St. Cloud’s Central Park Will Get New Playground

(KNSI) – One of the oldest parks in St. Cloud will be getting a $100,000 facelift.

The city council is poised to approve new playground equipment for Central Park at 2807 4th Street North. St. Cloud Community Services and Facilities Director Scott Zlotnik says the city is looking to improve the neighborhood parks that get a lot of use.

“One thing that COVID has taught us is that people are really wanting to get outdoors. So we’re trying to make improvements to a lot of our parks that are being highly utilized.”

The project is being paid for with a $70,000 Community Development Block Grant. The grants are used in neighborhoods with low to moderate-income housing. Zlotnik says the rest came from a donation by a St. Cloud area bank.

“We received a donation from Liberty Bank of Minnesota who donated $30,000. So we’re able to buy a little bit better playground and do some other improvements to the park as well. It is a great opportunity.”

Zlotnik says the supplies will get ordered this year and the new playground should be in place by July 2023. Central Park is the second oldest park in St. Cloud after its establishment in the late 1800s. Barden Park, near St. Cloud State University, is the oldest of the city’s 98 parks.

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