SPOKANE — More than $1 million in federal funding will bring improvements to neighborhoods across Spokane after the City Council allocated the money to 11 community development projects designed to benefit residents citywide.
The Community Development Block Grant funding will renovate aging recreational facilities, build new playgrounds and improve infrastructure in areas that serve vulnerable populations.
Friendship Park will receive over $200,000 to renovate its basketball and tennis courts, addressing safety concerns from cracked pavement and uneven surfaces that have plagued the facility for years.
“We utilize the basketball court several times back in the day, and it’s a little uneven, so it’s a bit hazardous. So bright colors, fresh grounding I think would be great,” said Alicia Rainner, who lives near Friendship Park and has been visiting since she was young.
Rainner, who now brings her son to the park, welcomes the improvements to both courts.
“I was on the varsity tennis team at Shadle Park High School back in the day. So yeah, it’d be fun to get out here and hit some balls back and forth and not get injured with the uneven grounding,” Rainner said.
The Northeast Youth Center will also receive significant funding to completely redesign its outdoor play area, which currently consists of concrete space surrounded by deteriorating fencing. The grant will fund a new play structure, garden, sport court and shaded areas for the more than 100 children who use the facility.
“It’s been pretty bare bones. We have this concrete space. Obviously, if you look around, there’s fencing that is a little bit subpar. So, the dream is to get a space out here that is really representing our goal of creating recreational activity for kids,” said Crystal MaCurdy, executive director of Northeast Youth Center.
The improvements are particularly significant for the center’s population, which serves primarily low-income families.
“We serve children from vulnerable places. A lot of low income. We are 93% state paid kids. So for them, this is an opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to be able to engage in beautiful space,” MaCurdy said.
The 11 approved projects span across Spokane and include various infrastructure improvements such as new parking lots, restrooms and recreational facilities.
You can see the full list of projects below:
1. Northeast Youth Center, NEYC Rehabilitation
2. Transitions, TLC Boiler Replacement
3. Northeast Public Development Authority, 3011 Wellesley
4. Northeast Community Center Association, Air Filtration and Upgrades
5. Catholic Housing Services of Eastern Washington, Ridpath
6. The Salvation Army, Stepping Stones Rehabilitation
7. Salish School Of Spokane, Salish Cultural Recreation Community Center
8. Martin Luther King Jr Community Center, Restroom Rehabilitation
9. Shiloh Hills, Friendship Park Sports Court
10. Nevada Heights, Just One Neighborhood Project
11. Chief Garry Park, Northeast Youth and Family Services, Parking Lot
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