Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and community leaders came together to celebrate the official completion of $1.5 million in improvements to Wilson Park. 

New improvements to Wilson Park included a splash pad park, sidewalks, picnic tables and benches, lighting and fencing, landscaping and playground equipment, a press release said. 

"Investing in historically underserved communities is a priority for us. Today, we unveiled major improvements and ... investment into Wilson Park and Pool, and flipped the switch on a brand-new splash pad for the community to enjoy," Keller wrote in a tweet. 

According to the release, other changes included renaming the tennis courts to the Becky Lee Memorial Tennis Courts in honor of local tennis coach champion Becky Lee, who died last summer.

The project was funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) which was administered by the City’s Family and Community Services department, the press release said. The grant totaled $1,538,308.90 in funding, and the Albuquerque City Council supported the design of the project by contributing $68,244. 

The Parks and Recreation Department made the initial announcement concerning the upgrade and improvement plans to the park in December 2020, but it took over six months for the total project to be completed. 

According to the release, Wilson park is a 3.6-acre park adjacent to the city’s Wilson Pool and Albuquerque Public School’s Wilson Middle School.