New park opens in downtown Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn.– A new park has opened in downtown Jackson.

“We called it Civic Crunch. Essentially, it’s the idea of getting the community together to think about the way people use space, particularly here in Jackson,” Dan Drogosh, Operations Manager at theCo said.

The park was designed and built in about a month, with the theCo and the community working together to fill an otherwise empty space in downtown Jackson.

“Really, why it was so appealing to us is because we had a new mural painted on this wall behind me, and we wanted to tie the colors in from that mural and kind of support that mural’s amazing artwork and bring more elements from it onto the lawn and make it a useful space,” Drogosh said.

It also features games the whole family can enjoy.

“We’ve got life-size chess and checkers, tic tac toe, Connect 4. All these pieces will stay here permanently for the public to play with,” he said.

The park is open 24/7, seven days a week. So you can come before school, or after dinner.

“Picture Saturday morning Farmers Market, you grab a donut and come over here and sit, play some games, or enjoy the mural,” Drogosh said.

With a price tag of about $5,000, hopefully it’ll inspire other communities to do similar projects.

“For us, it’s a way we can prove to other communities that it’s possible to get your organization together, brainstorm and execute a plan like this in your community in a short amount of time with a very low budget,” Drogosh said.

The new Civic Crunch park was funded through theCo and their program, Driving Innovation.