A week before Thanksgiving, a group of bundled-up volunteers with the West Modesto Community Collaborative milled around the parking lot of the Second Baptist Church Office next door to the under construction Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
A line of cars had been wrapped around the block since 7 a.m. to collect free ingredients for a turkey dinner. A half hour after the 9 a.m. start, they had already handed out 100 turkeys – by the end, WMCC volunteers provided more than 345 families with holiday provisions.
WMCC Navigation Program Director Liliana Felix said the event emphasized the importance of having a community center in MLK Jr. Park to give support and assistance to the west Modesto community.
“Many of the families we serve are facing economic hardship and food insecurity,” she said. “Providing access to fresh, nutritious food is part of our broader mission to support health, and stability for our community. The heart is really the community. Even though we’re serving the community, we still have volunteers that come out and donate their time for everyone.
For decades, parks in west Modesto have struggled with aging infrastructure, limited amenities and safety concerns. That has resulted in an increase in crime, run down playgrounds and uneven paving, according to Parks and Planning staff. But two ongoing major renovation projects, at MLK Jr. Park and nearby César E. Chavez Park, are reshaping what public space can mean for historically underserved neighborhoods.
Monica Rivera, a 31-year-old mother raising four children in west Modesto, says she and her children are incredibly excited for the renovations to be made to both parks and to the WMCC building.
“With a bigger space, there’ll be more health fairs, back to school fairs and different activities for the participants here in the community,” Rivera said. “I also hope to see more accessibility for community members with disabilities, with better paving.”
Rivera has been volunteering with WMCC for over a year in between work and caring for her children. She is also excited to see what new resources and events the renovated building will bring.
The push for these renovations began nearly seven years ago, when city officials applied for competitive statewide parks grants funded through Proposition 68. Built in 1914, Chavez Park’s age combined with its limited amenities and historic underinvestment made it a strong candidate for state support.
Chavez Park ultimately received $8.5 million from the state, with additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and Measure H to cover inflation-driven cost increases and the price of renovations for Chavez, MLK Jr. and Mancini parks.
The renovations to Chavez Park will include a lighted splash park and aquatics center with a pool, expanded multipurpose rooms at the existing Maddux Youth Center, a vandal-resistant restroom building, a lighted picnic pavilion with outdoor barbecue grills, a basketball court, a lighted skate plaza and more.
Parks Planning and Development Manager Nathan Houx said both parks were in desperate need of updates and renovations.
“That’s why we highlighted these, since they’re all pretty old parks. They’ve been around a while,” Houx said. “We wanted to make sure that they get renovated to be a newer park and have some nicer amenities that are more suitable for today, not for 50 years ago or 60 years ago, when the parks were built.”
A part of the MLK Jr. Park renovation, the West Modesto Community Collaborative will also get a newly-built community center. The new multi-purpose building will feature plenty of natural light, a splash pad, updated parking, pathways, lighting and an outdoor plaza for gatherings.
West Modesto Community Collaborative CEO Perfecto Muñoz has been pushing for renovations at MLK Jr. Park for years, and specifically at their home base in the community center.
“This community really needed to have some place to get out of the house. A third space, an open space,” Muñoz said. “It gives the community the opportunity to have a facility to use for
community events, and even for social events, fundraisers, you can have music there, performing arts there.”
Neighborhoods around Chavez and MLK Jr. parks, which are less than a mile from each other, are among Modesto’s lower-income areas, where families may lack private yards, affordable recreational options, or safe spaces for children to play. Green public space in such areas is more than a luxury, it’s essential for health, community, and equity, according to Houx.
According to the National Library of Medicine, access to parks is linked to improved physical activity, mental health, social cohesion and reduced crime, especially when parks are well-lit, maintained, and offer structured amenities. Both parks are targeted to be completed by summer 2026.
Ximena Loeza is the bilingual communities reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at ximena@cvlocaljournalism.org.