University Park is adding a major new playground this fall.

The town will tear up two older tennis courts near Wells Parkway and College Heights Drive and install a nature-themed playground. One section will be for children ages 2 to 5; the other for children ages 5 to 12.

The playground concept was developed with the help of eight town parents who visited various playgrounds and worked with the physical education teacher from nearby University Park Elementary to determine which structures work best, according to Mayor Len Carey.

The entire $262,000 cost will be funded by a community parks and playgrounds grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

“Our small tot lot is aging and used mostly by toddlers, and we were seeing many young families move into town and either with children or wanting to have children here,” Carey told the Hyattsville Wire. “People were telling me they would like us to update the playground. We decided it was more useful to build a new playground in a different part of town and to design it for a larger range of ages.”