DCR Completes $600,000 Playground Rebuild at Dorchester's Pope John Paul II Park

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston and state officials cut the ribbon Tuesday on a $600,000 rebuilt playground at Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester, the first major upgrade to the site since its original construction in 2001. Department of Conservation and Recreation leadership, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides, Mayor Kim Janey, State Representative Dan Hunt, and City Councilor Frank Baker attended the morning ceremony. The new playground features two age-separated play areas for children 2 to 5 and 5 to 12, rubber safety surfacing, gated fencing, paved accessible pathways, and new landscaping. Theoharides announced that the Baker-Polito administration has proposed spending close to $1 billion in federal recovery funds on natural resources statewide, with $100 million targeted at park and playground investments. Janey, speaking on the second day of a Boston heat emergency, said the city had separately announced its process for allocating its federal recovery share and called the park "a great example of our efforts to increase recreational opportunities for our residents." Councilor Baker credited State Senator Nick Collins and State Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley alongside Hunt as Dorchester delegation members who drove the project, tracing its origins to former House Speaker Tommy Finneran's vision roughly 30 years ago.