Haines City park project plans underway as foot traffic increases

TAMPA, Fla. — Haines City is working to spruce up its parks to make them more family friendly and ready for growth.

The area at Langston Avenue Park is empty, but it will soon be home to a playground and restrooms. It is one of several projects the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is working to transform to help make room for growth.

“Earlier this year, we opened up Boomerang Park. It is Haines City’s first inclusive playground,” said Parks and Rec Director Terrell Griffin.

For the past six years, Griffin has worked to make Haines City a place where residents can enjoy the outdoors.

“It gives those youth things to do versus being out potentially getting in trouble,” he said.

With that in mind, Griffin said there’s still a lot of work to be done. Utilizing capital funding, he said the Parks and Recreation Department is now able to make some improvements.

For instance, at Boomerang Park, that includes a shade structure, bathrooms and a splash pad.

“Having these amenities in your own community, it’s just great,” Griffin said. “It’s a safety issue, the kids not having to cross dangerous highways, and again they’re within walking distance of their communities.”

While some parks will be getting upgrades, Griffin said they are working on something even bigger, known as the “32-acre project.”

“This is some much-needed amenities to relieve some of the stress on the Lake Eva property and some of our other parks,” he said.

The plans include the construction of soccer and baseball fields, pickleball and much more.

He said as more people use the facilities, they have one goal in mind: “To maintain what we have while adding those new amenities to keep up with the growth that we’re having.”

It’s all to continue providing spaces for families to have fun under the sun.

The Boys and Girls Club will also be getting upgrades to its roof and flooring. Right now, there is no timeline for when the projects will be completed.