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Northeast Park set for a makeover

A $150,000 state grant and matching funds from the city will be used to help renovate the park at 4630 East Bay Drive.

By SHANNON TAN
Published August 12, 2005

LARGO - The city has received a $150,000 grant to improve Northeast Park.

Largo will match the grant from the Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. The city's portion will come from the Local Option Sales Tax fund and the Parkland Dedication fund.

The $300,000 in renovations include a multipurpose athletic court for basketball, inline skating and hockey, a picnic shelter and improvements to the trails. Twenty-seven spaces will be added to the parking lot.

And perhaps the most welcome change: restrooms.

The park, at 4630 East Bay Drive, is frequently used in the evenings for basketball, said Joan Byrne, director of recreation, parks and arts.

Few people visited the 73/4-acre park until the city made several improvements, including buying property so residents could enter the park from East Bay Drive. A dog park and basketball court were added in 2002.

"Since that time it has become a very well used neighborhood park," Byrne said.

Although the city is best known for its 180-acre Largo Central Park, a park is being built for residents in east Largo.

Construction on the 11-acre Datsko Park will start after October. The park is expected to open in summer 2006.

Last week, city commissioners selected an architectural firm to design the park.

Nearby residents were asked to rank the amenities in order of importance. They wanted walking trails, a playground, a picnic shelter and a multipurpose field for pickup football and soccer games. The city will put in a basketball court.

The only other park improvement budgeted in fiscal 2006 is the construction of $3,500 worth of soft-toss and pitching areas at Southwest Little League Field and Whitesell Softball Complex.

Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 445-4174.

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 00:47:15]