Sean Collier Memorial Playground Could Be Built at Silver Lake

In March, Wilmington Patch reported that a memorial playground, honoring the memory of Sean Collier, the Wilmington native and MIT officer who was shot and killed during the search and capture of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, may be built in Wilmington.

Where Angels Play, a New Jersey-based non-profit plans to build its next playground to celebrate the life of Collier, but for months now the location has been unclear.

Now it looks like that playground could be built at Silver Lake.

Selectmen are expected to hear from William Lavin of Where Angels Play at their meeting Monday night about constructing the play area at Silver Lake.

Where Angels Play built 26 playgrounds in areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy in honor of the 26 students and teachers who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Each is named after a student or teacher who was killed in the attack.

Back in January there was discussion about locating the playground in Somerville, where Collier was due to be sworn in as a police officer before his death and where he lived. Collier was posthumously sworn in as a Somerville Police officer four months after he was killed. Collier was a Wilmington native.

In March, the Yentile Farm Development Committee meeting, Green International, who is designing the town recreational complex, agreed to work with town officials to determine if the playground could be built into the project. Selectmen Chairwoman Judy O’Donnell, who is also chair of the Yentile Farm committee, said the Collier family felt strongly about building the playground in Wilmington and within the new project.

According to the Where Angels Play Foundation’s website, construction on the memorial says the organization’s next playground will be built in the Boston area with a location yet to be determined. The company’s goal is “to create joyful places to play. To provide hope, recovery and a return to family values in the wake of senseless violence and tragedy.”

Collier was killed four days after the Boston Marathon bombings when he was ambushed in his police cruiser by two men who were the center of the manhunt that terrorized the state and the region, killing four and injuring more than 170 others.