Perez Park

[wunderkind]

I have heard on good authority we will have new pickleball courts coming somewhere along the Oklahoma River near the edge of Scissortail park! I already bought my rackets and balls lol!

That would be great to have a place to play downtown. I'm assuming these will be outdoor courts? The closest ones I know of are at Woodson Park on South May Avenue, which are indoor.

[KingOfTheNorth]

Love this move, but I think that all of this will be minimal gains until that pet food factory gets bought and torn down. I spent many a mornings rowing on that river and it reeking of dog food. Any advancing development will be hindered with its presence, but I can't wait to see more development push southward.

[OKC2017]

there is heavy duty earth moving equipment razing a couple of sites within proximity of the proposed park area.

[Pete]

there is heavy duty earth moving equipment razing a couple of sites within proximity of the proposed park area.

I went down there with my drone yesterday... It's groundwork just south of the park and I can't find any permits for what it may be.

This is an older photo but it shows the location where they are moving dirt.

[Plutonic Panda]

From an email via city of okc

“ Post Date: 11/21/2019 3:12 PM
Mayor David Holt and other civic leaders will break ground on new improvements at Manuel Perez Park in a ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2. OKC Parks is hosting the groundbreaking, and the public is invited to attend.

“We’re happy to be able to properly honor Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Manuel Perez with this new park and memorial,” said OKC Parks Director Doug Kupper.

The improvements at the park, 301 SW 14th Street, include a new memorial plaza dedicated to all Oklahomans, including Perez, who earned the Medal of Honor. A large new pavilion will be constructed with Hispanic-inspired architecture next to a memorial plaza.

Other improvements include a new playground and new covered benches along the existing trail in the park. On the west side, there will be two new futsal courts and a new basketball court, plus enhancements to the skate park. There will also be a new parking lot.

Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony are Mayor Holt, Kupper, Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone, Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice and Parks Commission Chairman Alan Payne.

Visit okc.gov/parks for more details on parks in Oklahoma City.”

[Pete]

You can see that work has started around the circular drive:

[Pete]

[Pete]

[Pete]

[5alive]

I love seeing the trees! We need thousands more

[Pete]

[5alive]

It would be amazing if double rows of trees could be planted along the entire length of the river!

[Canoe]

I wonder if the designers put the fields close to the bridge to allow fields to be shaded in the evening.

[Pete]

I wonder if the designers put the fields close to the bridge to allow fields to be shaded in the evening.

The shade would be the other direction in the evening.

[jedicurt]

The shade would be the other direction in the evening.

well now, yes... but as the last act of 2020 is for the world to start spinning the other direction, it will be then.

[amocore]

The little kids playground on the east side of shield is great. I found it almost by accident while walking\biking on the river trails with my kids.

Also, for the rest of the park, some nice touches coming :
https://kfor.com/digital-first/oklah...r-with-murals/

[riflesforwatie]

I believe the construction along the west bank of Lightning Creek just south of the river was part of a sanitary sewer relief intercepter project. That's the same thing that currently has SE/SW 17 closed from S Robinson Ave to Perez Park. Council recently voted to extend the contract to May 2022 - apparently the condition of SE/SW 17 through this stretch was worse than originally anticipated and the extra time will allow for a complete rebuild of the street from Robinson to Perez Park. It's a massive project. SE 15 at S Central Ave was closed for a good while a couple of years ago, and the part along Lightning Creek took months, if not a year, to complete. SE/SW 17 has been torn up in spots for a year or more now.

The murals referenced in the previous post are finished now and they look pretty sharp in person. The park as a whole looks great and it will be nice when the surrounding infrastructure is finished and it becomes way easier to access everything.

[OKC2017]

it appears those works from the park up to SE 15th and central are complete. it also seems that they've built foundation structures for a future bridge (pedestrian possibly?) just south of the SE 15th st bridge over the creek.

[Pete]