After several years of planning and research, the first phase of renovations are set to begin at the 200-acre South Kitsap Regional Park, on the corner of Jackson and Lund.

Highlights for the project include installing a new skate park, an updating the playground, adding and remodeling athletic fields as well as updating the park’s trail system. Two-thirds of the land will remain a natural forest, with paths.

The final plan for the park is slightly different from an original master plan adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in December 2008, following about a year of meetings and focus groups.

The new plan is “much more modest and cost-effective” than the previous one said Martha Droge, the project coordinator. Droge also said that the new plan was much more realistic than the previous one according to extensive feasibility studies about the land.

Kitsap County provided $1.09 million in funding for the project and $500,000 came in the form of a grant from the Recreation Conservation Office Local Park’s Category.

When the project is done, rental fees for the park’s athletic fields should pay for its maintenance, Droge said.

Kitsap County Parks and Recreation is currently seeking funding for additional park improvements including picnic shelters an additional restroom, additional athletic fields and an environmental learning center.

South Kitsap Commissioner Charlotte Garrido said that she still welcomes suggestions to tweak minor details about the plan during a tour she hosted of the park on Sept. 11.