JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD - The new Community Park at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is nearing its completion.

Construction crews have been hard at work in recent weeks laying the foundation for the four walkways that will weave through the planned green space located across from the Lewis Main Commissary. The area is the former site of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service mini mall and has been an open gravel lot since the building's demolition in 2020.

The project is intended to offer the community an appealing new green space to enjoy in the same vicinity as the nearby children's museum and adjacent splash pad.

Frank Winn, project manager for JBLM's Directorate of Public Works, estimates the park's walkways could be open to the public by late July, and that the park's landscaped areas will be open sometime after that.

"The lawn will be hydroseeded and will need time to take root before it can be used for recreational activities," Winn said. "Construction barriers will remain in place until the lawn is established. So, although construction will be finished, only the walkways will be useable until later in the summer."

The project offers great opportunities for future improvements through partnerships with AAFES and JBLM's Morale, Welfare and Recreation directorate.

Winn said already there are plans being discussed that could one day have food trucks and park equipment brought to the new area.

Plans for the new park were officially unveiled in November, and Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, I Corps commander, said he believed the area would become a prime spot for families to enjoy JBLM's summer season.

"It's going to be a great spot for folks to come to and experience a little bit of the view of Mount Rainier and just being in a community," Brunson said at the unveiling.