Merced County receives $3.5M in funding for new park in Franklin-Beachwood community

Merced County will receive $3.5 million in state funding for the construction of a new park in the Franklin-Beachwood community.

California State Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria presented a check for the funds to Merced County Board of Supervisors and community members during a ceremony Tuesday at the roughly 18-acre park site along Ranchero Lane near Joe Stefani Elementary School.

The Franklin-Beachwood community is located in District 3, which is the only district in the county that doesn’t have a regional park, according to Merced County District 3 Supervisor Daron McDaniel. McDaniel said in all, it has been about a 10-year process and he has been advocating for a park in the district since he was elected to the position in 2014.

“When I first ran – when I met this community, the first thing they said is they wanted a park and they wanted a community center,” said McDaniel. “So from that day forward, that’s been our focus out here.”

Numerous community meetings including online calls during the COVID-19 pandemic, were held to to receive input from Franklin-Beachwood area residents about their vision for the proposed park. McDaniel said the county also sought input from area elementary and high school children about the various amenities they wanted to see included in the park.

McDaniel said the park is expected to feature a lit walking path throughout, a community center, a picnic area, soccer field, basketball court and green space.

According to McDaniel, with $3.5 million in state funds secured by Soria during the 2023-2024 state budget process and just over $3 million the county received through a state greening grant, the project is expected to cost around $7 million in total.

Soria said she is excited about the $3.5 million in state funding secured for the park and the transformation it will bring to the neighborhood. Soria said that when she spoke with the Merced County Board of Supervisors earlier in the year about where they would like to prioritize state investment, Franklin-Beachwood was one of the priorities that rose to the top.

“For me this was an easy project to advocate for,” said Soria. “I’m an avid advocate for green spaces in communities like Franklin-Beachwood.”

Soria said the project seemed worthy enough for state funding and added that the beautiful part of the community’s involvement in the planning process is that they get to see a park built in the way they envision with amenities they desire.

“This is our way of demonstrating to this community in Franklin and Beachwood who have been waiting for 10 years, that we care about them and that we’re willing to invest in them because we know it is going to be really impactful and it’s going to make positive changes for the generations to come,” said Soria.

According to McDaniel, the county is expected to break ground on the park in the spring.

“This is a long time coming,” said McDaniel. “I’m not celebrating completely yet. But this is definitely part of the steps in the process. I’ll probably be celebrating a little more in the spring time when we put the shovels in the ground.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 12:59 PM.