After more than a month, the Phenix has risen from the ashes—the Phenix Community Dog Park, that is. Now the hounds of Benicia can rejoice.

The dog park, located within Benicia Community Park on Rose Drive, has been closed for more than a month to make way for the park’s first renovation in nearly 20 years. According to Gretchen Burgess of Benicia’s Canine Coalition, the park officially opened in 1997 with efforts to establish a dog park in Benicia dating back to 1993. Eventually, Benicia’s canines had a place to run around and socialize free of leashes. In its initial years of operation, the park had no lawn for dogs to run on.

“For three years, they basically ran on baked dirt and mud,” Burgess said.

In the summer of 2000, a lawn and irrigation system were established, making it easier on the dogs’ paws. Apart from the occasional reseeding, the park has not had any major renovations in the last 16 years, Burgess said. However, it was becoming apparent that changes would need to be made, especially with the dogs’ effect on the lawns.

“Within a few weeks, the dogs running around like they do with their big claws would have it ripped up again,” Burgess said.

The lawn was not the only issue the park was facing. Burgess said the benches, which had been there since the park opened in 1997, were also in need of replacement.

“Some of the benches haven’t seen love in about 20 years,” she said. “Some of them were rotted through, so they’re taking those out and re-establishing those.”

The Canine Coalition met with Parks and Community Services Director Mike Dotson, who began staging in April. Part of the park was closed for renovation in May, and it will have its grand re-opening Wednesday, June 29.

The terrain is among the changes to the park. The lawn had suffered in the wake of California’s drought, so two-thirds of the lawn area were cut. Now the park has sections where pooches can roam on decomposed granite, pea gravel and tumbled bark wood chips, the latter of which would prevent dogs from getting splinters. The lawn is still present, but now it has an improved drainage system, which Burgess says was becoming an issue, especially in the winter.

“It would get very muddy, and as soon as it would start to get the least bit swampy, the dogs running over it would just tear the grass to shreds and really not give it a good foothold to re-establish itself,” she said.

To combat this, a hill was built with a drainage tunnel. This will not only help drain excess water from rain, but Burgess said this will also give dogs more things to do.

“The dogs can run over the hill and through the tunnel and on warmer days lay down inside the tunnel,” she said.

Burgess says the park has been an institution for Benicia dog owners who have continued to visit it every day even when there were issues with the lawn and benches.

“Even if it’s raining, they’ll go up there with rain slippers, just so their dogs can run around and enjoy it,” she said.

Those types of people, Burgess says, are the ones who will welcome the new park with open arms. The new park will be just as much fun for humans as it will be for their four-legged friends.

“Their human companions are going to have a lot of fun watching them rediscover their old playground,” she said.

The park will re-open at 2 p.m., Wednesday, June 29. Dog owners are encouraged to take a walk with their animals around Benicia Community Park to burn off some energy ahead of time. The dog park is located at 540 Rose Drive near the X-Park at the end of Benicia Community Park.