Fresno’s newest park found itself full of happy youngsters on Tuesday.
Hard work, civic pride and plenty of privately raised cash made it happen.
Torin Blount, Habitat for Humanity’s interim executive director, told an audience of dozens that the site had once been a bleak and empty dirt lot.
Sabrina Kelley, Habitat for Humanity’s community development manager, said her grandfather Clifford Kelley (an architect) saw the need for parks and infrastructure in this neighborhood a half-century ago.
“Today I check off that final goal my grandfather had, of building a place to play for kids in west Fresno,” Kelley said.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who has made the revitalization of older neighborhoods the top goal of her administration, said the playground “is going to be an incredible gift to this neighborhood for years to come.”