GROVES — Groundwork has begun to upgrade a Groves city park that was damaged during Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey.

City workers and heavy equipment was on site at Memorial Park at the corner of 25th Street and Taft Avenue on Friday.

Groves City Manager D. Sosa said the workers were doing base work as the equipment is scheduled to arrive any day now.

The work, he said, is to change the elevation of the park so it would drain better.

“In the past there were areas that would hold water and was difficult to drain after a rain,” Sosa said.

Weather permitting, the project could be finished by mid-January.

Back in late October the city decided to purchase the new playground equipment from BYO Playground.

Prior to last year’s storm Harvey, the city’s parks committee was in the process of planning upgrades for city parks, including the three-acre Memorial Park. The park as well as nearby homes were heavily damaged during Harvey, but repairs to outdated equipment coupled with upgrades was deemed a waste of money so the city decided to do the improvements and repairs together.

The turnkey cost is $61,000 and comes with installation. The city will then take care of parking areas and sidewalk in-house.

Funding for the project comes from the sale of portions of Lindenmeyer Park, located at 32nd Street and Texas 73. Voters approved the sale of the park more than a decade ago.

The proposed improvements include paved concrete parking lots, Americans with Disabilities Act accessible sidewalks, a playground for ages 2-5 and one for ages 5-12. There will be climbing activities, sensory activities, swings, slides, water fountains and more.