The new playground in Delran Community Park is South Jersey-themed, paying tribute to Philadelphia, the Jersey Shore, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and Jersey’s agriculture industry. It includes a cushioned, synthetic surface that accommodates wheelchairs; wide ramps, sensory gardens, play equipment with braille, de-escalation areas for kids with autism and bucket-seat swings with harnesses so all kids can play.

DELRAN — Long before the bright blue, red and yellow ribbons were cut at the long-awaited Jake’s Place playground Tuesday evening, children had already taken over the all-inclusive park, a space built so all can play no matter their challenges.

Behind the bright red arch of the entrance, a boy glided from the top of a slide emerging from a replica of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, and kids ran through a red barn-themed clubhouse — an homage to South Jersey’s farming community — where a plastic horse poked its head out from behind the wall.

After five years of fundraising for and building the $600,000 park, it proved to be worth the wait for the hundreds who played there Tuesday. Lona Pangia, a former Delran councilwoman, began to cry as she walked up to the entrance of Delran Community Park on Hartford Road and saw the playground she’d first pitched to the township years ago.

“I have a daughter with special needs — she was classified with Asperger’s when she was 3 years old, so having a playground where she could function and operate and be safe was always a concern for me,” said Pangia, who dressed in neon yellow jeans and a red polka-dot shirt in honor of the park’s color scheme. “It’s a park where both of my children who are typical can play with my daughter who has autism. I’m so happy, it’s just overwhelming to see it all together now.”

After a meeting on a seesaw with the designer of the first Jake’s Place, which opened in Cherry Hill in 2011, Pangia knew she wanted to bring a similar park to Delran.

The new playground is South Jersey-themed, paying tribute to Philadelphia, the Jersey Shore, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and Jersey’s agriculture industry. It includes a cushioned, synthetic surface that accommodates wheelchairs; wide ramps, sensory gardens, play equipment with braille, de-escalation areas for kids with autism and bucket-seat swings with harnesses.

“There are all kinds of sensory processing features, like marbles kids with autism can turn around and focus on, and areas where you can read information about the Liberty Bell or Ben Franklin,” Pangia explained. “Someone who has a hard time processing can sit down and focus on something small, but they’re still in a setting where they can be around other kids — all these little things you don’t think of when you have a typical, functioning child that you suddenly realize you need to look at.”

Delran Mayor Ken Paris said the playground is a way to bring both kids and parents together, and it complements the neighboring all-access baseball field, which is made of artificial turf so wheelchairs can be pushed around the bases.

“We’ve had the intention from way back to have nice fields for people and make them handicapped accessible,” Paris said. “This park is coming along, and we want to add a walk-through trail and soccer field. There’s more to continue with.”

The $600,000 project has received funding from several large grants and donations, including a $200,000 Green Acres grant from the Burlington County Board of Freeholders, $100,000 from Fox and Roach real estate offices in South Jersey, and $50,000 from the Pennsylvania-based Widener Foundation.

The remaining contributions — just under half the budget — were small donations from community members and fundraising events, Jake’s Place co-founder Jim Cummings has said. About 300 volunteers helped build the park’s structures on May 3 and 4, and the rubber turf was added about a month later when weather conditions were appropriate for it to settle.

“Too often, we’re a little bit unattached to where our tax dollars go,” Burlington County Freeholder Deputy Director Balvir Singh said. “As a resident responsible for the needs of the county, I’m proud of the freeholder board for spending tax dollars wisely and giving back to the community.

“We all aspire to leave a mark with our longevity,” Singh added. “Jake did that in a few short years.”

The Pennsauken-based nonprofit and its parks are named in honor of Jacob Cummings-Nasto, who died at age 2 from complications of open heart surgery. Jacob had a rare birth defect in which he was born with half a heart. Physical therapists recommended he visit playgrounds for physical therapy, but most of the time he couldn’t use the equipment.

“We could build 100 playgrounds and it will never bring back our Jake,” said Lynn Cummings, his grandmother. “Today would have been Jake’s 14th birthday. Seeing the smiles and squeals of delight of every child who plays on this playground is our wonderful memory of Jake — so have fun on this playground, respect each other, and be really, really kind and gentle to each other.”

The Cummings-Nasto family also advocated for Jake’s Law, which was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last August and requires every county in New Jersey to have an all-inclusive playground. Delran will be the second Jake’s Place and first in Burlington County after the original Cherry Hill location in nearby Camden County.

“It’s not just a playground meant for people with disabilities,” Tamara Koveloski, a mother of two from Cinnaminson, said as she watched her son play with the park’s outdoor percussion instruments. “So it’s important for ‘normal’ kids to see that these other people with special abilities are just as normal as they are, and to have that inclusive feeling and play with them.”

Some parents of children with disabilities said they’ve struggled to find a playground in the area that suits their needs.

Nierra Conner, a mother from Willingboro, said she usually drives about 20 minutes to a park in Hainesport where her son could play, but feels relieved to have a new park close to her home now.

“This is important to me because my son King has special needs. He’s limited to where he can play, what he can do, and this park is his hope that he can go out and play, and not even realize that he’s limited,” Conner said. “I look forward to just allowing him to be free.”