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The one-acre playground, which features equipment that can be used by children of various abilities, is part of a $12 million building frenzy at Kinetic Park in Dardenne Prairie that also includes an indoor pickleball facility, a new park entrance, expanded restrooms, and a “state-of-the-art e-sports arena.�

“As a special education teacher, it makes my heart sing to know that pretty much all children will be able to interact and play alongside one another,� said St. Peters resident Joyce Rebmann, a frequent visitor of the park.

The project is the latest in a growing, nationwide trend of building playgrounds that can be useful for everyone, including those with autism, intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, and other mental or physical disabilities, according to a 2022 report from the .

The playground will cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, and it will incorporate traditional playground elements such as slides and swings, but it will also have ground-level play areas such as drums, xylophones, a spiral log maze, and a spinner, the modern iteration of the merry-go-round. Construction is expected to be complete sometime in 2024, said Ryan Graham, parks director for St. Charles County.

Kinetic Park’s latest building boom, which began earlier this year, is the second of three planned construction phases. The third, which is still being developed, is slated to include a splash pad and a big wheel race track. The park, built in 2003 and renamed three years ago, already has a 33,000-square-foot asphalt skate course — the largest of its kind in Missouri — in addition to a 30,000-square-foot cycling pump track, a rock climbing wall and other features.

“We are hoping that when this work is completed that Kinetic Park will appeal to a broader range of citizens in the county,� Graham said.

Another landmark feature of Kinetic Park’s overhaul is the construction of an e-sports arena. The arena, Graham said, will allow game users to host friendly competitions and eventually host tournaments at the park.

“We are looking at this as a truly growing field in parks and recreation,� Graham said. The arena will offer a variety of games, ranging from Mario Kart to sports games.

The skate area is what recently brought Rebmann and Jackson Swetitch, a 12-year-old from Weldon Spring, to the park. Rebmann works as a nanny for Jackson’s parents.

Rebmann said she and Jackson visit more than a half-dozen municipal and county-owned parks throughout the summer, and Kinetic Park ranks as one of their favorites.

“What I like about this park is that there are all sorts of different things to do,� said Swetitch, who zipped away on the concrete ramps on his scooter.

Other inclusive playgrounds in St. Charles County include Cottleville’s McAuley Park; St. Charles’ Discovery Playground at Jaycees Park; O’Fallon’s Brendan Playground; St. Peters’ Kennedy’s Playground at Union Hall; and Jake’s Field of Dream in Wentzville’s Heartland Park.

“Our focus is always going to be on providing the citizens of St. Charles with the best parks that we can,� Graham said. “We think all of these new amenities are going to definitely bring people from all across the region to Kinetic Park.�