In 2026, we continued to get parks on the ground, with seven projects in various stages of construction throughout the year.

Our star transformation of the year is 27-acre Westside Park in Paterson, NJ. Our largest project to date with the longest construction timeline so far, Westside has undergone an immense transformation. The renovation included not only refurbishing tired sports facilities but also reimagining the whole circulation system within the park to create a cohesive and inviting design.

We were proud to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Phase 1 of the project in October and invite Paterson residents back into the park to enjoy the new amenities. Throughout the park, hundreds of new trees, lighting fixtures, and benches were installed.

Phase 2 of the project has already begun and will see the restoration of several historic elements of the park including the iconic red pavilion.

In Buffalo, two of our longest running projects are currently undergoing transformation! Roosevelt began construction this past winter and will provide new sports facilities and flowing walkways. The transformation is expected to be completed in 2028. We celebrated the groundbreaking of our other longstanding project on Buffalo's East Side, Sears Paderewski Park, in October. This project will transform a cement covered lot, add two more parcels, and create a family orientated greenspace for the whole neighborhood.

Finish touches were also put on Buffalo Promise Neighborhood Park this year with the new park being reopened to the school children and neighbors this fall. What was once an open lawn now providing places to play, sit, walk, and enjoy nature.

Over in Jersey City work began on a schoolyard transformation at PS 12. This comes after the installation of a mural last year. We also saw the completion of a soccer mini pitch at PS 17 in partnership with the US Soccer Foundation and FIFA's NYNJ Host Committee. Further improvements at PS 17 are in the works to complete the schoolyard.

The professionals weren’t the only ones getting in on the action this year. In October we hosted our first ever community build at Eddie Williams Playground in Mount Vernon, NY, in partnership with Alexandra’s Playground and Kaboom! A team of 75 volunteers installed a playground at the site. A phase 2 of renovations are upcoming.

Last but not least, in Peekskill’s Depew Park, our partners New York New Jersey Trail Conference created a brand new 2-mile trail that connects the park to the nearby Blue Mountain Reservation. The White-Loop trail is now open to local hikers to explore the local wilderness.

Our projects team truly does incredible work moving our projects forward at all stages of the park creation cycle. We have recently added two new staff members to our team for managing projects once they reach the capital construction phase: Wilfred Nieves joined us as the Director of Capital Projects and Elizabeth Evans as a Capital Projects Fellow to support the work of the projects team and learn the ropes of the capital projects world. They join our already fantastic projects team: Emily Neye (Design & Finance Director), Emmanuel Thingue (Design & Project Management Director), and Shannon Hui (Senior Project & Research Associate).