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The City of Boston announced its preferred design for the Penniman Road Play Area (25 Penniman Rd) at the project’s community meeting on June 23.

The city’s design, which is not final, will shift the basketball court to the location of the current lawn on the north side of the play area. A new lawn and tree grove will be set up in place of the original basketball court. 

The project will also make updates to the playground, including creating separate play areas for different age ranges (one for five to 12 year olds and another for two to five year olds) and installing a mini-basketball court between the edge of the playground and the community garden. The community garden will remain where it is. 

One point of contention during the meeting was the decision to keep the community garden in its current location. At a meeting in late January, the city presented three options, which included its current preferred design, referred to as Concept B. Another option, “Concept C,” would have moved the community garden to the north side of the park. Multiple attendees at the June 23 meeting said that Concept C drew greater support compared to the current selection. 

Max Sell, the project manager, acknowledged that while there was strong support for moving the community garden, the initial funding for the project, which amounted to 1.75 million dollars, did not include moving the community garden. 

After neighbors voiced strong support for moving the garden, Sell said that his team sought additional funding through mitigation funds where developers contribute community benefits to offset the negative impacts of construction. 

Despite identifying around $500,000 in mitigation funds, Sell said that uncertainty surrounding when these funds could become available means that they can only account for around $300,000 — representing a 15 percent increase in budget. Based on preliminary analysis, Sell said that a 30 to 35 percent increase in the budget amount would cover the budget amount. In the end, they chose to proceed with Concept B. 

“We’re really hopeful that having all of the money would allow us to push forward concept C, but we have a responsibility to only develop a concept that we can produce financially,” he says. 

“The current climate is not conducive to increased budgets, so that’s the situation of construction at the moment.” 

Sell says that he hears a “strong voice from the community about the garden” and will bring up the issue with his superiors. He also encourages community members to speak with their local elected officials.

According to the capital budget for fiscal years 2027 to 2032, over 2.3 million dollars were allocated for the Penniman Road Play Area project, but most of the funds would not be expended until at least fiscal year 2028 (which begins July 1, 2027). 

In addition to presenting the preferred design, Kaki Martin and Jennifer Ng from Klopfer Martin Design Group, which the city is partnering with, surveyed community members on potential designs for fencing, including the location of a 10-meter tall fence within the lawn and play area, shading, and designs for the playgrounds.

Residents can also fill out a community survey to express their preferences for the park design. The deadline for the form is July 24, 2026.

The meeting represented the last of three community meetings for the project, which began planning last summer. The team is anticipating beginning the design documentation process, which will turn the design into a construction plan, this fall.