2 Million
Whitehaven Community Center
New multipurpose room and parking.
$2.5 Million
Wolf River Greenway
This allocation is consistent with the agreement for the City to provide matching funds to realize the vision of a 26-mile shared-use trail through 22 neighborhoods stretching from the Mississippi River to Germantown. This would provide funds for Phase 10B alternate route, acquiring property and developing the route under the Austin Peay Highway bridge to connect to Phase 11.
