YAKIMA - Miller Park has long been in the center of one of Yakima City's most underserved communities.

Exactly 100 years after it was opened, it is now looked at as one of the most up to date parks in the area.

"I am just overjoyed that this project is now completed," Rod Bryant, the chairman of the Yakima Parks & Recreation commission, said. "This is what happens when community partners come together and put the effort forward to create something like this."

For the last few years, the city, local lawmakers and the community have been working tirelessly to revitalize Miller Park.

Drew Harris was one of the people that got the renovation project started.

He says as a kid, he would come to this park to play basketball twice a day, which helped him get a full-ride scholarship to Seattle U.

Watching other kids in the park and hearing their stories helped motivate him to make a change.

"When we first got started, a lady came up to us and thanked us for just what we were doing, and she was kind of embarrassed. She said she had to take her kids to the alleyway to use the bathroom when they were at the splash pad. I think that really motivated us just to keep going," Harris, who was also a Miller Park Improvement Committee (MPIC) member, said.

That's no longer the case.

Much of the park was either added onto or completely redone to fit the needs of the community.

According to Yakima Parks and Recreations manager, Ken Wilkinson, this project consisted of:

- A performance area where Viva La Musica concerts happen every year

- a picnic shelter

- 6 standing mosaics front and back (Totaling 12)

- New backboards, rims, fencing and lighting to the basketball courts

- New playground designed for kids with all kinds of disabilities

- Restrooms

Nearby business owners say this is just the beginning for this neighborhood.

"We still have a lot of work to do here and with the support of the community and coming together and working together, I think we can make it happen. We're stronger together," Bertha Alicia Garza, Founder of La Oficina and member of the MPIC, said.

This project was made possible through community donations and $625,000 in state funding.

"Providing the funding is the easy part, it truly is. The rest of it is up to all of you," Curtis King, the Washington State Senator for District 14, said. "The changes that we see here are amazing and now it's time for the community to enjoy the fruits of everyone's labor."

At today's ribbon cutting there were multiple speakers, but it was just a small fraction of everyone who was involved in making this park better for the community.

All the speakers include:

- Ken Wilkinson, Parks and Recreation Manager

- Patricia Byers, Yakima City Council and MPIC member

- Bertha Alicia Garza, MPIC member

- Drew Harris, MPIC member

- David Lynx, Millenium Foundation Chair

- Bryan Sandlin, Washington State Representative District 15

- Rod Bryant, Chairman Yakima Parks and Recreation Commission

- Kyle Curtis, Yakima County Commissioner

- Curtis King, Washington State Senator District 14