TOLEDO, Ohio — Kids in east Toledo are close to being able to play on some new equipment at a neighborhood park.
Hathaway Park is getting a $250,000 renovation, which includes new swing sets, a large tower with tall slides and a climbing net.
Jeremiah Temple, a resident who lives near the park, said the equipment is a big upgrade from what it used to be.
"That compared to what we used to have back in the day, it's kind of amazing," he said. "What we used to have, it was dirty, to say the least."
Temple says he's lived in east Toledo his whole life, and his memories haven't always been positive. He said the park is needed in the area.
"This isn't really the best place for kids, it's kind of a run-down side of town," Temple said. "A lot of strange people around here and you just see some pretty strange things on a day-to-day basis, especially at this park."
Joe Fausnaugh, Toledo's director of parks and youth services, said the renovation is part of the city's investment into improving east Toledo.
"This project is really just a continuation of investment we've made in the east side of Toledo over the last three years. I think this is our sixth playground that we've replaced," Fausnaugh said.
He said the previous playground at Hathaway Park was 30 years old and not useable.
Part of the money for the renovation comes from a community development block grant and the rest comes from federal funding through the American Rescue Plan.
"Before it was a very small playground, some of the components had broken and just been removed," Fausnaugh said. "Now we'll have new swing sets with an accessible swing, we'll have a very large tower with tall slides and a really cool climbing net."
Temple said the renovation will serve neighborhood children well.
"I think it's good, there's a lot of kids around here and they're kind of just playing around in practically the sticks," he said. "There wasn't really anything here when they took the park down."
Fausnaugh said the park is expected to be completed by the end of November, along with three other parks on the east side: Polonia Park, Nelson Grace Park and Burnett Park. He said Prentice Park is complete.