Major upgrades planned for Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix

PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix has unveiled some big plans for downtown’s Margaret T. Hance Park.

The 32-acre park south of McDowell Road between Third and Fifth Streets is in line for some big upgrades, according to the city’s parks department.

Some of the plans for Margaret T. Hance Park — also known as the “Deck Park,” because it sits on top of a tunnel over Interstate 10 — include a jogging loop, a skate park, a splash area and more trees for shade.

Gregg Bach, a spokesman for the City of Phoenix Parks Department, said the upgrades also include the Hance Park events area.

“Part of it is to enhance that space for the events and the things that we do, as well as to add some of the amenities throughout the other areas of the park,” Bach said.

But paying for it would not be cheap: “We anticipate the project would cost between $80 to $100 million dollars to complete,” he added.

Bach said the city plans to raise the funds for the upgrades through a private-public partnership.

“There’s a fundraising campaign under way,” Bach said. “It would be private donations or naming rights or sponsorships and that’s where a lot of the funding would come for the project.”

The changes to Hance Park are just part of the area’s revitalization, he added.

“This is just really part of that revitalization of downtown: Providing those people with a park and an area where they can recreate and be outside and exercise,” Bach said.

The city is still asking for the public to submit their ideas on what they want for Hance Park.

The park was first completed in 1992 and named for Phoenix’s long-time mayor, who served four two-year terms.

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