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Three parks in Suffolk are set to receive new playground equipment in the coming weeks.

The playground at Lake Kennedy Park is closing on Dec. 12 to start the demolition and installation of new playground equipment. The park is located at 1300 Blythewood Lane and will soon spend a few weeks out of commission for the renovation.

“The people are coming this weekend to rip it out, and it should take about two weeks to finish,” said Terry Baronner, the park manager at Suffolk Parks and Recreation.

According to Baronner, Lake Kennedy is the first of three playgrounds to be replaced. The other parks to be renovated are Sleepy Hole Park, 4616 Sleepy Hole Road, and Mary Estes Park, 220 Hunter St. Suffolk Parks and Recreation was able to fund these projects with grants from the Capital Improvement Program that keeps well-used facilities up to date and safe for the community.

Lake Kennedy Park has had the same playground for close to 20 years. Being the playground out of the three with the most wear, this park became first on the list to be redone.

“The lifespan of a playground is around 15 to 20 years,” said Baronner. “Lake Kennedy just has more wear and tear on it than the others. With limited funds, we had to prioritize based on how bad of shape they are in.”

The new equipment is coming from Miracle Playground Sales. Suffolk Parks and Recreation sent packets filled with specifications and a budget to five different companies and picked the plan sent back that best fit this project with the limited funding. Miracle Playground Sales has worked with Suffolk Parks and Recreation before in building playgrounds.

The new setup will include a swing set, bigger jungle gyms, and multiple slides. There will be two sets of jungle gyms and slides to accommodate various age groups of kids.

There are no set dates for the replacement at Sleepy Hole and Mary Estes parks, but the timeline to get all three done is by the end of January as long as the weather allows.