On Sept. 7, 2020, a wildfire driven by 60 mph winds destroyed 80 percent of all the homes and buildings in the farming town of Malden, including the post office, library, city hall, and its only city park. With no place for shelter, town leaders huddled around a spare picnic table. They used a stray garbage can as a windscreen in the devastated City Park that soon became Malden’s gathering point for community meetings as the community looked to rebuild. In addition to replacing homes and housing the displaced, the community banded together and decided to revamp their hearth, Malden City Park. SCJ helped the community apply for and win a Department of Commerce Planning Grant through the CDBG program and has been developing an updated park master plan that will support a new community core.
In Late 2021, SCJ hosted a community workshop allowing community members to help “design” their new park. The result included a new City Hall, a community center, fire station, library, and food bank. At the same time, it provided a variety of passive and active outdoor recreation opportunities, including two new play environments, a zip line, youth baseball field, outdoor fitness station, frisbee golf, walking trails, picnic areas, and an interpretive memorial walk, and restrooms.