Comment by danenania

There's a proposal to redo a playground in San Mateo's central park—bids have come in around $16M.

https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4142/Central-Park-Playground-...

It's a nice playground design for sure, but it's kind of amazing to consider what could be built privately for the same amount. You could literally build a palace on a giant estate with fancy landscaping, a swimming pool, tennis courts, movie theater, etc.

Of course there are reasons why public projects are more expensive, but it does seem pretty crazy on the surface.