Jackson Park's Splash Pad Has Its Money. The Rest of the Plan Is Waiting on Future Budgets.
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
At 815 Summit Ave., a 2,500-square-foot concrete masonry building with a butterfly roof still stands at the east edge of Jackson Park. The pool it served has been gone since May. Crews took out the 63-year-old pool, its decking, a restroom and an asphalt tennis court, and the old building was left standing on purpose.
That building is the clearest sign of how Medford is handling its oldest park. The city is rebuilding Jackson Park in stages and keeping what still works. It also has money in hand for only the first stage. The splash pad due in summer 2027 is the one firm date in a five-year plan. Every later piece depends on budget decisions the city hasn't made yet.
The Medford Planning Commission took up the Park Development Review for Jackson Park on Sept. 24, 2026. It voted eight to zero to have staff prepare a final approval order. Four days later, the city posted its phase schedule for the 10.5-acre park. The release says the park serves about 1,000 households and 2,500 residents within a half-mile.
That schedule replaces the earlier ones. A May city release put completion in fall 2027. A Medford Alert story in August described four phases, with repairs to the old building starting this fall. The current plan has five phases, and the splash pad and the building repairs are now grouped together as Phase 1.
Jackson Park opened in 1960. For decades it held the city's aquatic center and Fagone Field, which was Medford's main high school fast-pitch field. The Jackson Aquatic Center closed for good in August 2023. If Phase 1 finishes on schedule, the splash pad will open after three summers, 2024 through 2026, with no water play at this park.
The new splash pad will cover 3,638 square feet on the east side of the park, where the pool used to be. Plans call for raised and ground-level spray features, concrete seating, shade canopies, picnic tables, benches, bike racks and a four-stall restroom. The Rogue Valley Times reports it will be the biggest splash pad in Medford.
The old aquatic building is what makes the design work. Splash pad water will be collected, filtered, treated and stored inside the renovated building so it can be reused. Crews will replace the roof, the damaged beams and the ceiling decking. The building will then serve as utility and storage space and keep its mid-century look.
The site is also getting less hard surface, even with all the new features. The May demolition removed 22,363 square feet of impermeable surface. The splash pad, paths and restroom will add back about 16,091 square feet.
"That little cluster around the aquatic building is what we want to complete first," city parks planner Kim Trimiew said at a Sept. 2 land development review meeting, according to the Rogue Valley Times. At the Sept. 24 hearing, staff said Phase 1 would start "pretty immediately" and wrap up next summer.
According to the May release, the project has more than $2.3 million behind it. That includes a $780,593 state Local Government Grant, $464,498 in Community Development Block Grant funds and money from the city's Park Improvement Fund. At the Sept. 24 hearing, Parks Director Rich Rosenthal said Phases 2 through 4 depend on finding enough money in the 2027–29 budget cycle. He said funding for Phase 5 is still uncertain.
Here is the city's schedule, with each phase's funding status according to the hearing record:
| Phase | What it builds | City target | Funding status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Splash Park and Aquatic Building | Splash pad, restroom, building renovation, bike racks, shade structures, rebuilt path from the north parking area | Summer 2027 | Underway |
| 2. Fagone Field | Synthetic turf, refurbished dugouts, restored bleachers, wireless scoreboard, food truck space with power and water | Late 2027 or early 2028 | Depends on 2027–29 budget |
| 3. Dog Park | Fenced dog park on West Clark Street, double-entry gates, pet drinking fountain | 2028 | Depends on 2027–29 budget |
| 4. Basketball Court and Parking | New asphalt and acrylic court surface, polycarbonate backboards, fencing, Columbus Avenue lot | 2029 | Depends on 2027–29 budget |
| 5. Future Amenity Area | Use not yet chosen, new 10-foot-wide path | Not scheduled | Uncertain |
Some of the later items have been waiting a while. "I think the Columbus Avenue parking lot and that basketball court, all of that, just needs to be torn out and redone. It's in pretty bad condition," Trimiew said in September. Even so, the court is slated for the last scheduled phase.
Fagone Field is in a different position. It got new fencing, lighting, dugouts, bleachers and a scoreboard in 2022 and 2023, so it is already in better shape than most of the park. Rosenthal told the commission the field stays locked to manage paid reservations and overnight security, and that it is rented often.
The dog park plan covers just over 10,000 square feet on the north side. It will have two double-gated entrances, one opening straight from the Clark Street parking lot, plus walking paths, a shaded ADA-accessible bench and a pet drinking fountain. The 2028 date assumes the money comes through.
The plan also changes how people get around the park. Right now Jackson Park has three parking areas: a 37-space lot on Clark Street with two ADA spaces, a nine-space lot on Columbus Avenue and four spaces near Summit Avenue. Three regular spaces in the Clark Street lot will be removed to make room for the food truck spot by Fagone Field. Five bike racks holding 10 bikes will go near the splash pad and playground.
A new 600-foot stretch of 10-foot-wide asphalt path on the south side will close a walking loop of about 0.3 miles around Fagone Field. Much of the current path network dates to the 1960s and 1970s.
Phase 5 is the space between the playground and Fagone Field. Medford Alert reported that the site plan sets aside about 6,000 square feet there for a future amenity that hasn't been picked yet. The application says the choice will come closer to construction, through a public process with the Medford Parks and Recreation Commission.
That makes it the one part of the plan neighbors can still shape. It has no date and no funding, and the city has said the public will help decide what goes there. Parks and Recreation Commission agendas are where that discussion will show up.
Next summer is still months away, and the old Jackson pool isn't coming back. Medford's city parks list these other options, which run seasonally:
The city's parks directory currently lists Hawthorne's splash pad as Medford's largest seasonal splash pad. If the Jackson Park pad opens on schedule in summer 2027, the Rogue Valley Times reports it will take over that spot.
If you live near Jackson Park and want to talk through how the splash pad and the later phases could affect a home on Summit, Clark or Columbus, I'm glad to go over it with you in English or Spanish, and to keep you posted as the city releases Phase 1 updates. Reach out to Mayra Valencia. Let's Connect.
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