While Santa Fe's Southside still has fewer acres of parkland per capita than other parts of the city, a new regional recreational space now welcomes visitors in the form of the Southwest Area Node Regional Park in Tierra Contenta, SWAN for short.
And like the ugly duckling that grows into the graceful trumpeter, the growth there is worth celebrating.
For now, the park, which is slated to eventually incorporate 90 acres on Plaza Central off Jaguar Drive, has about 17 acres that were completed with about $5 million from a 2012 bond issue and contains a playground, a picnic area and a multipurpose athletic field suitable for baseball, soccer and other sports. A grand opening planned for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 am to 5 pm, features entertainment, dignitaries, booths from community groups and free pizza until noon and food truck vendors after that. (SFR will be there, so come by and say hello.)
The park's master plan calls for 12 horseshoe pits and five tennis courts, which city officials say will be suitable for tournament play. An 18-hole disc golf course is also planned, along with other amenities such as restrooms and a maintenance shack. Mary MacDonald, a project manager for the city, says the timeline for construction of the next phase depends on when the City Council allocates funding and whether a water utility line for fire protection is extended to the area. The park is on the city's wish list for cash from the Legislature next year. The entire park plan has an estimated price tag of $18 million.
