East Anchorage just got money for a new park.
The U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service on Wednesday announced a grant of $750,000 to the city toward the development of Muldoon Town Square Park.
The city's Planning and Zoning Commission approved the 20-year master plan for the park, located at the southeast corner of DeBarr and Muldoon roads, last year. The park will be nearly 27 acres of "natural and previously developed areas," according to the park plan.
People can currently access the park's natural areas, such as Chester Creek, but the areas under construction are closed off. Those include a picnic shelter, playground, plazas and more, all part of phase one of the project.
The federal funding will go toward phase two, which will include a community orchard, community gardens, bike park, and dog park, said municipal parks superintendent Josh Durand.
“We’re really excited that additional dollars keep coming to the table for this project to help realize this vision for northeast Anchorage,” he said. “It’s been in need of a large destination park for awhile.”
The location of the park used to be home to Alaska Greenhouses, a commercial nursery.
Over the years, the site changed hands multiple times "before being seized by the federal government for alleged drug smuggling," according to the city's website. In 2006, the municipality bought the property for $5 million.
Lawmakers previously landed two state grants totaling $1.5 million toward the park, according to the plan. In April, Anchorage voters also approved a $500,000 bond for the project.
If the long-term master plan is realized in its entirety, Durand said, the park could cost about $8 million.
The grant announced Wednesday is part of $13.3 million the federal government will spend on parks and recreation projects in underserved communities around the country.