UTICA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri announced the final design for Chancellor Park on Monday, March 27.
The park, located on Elizabeth Street, will feature a combination fountain and splash pad that will serve as the centerpiece of the park. The park will also feature pickleball and bocce courts, as well as a rain garden running alongside Bleecker Street. Future plans for the park include a sensory garden and a play area for children on the corner of Kent and Elizabeth Street.
The renovations, which are part of the Utica Prosperity Initiative, received $1.9 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, and other funding from local budget allotments. The renovations will coincide with renovations on Kent Street to address accessibility issues and surfacing improvements for the Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired across the street.
“We want Downtown Utica to be a place where residents live, work and play,” Mayor Palmieri said in a statement. “The new Chancellor Park will be a place that accommodates all of those things. Some of the amenities and features of this new park will be a first for the City and a first for the region. It’s another step toward building a sustainable, world-class environment for our residents to enjoy.”
Construction is already underway, and completion of the park is scheduled to last throughout the spring and complete near the end of summer.