GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Grand Rapids is seeing major upgrades, to the tune of millions of dollars.
Three walls are standing at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park pool house. The new facility is expected to be open this summer.
“Part of Dr. King’s dream was that all of us would be created equal, right?" former Grand Rapids Third Ward Commissioner Senita Lenear said. “When I think about inequities that exist in our city, the access to state-of-the-art equipment and a park is one of those things,” Lenear continued.
The pool house is just the start of the project at MLK Park. The upgrades to the park include an indoor gymnasium, event space with space for more than 200 people, and a new playground.
“I think it’s something that can really highlight his legacy. It’s great that this park is named after him. And to have this really great community project that will help the community kind of have a revised space to enjoy each other is really exciting,” project manager Karie Enriquez said.
Former Commissioner Senita Lenear says she was excited that the first source of funding to contribute to the project at MLK Park was from the Third Ward Equity Fund, which she was instrumental in creating.
Lenear says the finalized project came to fruition after many community leaders, including former GVSU Dean Don Williams, came to the table with ideas.
A roughly 100-year-old lodge was torn down to make way for the new facilities at MLK Park.
“There were discussions that the lodge was just going to be renovated. I remember a very pivotal meeting where a discussion was had. On the other side of that meeting, Commissioner Moody and I, along with the city manager, had some discussions about [how] we need to dream bigger. People want more than just new paint on a lodge. That dreaming landed with what we see today that’s under construction,” Lenear said.
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