McKinney Playground receives $750,000 Boston College grant

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has been awarded a $750,000 Neighborhood Improvement Fund (NIF) grant from Boston College, Commissioner Ryan Woods announced this week. The grant will enhance funding for improvements at McKinney Playground located at 74 Faneuil Street in Brighton. 

“At just under six acres, McKinney Playground is not one of our biggest parks. But it packs so many activities into a small space, including baseball and softball, basketball, a playground, and a tot lot for younger children,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “This grant will help us update the site so that it can continue to serve neighbors, families, and young athletes well into the future.”

The $750,000 grant for McKinney Playground will supplement $1.1 million in capital funding from the City of Boston to fully renovate the park. As with all park improvement projects, the Parks Department is soliciting public input in a series of community meetings. The next community meeting for McKinney Playground is at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at St. Columbkille Partnership School, located at 25 Arlington Street in Brighton. Some of the proposed new features are an improved entry on Faneuil Street, a walking loop, an artificial turf field, and lighting. The courts and playground will also be renovated.  

The renovations at McKinney Park align with the City of Boston’s Open Space and Recreation Plan, focusing on access, equity, and excellence — so that every neighborhood is home to beautiful spaces that serve both the people and the environment. The redesign of McKinney will improve overall quality of life in the neighborhood while also providing needed recreational space for youth sports. The improvements to McKinney Park are part of the over $230 million allocated through Imagine Boston 2030, the largest-ever capital funding for Boston parks.

"Boston College is pleased to partner with the City of Boston and the Allston-Brighton community by providing a $750,000 Neighborhood Improvement Fund (NIF) grant to renovate and build the new McKinney Playground, a beautiful neighborhood park for all to enjoy," said Tom Keady, Vice President of Governmental & Community Affairs at Boston College.

Beginning in the spring of 2015, as part of a package of public benefits related to its Institutional Master Plan, Boston College established a $2,564,000 NIF grant for projects that enhance the public realm and for which public sources of financing may be unavailable or inadequate.

The NIF grant may be used by public or private non-profit entities to implement improvements beneficial to the Allston-Brighton neighborhood on public property. Projects may include improvements in public parks and open space, neighborhood beautification, transportation and roadway improvements, public safety projects, public art, and other projects that achieve the objectives of the fund.

For more information on the project, please call Cathy-Baker-Eclipse at the Boston Parks and Recreation Department 617-635-4505 or email cathy.baker-eclipse@boston.gov.