More children’s play areas, a loop trail around an open meadow, covered picnic shelters and 40-some new parking spaces are coming to the City of Redmond’s Perrigo Park, with construction slated to begin mid-summer 2010.

Visitors to a Dec. 3 open house at Redmond City Hall had opportunities to view renderings of the new features for Phase II of Perrigo Park.

Ideas for the park expansion were gathered from the public in 2008. The current 28-acre park includes volleyball, tennis courts and soccer/ball fields. The city acquired an additional four-acre parcel on the northeast corner of the park that includes an old barn, formerly known as the Enso Center.

That barn will be restored to its 1920s appearance and used as maintenance facility for the park.

New play areas will include sand and water play and equipment geared to younger or older children in separate areas, “so big kids aren’t running over little kids,” explained John Barker of John Forrest Barker Landscape Architects.

Yet the play circuit will allow kids to “freely meander with good visibility, so mom, dad or grandma can see them,” he added.

“A lot of play design now is more interesting,” Barker continued. “Kids want replay value — something left to the imagination.”

So a spherical feature planned for Phase II of Perrigo Park “can be a space ship or the moon or whatever they want,” he remarked.

And a story-themed area will inspire lots of role play with elements such as fire engines, a multi-user see-saw and balance beams.

Three covered shelters with picnic tables are also being added.

A large one will be available for rental and two smaller versions will be for drop-in use on a first-come, first-served basis.

To provide better access to the park, King County will widen 196th Avenue Northeast and a new driveway will be added at the south end of the park to avoid congestion and accommodate emergency vehicles.

Though some trees will be removed in the construction process, the city intends to replant them, Barker stated.

Funding for Phase II of Perrigo Park is from REET 2, according to B Sanders, senior park planner for the City of Redmond.

“This is the Real Estate Excise Tax, which the State of Washington is authorized to levy on all real-estate taxes. One-quarter percent from this source (REET 2) can be used for local capital projects,” Sanders explained.

For Perrigo Park information, call (425) 556-2328, e-mail bbsanders@redmond.gov or visit www.redmond.gov.