New Hempfield Township Park welcomes first visitors, work still left to be done

HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Phase one of the new Hempfield Township Park is complete. The $15 million phase got its first visitors over the weekend.

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“Our community has been seeing this parcel being worked on for a little over a year now, and we just really wanted to share our progress with them,” said Marissa Haynes, the township’s Director of Parks and Recreation.

Hempfield Township Manager, Aaron Siko, said, “Our township is very big, 76 square miles, and 41,000 residents, and we have to provide services across that community.”

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The centrally located park off Weatherwood Road focuses on interpretive play with grass huts, a babbling brook and climbing rocks.

“That water that’s used at the splash pad goes down into a tank and then is repurposed in that water table and down that brook,” said Haynes.

Around 50 trees were dug up from the original grounds, placed in a nursery, and have now been replanted around the park.

Half of the park is designed for children but on the other side, it’s geared towards adults with this high-impact training zone, a ninja warrior obstacle course and even a yoga deck.

Elizabeth Fontecchio homeschools her 5 kids and now plans to bring them to the park for class. She said, “I can be relaxed because I know there is something here for each of my kids and I don’t have to worry about if someone’s going to get bored.

Phase two of the park is still under construction and will bring a turf field, a natural grass field, a municipal complex, eight pickleball courts, and two walking trails.

Haynes said, “Pennsylvania DCNR awarded us a 2.6-million-dollar grant that the township will then match.”

“We have future pads available for a community center, a public safety building and then for additional build-out on the site,” said Siko. “We conceptualized that through a master plan but we are continuing to look at funding.”

There is no tax increase, as the money comes directly from the general fund, as well as grants and fundraising.

The official ribbon-cutting for the park is set for May.

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