BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — The city of Brentwood's first inclusive playground became a reality on Sunday. It has been in the making for more than two years.
The City of Brentwood, the Rotary Clubs of Brentwood and The Brentwood Rotary Club Charitable Foundation partnered to fundraise the nearly $1.7 million project, including an adjacent parking lot expansion. But funding also came from anonymous donations and community support.
"This is a huge day for Brentwood and the entire community of children and parents that will use this park for years to come," said Mayor Rhea Little at the grand opening event. "This is the best example of true teamwork between the city and the community when they work together toward a common goal.”
Named for Miles Peck, the new inclusive playground at Granny White Park in Brentwood has been dubbed "Miles Together." The park's namesake has Down syndrome and lives in Brentwood. His mother, Kara Peck, donated $350,000 to the park in honor of her son.
“The Miles for Miles Foundation is thrilled to be included in the inclusive playground at Granny White Park. We are so proud our community recognized the need for upgraded play space for all children and families, regardless of ability,” Kara said. “We felt the name — Miles Together — reflected this, and we are so excited for the fun and joy this playground will offer our entire community.”
Another child, Maddox Goodgine, died at the age of five in 2019, but her mother was instrumental in the fundraising process. Leigh Goodgine said the playground will honor her daughter's memory as other children will be able to play in a space that Maddox only dreamed of in her short life.
Yet another donation was made in the amount of $5,000 for the family name Colvin to be placed on a sign in the parking lot. Brentwood's Assistant Police Chief, Jim Colvin, has a son named Cooper who also has Down syndrome.
“My wife, Angie, and I are incredibly thankful for the donors and the City of Brentwood for supporting the playground,” Jim said. “We recently learned of the anonymous donation honoring Cooper and it has left us speechless. The generosity of this community and desire to include Cooper in the project is something we will always treasure."
Many community volunteers donated time as well as money to make the playground and its grand opening celebration possible.
“Brentwood-based company, The Parent Company, broke ground and began work in December, and just nine months later, here we stand," said Brentwood City Manager Kirk Bednar at the Saturday morning ceremony. "We appreciate their hard work and attention to detail along every part of the process.”
The 18,500 square-foot playground's equipment was installed by Custom Recreation.
Visitors of the playground can enjoy a kid builder arch swing, a kid builder ramp, a team swing, a tall double-wide slide, a hammock, Harry the Hippo, Calvin the Caterpillar, a frog sculpture, a dragon head sculpture, a team totter, jackhammers, a tire climb and more.
The park will be open from dusk to dawn, seven days a week.
You can learn more about this realized project on the Miles Together Inclusive Playground website.
