January will be a busy month for Marana Parks and Recreation. Three new projects will begin, including the construction of two new parks.
Work will ramp up on Tangerine Sky Park. The 17-acre park just south of Tangerine Road near Dove Mountain will become the largest park facility in Northeast Marana. The park had a groundbreaking ceremony last spring and much of the work to prepare the land for development has been completed, but the actual construction of the park’s amenities has just begun.
“There will be a little bit of something for everyone,” said Marana Parks and Recreation Director Jim Conroy.
The new park will have a number of popular features, including two dog parks and two playgrounds. The playgrounds are designed for children of different ages, one for preschoolers and the other for older kids. One of the playground features that will be unique to the area will be a zipline themed swing that will travel a length of 30-feet.
“The park is surrounded by mountain views on all size,” Conroy added. “It will be a very unique experience.”
Other features include a basketball court, three ramadas, a perimeter walking path with connectivity to the multi-use path on Tangerine, as well as connections to the Tangerine Sky neighborhood.
The park is due to be completed late spring or early summer of this year.
Preliminary work is also beginning on the new splash pad at Crossroads at Silverbell District Park. With the success of the splash pad in north Marana, a second splash pad was needed and will fit in perfectly at the already popular park.
The new splash pad will be located close to the existing playground and ramadas, making it a great option for those wanting to host a spring or summer birthday party.
“Splash pads are crazy popular right now and we think this will be a wonderful attraction for the park,” Conroy said.
The overall size of the new facility will be 90-feet in diameter, with 56-feet of it the actually splash pad surface. There will also be plenty of shade and integrated seating within the facility, giving additional relief on hot days.
The third project will bring a new amenity to one of Marana’s oldest neihgborhoods. The Honea Heights neighborhood will be getting a new pocket park. The new park will have a basketball court, a playground, and a turf area/open play area. There will also be a ramada and a grill.
“We think this will be a major upgrade to the area,” said Conroy. “We are looking at ways to bring additional amenities to some of our older neighborhoods and this is a great first step.”
Another major project slated to begin this quarter is the new disc golf course, which will be built adjacent to the El Rio Preserve. The project is a partnership between the Town of Marana and Pima County, and will utilize local disc golf enthusiasts as caretakers of the new course.
