A $63 million renewal of parks & rec facilities gets underway in San Juan
By The Star Staff
San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo announced on Sunday the reconstruction of 207 sports and recreational facilities that had been abandoned and made inaccessible under the previous municipal administration.
With an investment of $63 million in combined funds, the reconstruction process is being developed under the Tus Parques en Forma program, a municipal initiative that proposes to recover, condition and beautify recreational facilities for people’s enjoyment.
“Upon assuming the reins of the municipal administration, unfortunately, we found that all sports and recreational facilities were in total abandonment,” Romero Lugo said. “With the Tus Parques En Forma program, we establish a short- and long-term work plan that allows us to execute our programmatic commitment to promote and create sports spaces, as well as recreation as a support tool for all the physical, mental and social benefits that these foster, even more so in the context of the pandemic.”
At a press conference, the mayor and his work team detailed that included in the first phase of awarded bids and construction work for February are 32 parks and recreational facilities, which represent 15% of the total number of 207 recreational facilities and an approximate investment of $1.5 million.
The developments and sectors of San Juan that will benefit from the current first phase are El Hoyo, Paracochero, Mansiones de Villanova, Valencia, El Paraíso, El Cerezal, Diez de Andino, parcelas Falú, Litheda Heights, Villa Palmeras, La Vista, Villa Capri, Hill Mansion, Oeste Gardens, Crown Hills, Bucaré II, San Juan Gardens, Villa del Pilar, Playita, Borinquen Gardens, Eduardo Conde, El Dorado, El Flamboyán, Plaza Los Salseros, Parque del Indio and Parque Jaime Benítez.
The repair of baseball parks and recreational spaces include lighting and fence repairs, roof sealing and painting of structures, and the repair of sidewalks, benches, gazebos, roofs and children’s games.
Renovations also include the repair and replacement of garbage cans, floor painting in affected areas, plastering, replacement of damaged doors, repair of bleachers, replacement of ornamental tables, repair of damaged signs, electrical upgrades, replacement of sports equipment and replacement of affected water sources.
The mayor specified that as planned, on or before June 30, another 65 works will be put out for bids to repair 47% of the aggregate for a total investment of $4.8 million to date.
The municipal administration projects that, upon completion of the rescue and reconstruction works, the total investment under the Tus Parques En Forma program will be around $63 million. The budget includes an item of $43.1 million, which comes from grants received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $7.49 million from the private insurance of the municipality of San Juan, $3 million in Community Development Block Grant-COVID program funds for the acquisition and installation of outdoor gyms, and some $10 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.