Jonathan’s Dream Reimagined Celebrates Its Grand Opening
On Sunday October 22 Jonathan’s Dream Reimagined, a revolutionary and completely inclusive playground that was built on the site of the original Jonathan’s Dream at the Mandell JCC in West Hartford had its official grand opening.
The original playground was built in memory of Amy Jaffe-Barzach’s son, Jonathan Peter Barzach, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and died when he was 9 months old of complications from the disease in January 1995.
The original wooden playground was torn down in 2012 due to wear and tear and safety concerns. After 5 years of planning, Amy Jaffe-Barzach and project manager Ronit Shaham opened the new playground to the public. The 25,000 square foot playground features equipment for all children, including swings with supports for those who need them, a tree house play area, a central picnic pavilion and features a wheelchair accessible basketball court donated by UCONN’s own Kevin Ollie.
The $1.2 million dollar project could not have come to fruition without the generous support of many. Shane’s Inspiration donated design services for the playground and PAC Group donated construction management services to the project. “I would like to thank PAC Group for the support, knowledge and services that they have provided for the rebuilding of Jonathan’s Dream.” said Ronit Shoham. “Tim McGinn’s services went above and beyond his role as GC of this project. We could not have done it without the PAC Group and Tim and we are extremely grateful for all they have done to rebuild Jonathan’s Dream.”
“The PAC Group is humbled by the initiative and wanted to contribute our skill set to support the project and create a playground where ALL kids can be active and have fun,” said Timothy McGinn, Vice President of Operations, PAC Group.
About The PAC Group: The PAC Group is $60 million annual company that has been Building a Positive Experience in the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts region for the past twenty years and has been proud to have been a partner on the JD Team for this project.
