Park board members and employees pose with the new playground equipment at Lucerne Park. In front is Rick Packowski, board member, middle are Sheila Wieringa, recreation director, and Shaun Gardner, maintenance director, and in the back row are Brysten James and Joe Vetor, park employees who helped construct the park. (Photos by Maggie Kenworthy)

WARSAW — After getting a whole new look and equipment, Lucerne Park is fully remodeled and open for public use.

Before the upgrade, Lucerne Park was home to old, wooden play structures that were starting to rot and becoming unsafe for children.

“The total park has really taken a total change,” said Rick Packowski, park board member. “It’s really cleaned up.”

The most notable additions to the park are the new outdoor fitness equipment, the parent-child swing and the disc golf course.

The Apollo 12 outdoor exercise equipment was installed with parents in mind. The idea is that parents can work out while still allowing their children to play at the park under their supervision. The equipment allows five people to work out at once with 12 different exercises available for the whole body.

The exercise equipment was originally designed for jail use, which makes it vandalism proof and perfect for an outdoor park. Lucerne Park is the only park in Warsaw that currently offers outdoor exercise equipment like this.

The parent-child swing is also a new edition to Warsaw parks. Park department employees had seen these swings popping up in nearby parks and decided to install one in Lucerne park to see if the public would enjoy it. The swing allows the child and parent to swing on the same seat, allowing the parent full control on the swing’s movement.

“We thought about this park long and hard,” said Shaun Gardner, maintenance director. “It offers a little bit for everyone.

“Just come out and enjoy it,” continued Gardner. “Lucerne is kind of like a hidden gem. A lot of people don’t realize it’s even here.”

Even though Gardner says the park is hidden to many, employees have noticed a large uptick in park usage since the remodel. Thier hope is that even more people will discover the new equipment and come out to take advantage of it while the weather’s still nice.