San Jose has secured a big funding from the federal authorities to assist develop a park within the Spartan Keyes neighborhood, offering inexperienced house to a traditionally industrial and underserved space of the town.
The U.S. Division of the Inside has awarded San Jose a $4.5 million grant, which the town will use to assist design and construct a 1.3-acre park that’s already been a long time within the making on the nook of Third and Keyes Avenue on what was as soon as a brickyard manufacturing web site.
“I had the privilege of taking a short walk and being able to show the space to Secretary (of the Interior Deb) Haaland and noted that the nearest park to these neighborhoods is a 30-minute walk away that’s not accessible for kids, older residents or families,” Mayor Matt Mahan stated Friday. “That’s why this investment is so vital.”
Created in 2014 and administered by the Nationwide Park Service, the Outside Recreation Legacy Partnership grants program presents funding to develop new leisure areas or revitalize present parks in underserved or deprived communities with a minimum of 30,000 individuals with little to no entry to those facilities.
The grant program can also be a part of the bigger America the Lovely initiative launched by the Biden Administration to “address the nature and climate crises, improve equitable access to the outdoors, and strengthen the economy.”
Haaland stated that whereas the Trump administration zeroed out this system, the Biden administration was “doubling down.”
Secretary of the Inside Deb Haaland speaks at a press convention the place she introduced $4.5 million in grant funding for the development of Spartan Keyes Park, on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
This yr’s park grants totaled almost $255 million for 54 initiatives in 24 totally different states, with award sizes starting from $390,000 to $15 million.
Whereas California obtained 14 of these grants, totaling about $88 million, Spartan Keyes Park is the one undertaking to obtain funds within the Bay Space.
“From Anaheim to Redding, communities up and down the state will benefit from expanding access to beautiful outdoor spaces and more outdoor recreational opportunities,” Haaland stated. “The work happening here in San Jose and across the state are incredible examples of the kind of collaborative partnerships needed for access to the outdoors for Americans in every corner of our nation.”
Rita Torres, a longtime resident of Spartan Keyes, stated she was excited to listen to concerning the funding, noting that it felt like a lifetime for the reason that metropolis acquired the land greater than eight years in the past and that she beforehand wasn’t positive she would reside to see it occur.
Although the precise date of the park’s completion is unknown because it nonetheless must be designed, Mahan expects it to be inbuilt just a few years.
The grants awarded had been as much as 50% of the respective initiatives’ complete prices. Within the case of Spartan Keyes Park, the $4.5 million grant will cowl an estimated 45% of what the town must make it a actuality.
Though San Jose is presently fighting a half-billion-dollar park upkeep backlog, it continues to prioritize investments in metropolis facilities, with seven parks opened this yr and two extra on the best way.
“Everyone deserves to have access to these public green areas and amenities close to home,” stated Gloria Sandoval, deputy secretary for entry on the California Pure Assets Company. “Doing so builds healthier communities since spending time in nature helps with our physical, mental and social well-being and brings so many memories with their families.”
