City officials break ground on renovations to Howard Park

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for renovations to South Bend's Howard Park on Wednesday.

The renovations will include a new building, a water park in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter.

Aaron Perri, the Executive Director of Venues Parks and Arts says the idea is for Howard Park to be a focal point of the city.

"We could not be more enthusiastic about the major transformation that is going to happen here. It's not the first transformation to happen at Howard Park. As a matter of fact, this used to be a city dump at one point in time. This will be a signature playground for the city of South Bend. It will be unlike anything we've ever seen," said Perri.

Construction at Howard Park is expected to be complete by early 2019.