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What the $13 million investment will bring to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

ABC15 takes you behind the construction fence to see what’s in the works

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By: Nicole Gutierrez

ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez takes you behind the construction fence at to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park to show you what’s in the works for the train-themed park in Scottsdale.

A multi-million-dollar project is in the works at Scottsdale’s McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park; here's what it will look like.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A multi-million-dollar project is in the works at Scottsdale’s McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.

“It changes the landscape of the park. It creates a new avenue for us as far as the summertime because we're so slow. So, it activates the park year-round now. We have our springtime, our fall time when we're already busy. Now it's going to include the summertime where we'll be busy, as well, too,” said Darryl Grimes, the Special Events Coordinator for McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.

The improvements have been in the works since 2017, according to the city. The improvements for the park include the following:

The new plaza entry that’ll be constructed next to Stillman Station.
A new building called “The Roundhouse” is set to be a 10,000-square-foot building that will feature an indoor play structure in the shape of a train.

New restrooms.
A 5,000-square-foot splash pad play area.

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?

A lot will be happening behind the metal fence that you’ll be seeing at the park as construction begins this mid-April.

Rendering of what will be the new entry for the park.

The “bunkhouse” will be removed, and a new 10,000-square-foot building will be in this place.

A little bit of history: “At one point in time, on the backside of this building, it was North Scottsdale's library back in the 1970s. So funny to say that this was North Scottsdale at some point in time. And then in recent years....12 years ago, this was...where the model train clubs were. So, all three clubs were housed out of this building, before their new model train building was built back in 2010-2011. And since then, we've been kind of using it as a storage space for the most part,” explained Darryl.

The new building will be “The Roundhouse” which will have a large new play structure.

“Once the new building is constructed, the main focal piece is going to be the indoor play structure is going to be the shell of a train. So, the cool thing about it is the kids will be allowed to climb within a train, they'll be able to go up into the smokestack, there's going to be a netting, so there's going to be three different levels that they'll be able to play at,” explained Grimes. “There's going to be a slide two slides that they can come down out of the tender. So, there's going to be a lot of interactive pieces and elements within the structure for the kids to play with.”

According to the city of Scottsdale, summertime is when the park sees a dramatic drop in visitors. The project hopes to revitalize the park with the addition of the splash pad too.

Rendering of the new splash pad at the park.

“We're hoping that the project will be complete summer of 2025,” Grimes shared with ABC15.

Current fencing surrounding the project at the park.

“As it stands right now, we're at around $13 million for the project. There was a bond project for the splash pad for this project here. As well as CIP funding from the park, from the city of Scottsdale, and the Scottsdale Railroad Mechanical Society,” said Grimes.

IF YOU GO

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
- Address: 7301 E Indian Bend Rd in Scottsdale

According to Grimes, the park will remain open throughout the construction of the project.
“However, there may be some days that we will have to close operations due to some demolition. That's to be determined. But for the most part, we will remain open throughout the entirety of the project,” added Grimes.

Click here to see the park’s schedule.