Yesterday, The RALtoday team got a sneak peak of John Chavis Memorial Park’s recent renovations and were able to check out the improvements firsthand.

Using funds from a National Parks Service grant and Raleigh’s Stormwater Cost Share Program, the park built a new 2-story community center, with a full-size gymnasium, fitness center + numerous meeting spaces.The center will host multiple community programs, such as leisure ledger and open-play pickleball.

John Chavis Memorial Park (also referred to as Chavis Park), is located at 505 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. and has been a part of the Raleigh community since the 1930’s. In April 2016, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. After nearly a century, it was time for an update, y’all.

Renovations were also made to the Historic Allan Herschell Carousel — as well as the addition of new central plaza, featuring an integrated water feature and inclusive playground for all ages + abilities.

The John Chavis Memorial Park improvement project began in 2014 when a master plan was formed for the long-term development of the park. Nearly 7 years later, construction on John Chavis Memorial Park is almost complete + will soon reopen to the public. Take a 360 tour of the center here.

The city will be hosting a ribbon cutting and celebration for the John Chavis Memorial Park on Sat., June 12, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The carousel will be open for free rides + there will be food trucks onsite. Find more details here.