When Gary Rosen joined the City Council representing District 5 eight years ago, he got a call from Sue Swanson, who was part of the Columbus Park Neighborhood Association. She wanted to talk about Coes Pond.

“I said ‘Ya, that beach is awful,’” Rosen said. “If you remember – the vandalized closed beach house. It was terrible, so decrepit. The beach itself needed new sand. We had to do some cutting back of overgrowth. There were a lot of issues here.”

Rosen noted that the beach was abandoned for years. 

Swanson though was focused on the Coes Knife property down the street. And so they met with more neighbors in the area. They talked about the entire area. Rosen had a vision to improve the area.

“There was a heckler that day,” Rosen said. “He said ‘Oh, Rosen, you’re not going to do anything. The city’s not going to do anything with that property…’ Well look what we have done with Coes Pond.”

The City of Worcester broke ground on the improvements at John J. Binienda Memorial Beach at Coes Pond Tuesday, marking the start to a new project that will include parking and more access to the water.

The improvements will include a new parking lot and accessible canoe and kayak launch. =

“It continues our theme of accessibility, access here for everyone” said Rosen, who was previously the chair of the Youth, Parks and Recreation Committee.

The project will be an extension of Coes Park, which is a community playground and multi-generational park. The area includes the region’s first state-of-the-art universally accessible equipment. There are also approximately five miles of walking trails.

“We really focused over the last several years on green space and blue space here in the City of Worcester,” Mayor Joe Petty said. “It’s made a difference…It’s going to a good cause. I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done as a City.”

City Councilor Matt Wally spoke to how each year he’s been at a different ribbon cutting around Coes Pond. There was the park, the naming of the John J. Binienda Memorial Beach, parking, and more.

“It shows a commitment over time,” Wally said. “It’s not just one and done. We commit to do something, and everytime we say we need more and more and more.”

City Manager Ed Augustus said that the project is close to his heart, as he grew up nearby. 

“It allows us to invest in every single neighborhood,” Augustus said. “We’re making sure it’s constantly updated to meet the needs of the communities…Every parks project that we do ensures that that park and facility is completely accessible…This is their park too.”

Wally added that there will hopefully be work done across the street from John J. Binienda Memorial Beach and that the current accessibility project at the beach will complement the future construction and vica versa.

Augustus said that the city will not only focus on the shore of the pond but also the quality of the water.

“It’s exciting to me. It’s not just downtown development. It’s not just new buildings,” Augustus said. “But it’s an investment in the quality of life in the neighborhoods of Worcester, and that’s really what it’s all about.”

The project will be funded in part by a $400,000 grant through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant program. The City Council and City Manager gave $600,000 to round out the $1 million project.

Petty said that the City has invested around $9 million over the last eight years in the city’s parks and waterways.

The project is set to be completed in the spring, potentially around June. According to Rob Antonelli, the assistant commissioner of the Department of Public Works and Parks, Weston and Sampson Engineers will help construct the project. 

“I can’t wait to come back in the spring and see people, families, children learning how to kayak and learning how to use canoes, and learning water safety too,” Rosen said.