Mayor celebrates FitzGerald Park expansion with residents and neighborhood businesses

Special to The Advocate

Mayor Gary Christenson celebrated the completion of construction at the newly expanded FitzGerald Park on Monday, June 16. This project greatly increased the play area within the park, adding a bright dinosaur-shaped play structure, interactive play panels, a painted sidewalk surface, new benches and tables, additional trees and landscaping and a new fence.

“This park was already a gem within our downtown neighborhood, and with these new additions it has become an even more vibrant and welcoming place in our city,” said Mayor Christenson.

The project was administered by the City of Malden’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD). Shadley Associates was the landscape architect and JAM Corporation was the general contractor. Project funding included $200,000 from the City’s Community Development Block Grant funds and $175,000 in Community Preservation Act funds. John Preotle of Preotle, Lane & Associates, a longtime steward of the park, graciously donated the cost of design work for this project.

For more information on the project, please visit www.cityofmalden.org/fitzgerald.