New garden and park renovations coming for Chamizal neighborhood

Residents in one El Paso neighborhood will soon be able to enjoy a different kind of green in their local scenery along with some other improvements.

The city has announced two new projects that will soon begin in the Chamizal neighborhood of south central El Paso – including a community garden.

The Chamizal Community Garden and El Barrio Park will be just blocks away from each other in the neighborhood just north of the Chamizal National Park itself.

Currently, the spot for the garden is an empty lot on Findley street. Once completed, the 4,800-square-foot community garden will include shared garden beds and other amenities including irrigation and solar power to make it into a usable space for residents to grow things together.

And just down the street, El Barrio Park will be getting some improvements including new playground equipment and fencing. One resident ABC 7 spoke with said she appreciated the idea, and removing the eyesore of the empty lot.

“There’s a lot of big rocks, broken bottles,” said Darlene Rivera. “I’ve seen needles, dead dogs, because I usually go walking at the Chamizal, and this is my route. “

The budget for both projects is just over $220,000, and the projects are being funded by federal community development block grants. Construction on both should begin this month and is expected to be completed by August of this year. City officials will be meeting with residents at El Barrio Park on Monday to discuss what to expect during construction.