Take a look at the new and improved LaSalle Park

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- The LaSalle Park project is complete. The recreational space adjacent to the Charles Black Community Center is fully renovated after work started in Aug. 2023.

"We didn't have an unlimited budget, but for a couple million dollars, what could we do to really enhance this park?" said Mayor James Mueller.

New walking trails weave their way through LaSalle Park, there's also a pavilion and picnic area, a repaved parking lot, remodeled basketball courts, and 61 new trees planted.

"And then also, working with the community to see, what would they like to see?" Mueller said.

The project, roughly $2.1 million, included public input collected a couple years back. One idea included from that input was a roller rink that circles the playground with small slopes for shredding on a board or skates.

"Not something necessarily that we came with, but the community said we'd like to see," Mueller said.

Before all these amenities could come to fruition, there was phase one.

"This project's been in the works for years," Mueller said. "The first phase was actually to remediate, to work with the environmental protection agency and make sure that the park is safe into the future."

Both phases are now complete, and these new outdoor amenities are open and available for this west side neighborhood.