The old shelter is down, a new one is going up, and one of Lawrence’s oldest parks will have a fresher look later this year.

During the past few weeks, workers tore down the shelter at Clinton Park, Fifth and Alabama streets, and began work on a new one.

“It will be slightly larger and will have a deck on the southeast side of it that will look out over the park,” said Mark Hecker, parks superintendent for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.

The new shelter should be completed by mid-April, Hecker said. Next on the “to do” list will be refurbishing the stone wall and then landscaping, he said.

“The stone work in that park is a fairly old feature, so that’s something we’ve been cautious to preserve,” Hecker said, noting that Clinton and South Park are the two oldest parks in the city.

Landscaping, including a garden, will be added near the wall.

The $234,190 renovation at Clinton Park is part of an overall $900,000 allocation for work on five parks approved last year by the Lawrence City Commission, Hecker said. Also planned is development of Greenbelt Park near Langston Hughes School, 1101 George Williams Way, and Burroughs Creek Trail in East Lawrence. There also will be work on the skate area at Centennial Park near Sixth Street and Rockledge Road.

At Sesquicentennial Point near Clinton Lake, a plaza will be built with about $200,000 in funds donated by the public, and the city will pay for building a road to it, Hecker said.