Photo Credit: Courtesy of Grandview Parks & Recreation and Brian Hochstein
Hochstein
In the designing and building of a park, a lot of money typically goes into the infrastructure—the parking lots, custom shelters and restrooms, and more. Money for the playground—the important play elements—is what is “left over.”
If the true goal of a park is to create a fun place for families to gather, providing better quality playground equipment for children to play and interact on, you shouldn’t have to rely on what’s left over in the budget.
The Typical Park Design
For example, your community wants to construct a new park. It must have a playground, some parking, a restroom, and a shelter house. The budget is $750,000. Out of that money, the designers are paid $70,000, which leaves $680,000 for construction.