There’s a new playground coming to Silver Beach County Park. Speaking to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday, Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams said an $850,000 state grant has been awarded to the project. She said the 30-year-old playground equipment now at Silver Beach has served the county well, but it’s time for an update. They’re also looking at additional improvements to the playground.
“Some of the aspects we will be including are a hard surface or safety surface accessibility, ramping, some new features that weren’t available 30 years ago,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of exciting things with playgrounds these days. And we’d also like to incorporate some shade.”
Adams said a lot of kids have made fond memories at the Silver Beach playground.
“In 2021, we had 728,000 people come to the park and many of them were children. They enjoy this. My son, who’s 13, grew up on this playground, and we’re excited to get that replaced and get some new features in there.”
Adams says the $850,000 grant will pay for most of the work, although the overall project cost will be about $1 million. The county will pick up the rest. She’s been meeting with consultants about the options available for the park and the public will also be asked for input before a final plan is adopted. Work could begin in the fall.
