The planned closure of the Heart of the City playground at Cookeville’s Dogwood Park will not take place until later this month.
The playground will undergo a major resurfacing project to replace aging rubber with a cooler synthetic grass. Leisure Services Director Chad McDonald said the project was approved by the previous City Council to address issues with the playground’s surface.
“The new surfacing will be an entirely different kind of surface,” McDonald said. “It will be called Forever Lawn, which is a grass-type surface very similar to the new playground near the Splash Pad, the one at West End Park also has that same type of surfacing on it.”
McDonald said the start date for the work has been moved to approximately September 21 due to the installer’s current schedule. McDonald said the project is expected to take four to six weeks to complete with a goal of reopening the playground by mid-to-late October.
McDonald said the total cost of the renovations will be covered by the $200,000 previously authorized by the City Council.
“The Heart of the City playground surfacing, which is a poured-in-place rubber surfacing was put in when the playground was initially installed in Dogwood Park,” McDonald said. “And over the years it’s, it’s become a little bit degraded and starting to require patching and it’s just reached end of life.”
McDonald said the existing rubber will remain in place to serve as a base, with installers patching any missing sections before laying the new synthetic grass over the top.
“Another important thing I’d like to let people know about the Forever Lawn, it has a T-Cool component to it which is pellets that are placed in the grass which will keep the surface just a little bit cooler than that poured-in-place rubber,” McDonald said. “I know that’s been a concern at the Heart of the City playground that surface gets pretty warm in the summer, but that T-Cool infill that goes in the Forever Lawn will lower that up to 5 to 10 degrees.”
McDonald said the new surface is expected to last between 10 and 15 years because it is less susceptible to sun damage than the previous rubber material. McDonald said while the playground is barricaded for construction, all other amenities at Dogwood Park including the fountain and pavilion will remain open to the public.
“That might be an opportunity for people who come to that playground all the time to venture out and check out our other parks and playgrounds, especially the new one by the splash pad,” McDonald said. “That playground is brand new as well and it has the same surfacing that we’re putting in the Heart of the City playground so you’ll kind of get an idea of what that’s going to be like.”
McDonald said families can also utilize playgrounds at Cane Creek Park, Cinderella Park, and Franklin Avenue during the closure.
