Orleans Recreation Committee Advances $3.5 Million Eldridge Park Renovation Design

ORLEANS — April 16, 2026 — Orleans Recreation Advisory Committee reviews a scaled-back $3.5 million Eldridge Park renovation plan after value-engineering trims it from a $5.5 million design. Regan Andreola, Senior Project Manager and Landscape Architect with Weston Sampson, and Recreation Director Tom DeServo walked roughly 25 residents through five design alternates that brought the project within the $3.6 million in available Community Preservation Committee funds, with the largest single cut — $820,000 — coming from deferring the entire northern park section, including a half basketball court north of the bandshell. The revised plan retains pickleball court expansion, a full playground renovation with trike track, two tennis courts, and a full basketball court, but phases out court lighting except on the basketball court, consolidates shade structures, and relocates the handball wall to a future alternate. Resident Rick Paris challenged the committee to include people with disabilities directly in the accessibility design process, saying "if you ain't on crutches or in a wheelchair or using walkers, there are things that will be missed." The town is pursuing a park grant and a USTA tennis grant, either potentially worth up to $400,000, which could restore deferred elements; bids are targeted for August with construction to begin after Labor Day.