TEMPE, Ariz. — After more than 15 years of being closed, a new and improved Tempe community center and pool reopened to the public on Saturday.
In the heart of the Clark Park neighborhood, just south of downtown Tempe near Tempe High School, community members and neighbors alike are thrilled about the reopening of the Clark Park Community Center and pool.
The grand reopening of the center was a celebration of a place with a rich history and showcased the result of hard work and perseverance among city leaders and community members.
“Our council saw the need and made the investment, and we started this process in 2018 and now we’re here,” said Shawn Wagner with Tempe Parks and Rec.
There’s a lot of history behind this special place. Back in 1949, city leaders built the 10-acre park near the intersection of Roosevelt Street and Broadway Road.
“The rec center used to be a couple lots over,” Wagner said.
In the mid-70s, the City of Tempe added a swimming pool, which was a wonderful addition for the community. Sadly, everything changed in 2008 due to the Great Recession.
“We had to close it, because we were getting ready to revamp it and the recession came along and we just didn’t have the money to do it, so we had to close,” Wagner said.
The news of the community center's closing was heartbreaking for people who spent much of their childhood visiting the pool.
“Growing up, Clark Park was my neighborhood pool,” Berdetta Hodge, a Tempe city council member and Tempe Union High School District governing board member, said.
“Not only was it my neighborhood pool when I went to Tempe High School, this is the pool that our swim team swam in,” Hodge said.
But fast forward to 2018, and people who live nearby started talking with city staff members, proposing improvements to Clark Park.
Finally, several years later with the right city leaders and community members involved, along with $16 million in funding, the vision became a reality.
“We just had an awesome response from the community,” Wagner said.
“Now, how beautiful, it’s been remodeled,” Hodge said. “I’m just excited for the new generation kids to have this.”
The grounds are now complete with a 17-foot spiral water slide, zero-depth pool entry, lap lanes and shade structures on the outside.
Inside the community center, there is plenty of classroom space for exercise and fitness classes, along with activities like crocheting and martial arts.
“A lot went into it,” Casey Shupp, project director with Haydon Companies said. “A lot of coordination with the City of Tempe, our design partners… so, really happy and proud.”
Haydon Companies is a construction company that helped with the renovation of the community center.
Now, more than 15 years after closing, the re-opening of the Clark Park Community Center on Saturday drew a lot of families.
The water slide is already a big hit with the kids.
“At the very end, it gets faster and faster until you just crash into the water,” 11-year-old Zen Manares said.
This new space will give kids and their families, along with future generations, a place to come, gather, learn, and splash around.
“It’s amazing,” Jeremy Telkamp, who lives nearby, said. “It’s so awesome to have a place like this that we can bring our daughter to and have fun playing in the sun. It’s just going to be a good place for her to grow up with and enjoy her childhood.”
For more information about Clark Park, click here.
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