A major renovation project is underway at McCahill Park in Fox Chapel.
Over the past several weeks, Dun Rite Construction crew have excavated, moved large materials and equipment and performed other related work at the recreation site off Hemlock Hollow Road.
It’s all part of an estimated $820,000 upgrade that borough officials said is on schedule.
Detention pond installation and grading have been completed with next steps being construction on a loop trail, ball field and court renovations.
Borough Manager Gary Koehler said a majority of the work will be done by December, with plantings and landscaping addressed in the spring.
Council unanimously awarded the project in August.
It’s being paid for in part by grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Upgrades include repurposing the basketball court to four pickleball courts, renovating the baseball backstop closest to the playground, removing the one farthest away usually used for tee ball and turning that field into a stormwater detention pond and wetlands.
A walking trail, or loop trail as it was called, is expected to go all around the park.
Borough engineer Kevin Brett earlier this year said McCahill Park routinely floods. He said the project addresses those concerns by repurposing the least used and lowest point of the land at the park and provides other amenities for park users.
Koehler said many families from Fox Chapel and beyond use its playground and other features, and it was time to make the area better for generations to come.
“The increase in activity surrounding Annie’s Field of Dreams at McCahill Park was instrumental in the borough council and park commission recognizing the need for upgrading the entire park to meet the current needs of its residents,” Koehler said via email Oct. 29.
Other borough parks are used more for hiking and nature activities compared to McCahill, according to Mayor Alex Scott.
“McCahill is our developed park,” Scott said Oct. 29. “We look to improve McCahill by adding what residents are requesting like a more finished perimeter trail and pickleball courts to supplement the other recreational uses.”