Several grants for parks around Southwest Michigan were announced by the state this week, and one is for a brand-new park being planned in Chikaming Township.

Chikaming Township Supervisor David Bunte tells us the new Kohn Park will be located at 5844 Sawyer Road, the former site of an old fire station that was torn down a few years ago. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday announced the project will receive a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant of $327,000. Bunte says the township is thrilled.

“It puts us just under $100,000 short of our goal, but we’re continuing our fundraising and will continue until completion,” Bunte said.

The total fundraising goal to get the new park built is $650,000 and Bunte says the township has so far managed to raise $230,000 locally. He says several additional grant applications for the park have been submitted, and the project is well-suited for approval.

“We have no green space or park in that area, in the Sawyer area. The closest park to that location is Harbert Park, so we thought it was a needed addition for the community. We worked really, really hard on the grant application and made sure that the park was multi-activity based and also all handicapped accessible.”

Bunte says township planners intentionally put a lot of features into the park plan that would help it qualify for grants.

When finished, the roughly one quarter of an acre park will include green space, native plantings, a gazebo, a children’s music station, bike racks, a dog area, pathways, and space for entertainment.

If all goes well, construction could begin in the summer.