Renovation of Garfield Park Starts This Month

Renovation of Garfield Park Starts This Month

by Larry Janezich

Posted June 4, 2024

The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) hosted a Garfield Park Construction Kickoff meeting Monday night.  Christopher Dyer, Community Engagement Manager for DC DPR (center above) told a crowd of about 50 community members that the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the final design for upgrading the park and to provide an opportunity for the community to provide feedback and input.   

Dyer and Nick Kushner DPR Community Planner and project manager fielded questions and took suggestions.  Construction will start in June and be complete by the end of September. 

CM Charles Allen attended the meeting and credited the immediate neighbors of the park including the Friends of Garfield Park for their role as caretakers of the space and their sense of stewardship and ownership.  Allen successfully pushed the city to budget $1.3 million for the renovation. 

Many of those in the crowd were there to support the installation of pickleball courts on the now- deadend portion of Virginia Avenue which is adjacent to the park and under the SE/SW Freeway.  The site is owned and controlled by the DC Department of Transportation, and a group of pickleball supporters have been working with ANC6B01 Commissioner Frank Avery to petition DDOT to designate the space for pickleball use.  The application is currently wending its way through the DDOT bureauacracy.  WDCP Advocacy Director Eileen Dougherty elicited a pledge from Dyer to continue a conversation to explore ways for DPR to be helpful in accommodating the needs of pickleball enthusiasts.

Here’s the project overview and the currently scheduled improvements:

• 2 – 5 year old’s playground:  New pour in place rubber playground surfacing surface (PIP), new equipment, existing swings to remain.
• 5 -12 year old’s playground:  new PIP & Engineered Wood Fiber (EWF) surface; existing rope structure, jungle gym, and swings to remain; centeral rope-play area to be replaced in kind, new equipment.
• Bocce Court:  refurbish edging and new shells.
• Volleyball Court:  refurbish edging and new sand, new net and poles.
• Tennis Court:  new court surfacing, nets, and poles; repair damaged fencing.
• Additional Park Improvements:  Improvements to grass to east of the playground, power washing of benching and tables, minor repairs to benches as needed, replacement of plant beds removed during construction activites.

Here’s the Construction Timeline:

• June:  Mobilization and demolition begins.
• July/August:  Tennis Courts completed and re-open.
• August/September:  Consturction complete and park reopens.