Cashman Park is a neighborhood park within Desert Ridge that is owned and operated by the City of Phoenix. Located where 44th Street and Pathfinder meet, just south of Desert Trails Elementary, this park gives the City and surrounding Desert Ridge community acres of open fields and traditional park equipment.
Cashman Park was built years ago, when the Desert Ridge Community was first constructed. Although well kempt, the Park is showing its age. Unlike, for example, Aviano and Fireside Parks, Cashman is not within a formal sub-association area and depends 100% on City of Phoenix taxpayer money for its upkeep. The City has not had the funds available to make many upgrades to the Park system and Cashman Park hasn’t had a true upgrade in 16 years.
The Desert Ridge Community Association views Cashman Park as an incredible resource available to all residents of Desert Ridge, and has researched the possibility of enhancing the Park through the City of Phoenix’s “Adopt-a-Park” program. With the help of the Desert Ridge Parents Group, local developers, and members of the community at large, the Board created a Cashman Park Exploratory Committee. This Committee oversaw communication with The McGough Group, a landscape architect, to draw preliminary plans of what the park can look like with creative vision.
The Committee worked to get input from various constituencies within the community to design a park that has features for multiple groups and interests. The preliminary designs show upgraded ramadas, a multipurpose amphitheater, new playground structures, exercise stations, a walking trail and a splash pad fun park. In addition, practical features such as xeriscape and landscaping to control water runoff and additional parking make this a responsible park for the community.
Members of the Desert Ridge Board met with the City of Phoenix Parks Board on January 26th to share the initial plans and ask permission to enter into formal negotiation with the City on this public/private partnership. The Parks Board approved this critical first step and now we want to ensure that upgrading this central Desert Ridge Park is done correctly. A project of this size and breadth has never been done before between the City of Phoenix and a Community Association.
We feel that an upgrade to Cashman Park will increase the value of homes in Desert Ridge and will improve the Desert Ridge lifestyle with an amazing amenity. Between approvals, construction time and Community Association budget, it may take a couple of years to phase in a completed project. Please note that the goal is to fund Park renovation with Reserve Funds and not through any increase in resident assessments.
In this initial development phase, abundant community input is critical. We have discussed the designs at the November 15th Evening Coffee Club, at Desert Ridge Board meetings and we’re setting up a meeting in late March to review the designs in Cashman Park itself. However, we understand that some of us aren’t able to attend these meetings. We’re looking for feedback, and want you involved in this community commitment. Please feel free to contact the Board through our Community Association office at 480-551-4553, or at desertridge@rossmar.com
