The dog park on 13th and Herndon streets in Arlington is little more than a muddy field cordoned off by a few lengths of chain-link fence. But by next year it will undergo a $1.5 million transformation to become an urban doggy oasis complete with gardens, a plaza and a swimming area for the county’s canine residents.

The Arlington County Board recently approved funding for improvements at James Hunter Park, which have been on the drawing board since 2007. Over the past five years, county officials hosted a slew of public meetings, worked with local community organizations and dog owners (or, as county staff calls them, “dog guardians”) and drafted a master plan for the 0.85-acre park (called a “community canine area”) along the densely developed Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.