Playgrounds - costs and home values...

Hello,

Has anyone seen any studies on the initial costs to build
a small playground, the cost to maintain it, and how playgrounds
affect property values? There's some initial discussion about putting
a playground in our neighborhood and it would be good to have some
estimates of the costs associated with a playground.

Regards

Tom

And then talk to your insurance carrier for the HOA. That might deter you from installing a playground.

One thing we learned when we replaced our equipment two years ago - there are federal guidelines regarding what type of equipment can and can't be placed in a playground for commercial use, based on the size of the lot and the age of the kids who will play on it.

I believe the regulations come out of the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Your insurance company may have additional information on this too or you can ask the retailer. Be sure you select a vendor who sells commercial equipment, as it'll stand up to heavy use, as opposed to the stuff sold at the local hardware store, which is designed for a single family home backyard anyway

It depends on the sources you use. Those backyard ones alone are up to 1K a piece. I would give you an estimate of about 1K to 2K a piece of equipment at the commercial level. That's to cover delivery and installation too. If you contact your Parks and recreation department they may have some for cheaper but have to pick it up etc...

Another area to look at is mulch. There are a variety of safety mulches under play equipment. You can use old recycled tires to wood mulch. Each has their own drawbacks and have to be refreshed every year or so. The more Environmentally happy stuff usually costs more. We are talking mulch alone upwards to another 1K. That may be every year too. There is a whole industry out there alone in regards to proper playground mulches...

Here's an option we looked into. It's NOT a popular one. However, if you turn over your common area where the playground is to be placed to the city/county, they may install/maintain it. The BIG drawback to this of course is that property is no longer "Private" and any of the general public can come in to use it. It would involve changing some aspects of your rules as well. Like I said, it's NOT a popular option but it is an option...

There are Federal regulations on playground equipment due to the leakage of some dangerous materials into the ground. This may include arsnic, lead, and other chemicals. Some of the older equipment has proven to have poisoned children by them being exposed or digesting the materials around old equipment. This happened a long time ago so most of that equipment is out of being sold. It's probably equipment older than 10 years I would be concerned with.

There is a lot of aspects to the playground. A good estimate depending on size is a good 5K to 10K. It can easily go up to 20K. Keep in mind maintenance costs and warranties. A good playground would suit kids up to about 12 years old. I'd suggest a good swing and merry go round... We just had a basketball goal in our playground area. Which would have worked better if we didn't just have grass underneath it...