The City of Roswell hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of major improvements to East Roswell Park on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. Upgrades to East Roswell Park will include a new dog park, improved parking, trail connectivity, a new playground, ADA accessibility improvements, stormwater management, and other enhancements. The majority of these projects are funded by Roswell’s Bond Program, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November 2022.
“The City of Roswell is thrilled to break ground on several exciting improvements at East Roswell Park,” said Mayor Kurt Wilson. “Your Mayor and Council, as well as staff leadership, are committed to enhancing our award-winning recreation programs and parks, especially here on the east side of our City. This is just one of many ways that the City is making intentional and strategic investments to improve amenities and enhance quality of life for residents who live east of GA-400.”
East Roswell Park is a 40-acre park that has been serving the community since it opened in the early 1990s. Existing park amenities include multi-sport turf fields, softball fields, tennis courts, a sprayground, a recreation center, playgrounds, pavilions, a disc golf course, a dog park, and an art center.
In 2023, Roswell’s Mayor and Council approved capital improvement funding to support much-needed updates and maintenance, including stormwater pipe replacement, upgrades to several of the tennis courts, new outdoor athletic bleachers and player benches, athletic field scoreboard replacements, indoor ADA bleachers, and Recreation Center restroom renovations. The park’s existing multi-sport turf fields were also replaced in 2024 with funding from Roswell’s bond program. These projects represent an investment of approximately $2.3 million in East Roswell Park over the past two years.
The forthcoming 2025 projects—which represent an additional $2.5 million investment in the park—were identified as priorities in the Recreation and Park Department’s Five-Year Master Plan and include:
- A New Dog Park and Parking Lot: The existing dog park will be expanded from 0.5 acres to 0.9 acres and will include irrigation improvements, as well as new landscaping, sod, trees, and an additional dog watering station. The parking lot alongside the dog park will also be expanded.
- Art Center East Parking and Driveway Improvements: The driveway at Art Center East will be reconfigured to include a new turnaround and drop-off area, as well as additional parking.
- New Playground: The outdated playground in the southwest corner of the park, near Pavillion #2, will be replaced with all new equipment and landscaping.
- Trail Connectivity: The park’s existing walking trail will be extended from the softball field parking lot to the Art Center, providing a complete pedestrian loop around East Roswell Park.
- ADA Accessibility Improvements: Both park pavilions will receive accessibility improvements to better accommodate those with mobility issues. Additional ADA parking spaces will also be added at the multi-sport turf fields.
- Stormwater Management Upgrades: Erosion control and stormwater management systems, including water retention and detention ponds at the new dog park, will be installed to help mitigate runoff and prevent flooding and erosion.
The first phase of construction will start at the dog park and the parking and driveway areas adjacent to the art center. These two facilities will be closed for the duration of the construction, which is expected to be completed by late summer 2025, weather permitting. Construction will not affect summer camp programming at the park. The City of Roswell will provide updates to the public as the projects move forward.
The estimated total cost for these projects is approximately $2.5 million. The majority of the funding comes from the voter-approved bond ($2,217,600.32), with additional funding in the amount of $234,238.58 from the Capital Projects Fund and $100,000 from the Tree Bank Fund.
Combined with 2023 and 2024 East Roswell Park improvements noted above, the total investment in this park since 2023 is approximately $4.8 million.
