Grant Could Lead To Middletown Community Park Upgrade

Middletown Township has applied for a grant that would provide a major upgrade to the 20-year-old Community Park.

The township has applied for a $250,000 Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant that would require Middletown to match with their own $250,000 contribution.

The grant and township funding would allow for $500,0000 in upgrades to the 42-acre Middletown Community Park on Langhorne-Yardley Road.

Among the improvements would be making the park more visible, adding exercise equipment, moving a memorial to a more visible section, replacing mulch at the playground with a new poured-in-place rubber surface, adding various interactive stations and games, placing new benches and picnic tables, and pouring a curb to make the parking situation safer. Other improvements would be updating to LED parking lot lighting and putting the new 8,000-square-foot skate park in place, according to Paul Kopera of the Middletown Parks and Recreation Department.

Much of the equipment the township is looking to add can be purchased per a unit and allow for items to be added or dropped depending on pricing, Kopera said.

The park would be multi-generational with additions for youth, adults, and senior citizens, Kopera said.

Through in-kind donations, staff time, and fundraising, the already-designed skate park will not cost the township to as much as its initial $200,000 price tag, officials said. A group of business people, residents, and skaters that is working with the Middletown Community Foundation to help construct and pay for the skate park has already raised more than $20,000.

Fundraising for the skate park has continued over the past year.

Rich Van Horn, owner of Dogwood Skate Shop in Langhorne Borough, has been selling wristbands and T-shirts out of his business to support the skate park construction fund.

One of these community events is the upcoming second annual Skate Jam at the Falls Township Community Park this Saturday. The event will feature multiple skill groups and will run from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. The rain date is May 17. The cost to register is $10, and all proceeds are going towards the skate park.

Registration for the skate jam can be made the day of the event.

The skate park at Middletown Community Park was demolished in 2016 after it became unsafe. Since that time, community members have been working to replace it.

Township Manager Stephanie Teloi-Kuhls said at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting that the grant could allow Middletown to provide a complete makeover of the park without bearing the full financial burden.