Staff photos / David Skolnick Carmine Mullins, 10, pushes his 6-year-old cousin, Aalyah Easterly, on new swings at the newly-renovated Falls Playground on Youngstown’s South Side.

YOUNGSTOWN — The city allocated $10.5 million in American Rescue Plan funding two years ago for park improvements and dedicated the first renovated facility on Wednesday.

Falls Playground, also called Hillman Park, on Falls Avenue on the city’s South Side, underwent $525,000 in improvements. It officially opened Wednesday.

The work includes new playground equipment, a basketball court and a pavilion.

“This playground isn’t just a place with swings,” said Clemate Franklin, the city’s director of parks and recreation. “It’s a safe space where children can grow, families can gather and memories are made.”

The city is making improvements to numerous parks and recreational facilities in the city from the $10.5 million ARP allocation city council approved in July 2023.

Before the work was finished, Falls Playground had overgrown grass, broken sidewalks and old equipment, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works.

“We’ve got a lot more to come at our parks,” he said.

Franklin said of Falls: “We renewed this park with care, vision and the belief that every child deserves a space to play, dream and just be a kid. This project reflects what happens when the city comes together.”

Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, who grew up playing at Falls Playground, said: “This is something for the community and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”

Elnora Sipp, a Youngstown resident who is president of the Four Square Block Watch, has been pushing for improvements to Falls Playground for several years, along with her husband, Thomas, who has since died.

Asked about the finished product, Sipp said, “I love it. We’ve been working for this for a long time and I’m thankful they made it happen.”

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said the city is investing in building new homes and renovating existing houses with ARP dollars, so it’s important for those citizens “to have some place where they can take their children and their families. The parks are vital to the community.”