TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — McCormick Park in midtown Tucson is getting a makeover, with new trees, infrastructure and a recently replaced playground giving the neighborhood park what residents describe as a “glow up.”
The 14.2-acre park, at 2950 N. Columbus Boulevard, has received improvements funded through the city’s Proposition 407 bond program and development impact fees. The upgrades include a new 8-foot-wide multiuse path, nine benches, an expanded irrigation system, 42 new trees, sidewalk connections and a new community garden operated by Community Gardens of Tucson.
The improvements will be on display Friday, when Community Gardens of Tucson hosts its third Movies in the Park event of the summer.
“We’re really excited to see things come together and really kind of create this community,” said Brittany Guerrero, executive director of Community Gardens of Tucson.
For Josephine Tremblay, vice president of the Vista del Monte Neighborhood Association, the park has long served as a gathering place for her family.
“A few things I like about it of course is all the trees and the shade they provide,” Tremblay said. “We have a nice path that was revitalized just recently that wraps all the way around.”
The newest centerpiece is the park’s main playground, which was replaced after being damaged in a storm several years ago.
The replacement was made possible through a $115,000 Tohono O’odham Nation Gaming Grant secured by the city and Ward 3. Residents had a say in choosing the new equipment through a Parks and Recreation survey conducted earlier this year.
“There was two options that we could choose from,” Tremblay said. “So they sent that out, Parks and Rec did, for us to make those decisions, and this is what the community selected.”
The park also recently gained the McCormick Community Garden, Community Gardens of Tucson’s newest garden. The garden has 16 in-ground plots, with four raised-bed plots planned, and sits in the southeast corner of the park.
The improvements have also created a resource for residents of the nearby Garden District, which does not have a city park of its own.
“It’s wonderful to have such a well vegetated park with lots of trees,” said Meg Johnson, secretary of the Garden District Neighborhood Association. “The grass is in great shape, and now, the playground equipment is brand new!”
Friday’s Movies in the Park event begins at 5 p.m. Aug. 28 at McCormick Park. The featured movie will be “James and the Giant Peach.” The event will offer residents an opportunity to enjoy the park while seeing the recent improvements firsthand.
Tremblay said the changes are helping make McCormick Park an even more inviting place for the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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