KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Lose Park in Williamsport is slated for upgrades in the coming months, including planting trees and adding an accessibility ramp.

A 1.8-acre community park in Williamsport will receive a major update in the coming months.

Sealed bids went out for additions to Lose Park at 1121 Memorial Ave.

The city has received necessary grants to add the improvements, and sealed bids will be accepted electronically via PennBid until 2 p.m. Feb. 17, said Jon Sander, city engineer.

Proposed work includes, but is not limited to, playground upgrades, basketball court upgrades, accessibility upgrades and an inclusive play area.

The project includes adding an accessibility ramp, planting of nine deciduous trees and making the playground fun for all.

The rehabilitation of the park will include demolishing the existing equipment and rebuilding the site in an effort to provide community spaces for residents of the neighborhood, including basketball courts and family recreational spaces.

The city did not need to go out to bid because it had Larson Design Group working on the draft design of the park improvements.

The project is expected to cost about $395,000, and is paid for through a $145,000 state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Grant and $250,000 of Community Development Block Grant use, said Skip Memmi, city community and economic development director.

Long eyed for improvement because of its prime central location to dozens of neighborhoods and sandwiched between Firetree Place and Memorial Park, located near senior citizen apartments, Larson Design Group provided survey, site design and analysis, construction administration and landscape architecture.

Over the years, the basketball court has been a location for fundraisers and is heavily used during the more pleasant months.

Construction at the park will include walkways, tot-lot and youth playgrounds with soft surface, and a community-garden space.

The community-garden also was popular as a planting location for vegetables and plants and added to the ambiance of the park itself.

Site lighting also is going to be installed for increased security at the park.

Formerly the site of Lose Elementary School, it was named for Dr. Charles Lose, a well-known educator and a former superintendent of the Williamsport Area School District; it was a building dedicated on Nov. 1, 1929.

Lose Elementary School closed at the end of the 2001-02 school year, due to downsizing. The students were absorbed into Cochran and Stevens schools, and the building was torn down and became the park.