‘A once-in-a-generation investment’: FDR Park opens 1st phase of comprehensive overhaul

FDR Park has been around since the Philadelphia World s Fair in and specific of its infrastructure dates back to that time It was originally called Olmstead Park for the landscape firm that designed it and re-named after president Franklin Delano Roosevelt in In the st century the -acre park struggled with underfunding flooding and deferred maintenance It had not seen any considerable improvements in various years Until now The Fairmount Park Conservancy unveiled the first of three phases meant to reimagine and reinvigorate the park with public input and about million in funding from a variety of sources Last month it celebrated the grand opening for the Gateway Plaza which includes the Anna C Verna Playground and the million Welcome Center Climate-informed planning The effort was informed by the coming realities of weather change and included a comprehensive hydrology scrutiny The trick for planners was to align area priorities with the reality of the hotter wetter state coming in the future although this summer it feels as if the future is now All of south Philadelphia stormwater drains in that direction commented Tara Rasheed senior director of capital projects at the Fairmount Park Conservancy referring to FDR as well as West Fairmount and Cobbs Creek parks In we began looking at master planning opportunities in this park for a section of the city that is underserved in terms of masses space and tree canopies FDR Park is a real vital area for play and recreation which all help society vitality in our communities Much of the work being done at FDR Park is aimed at controlling flooding of the wetlands Paulina Reyes Billy Penn Multiple of the goals of the Fairmount Conservancy Project centered around the balance of nature water and recreational sessions In the end the goal is to create a destination that combines ecology recreation art and design We re really excited now because the gateway phase is the first portion of the master plan completed Rasheed explained With the Gateway Phase unveiled the next two that will open are The Nature Phase which will restore tidal wetlands nature trails wildflower hills treehouse woods and a nature playground Work on this started in and should be completed in The Picnic and Play Phase which should be completed next year in This will include a fieldhouse basketball and tennis courts fields and a picnic plaza The work is complex One aim of the project is to restore the natural wetlands while being thoughtful as to how to maintain and build higher ground to lessen flooding and create shaded space for hotter weather A view across the lake to the new Gateway Plaza section of FDR Park Much of the works involved removing invasive species and replacing with a mix of local plants Paulina Reyes Billy Penn Positive signs There are promising developments already During the initial work wildlife increased in the area that was being redesigned That allowed for changes to the final stages that were then being designed which led to the removal of a proposed golf unit and an additional acres being set aside for nature This work is really special There is no wetland of this size anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard and it has been a really wonderful opportunity to attract more native life Rasheed stated There have been challenges Due to a privatized golf program in the area there was pesticide runoff Invasive species had moved in to several areas of the park that were unmaintained for nearly a century The project took the opportunity to restore forest wetlands and fight off the invasive and non-native species in the area The ribbon-cutting event in front of signage at the opening of the Gateway Plaza section of FDR Park during its launch event in June Paulina Reyes Billy Penn The project is ambitious Portions of the roughly million needed to execute the plan has come from Philadelphia Parks Recreation state and federal funding and the philanthropic sponsorship of the William Penn Foundation Even the Philadelphia International Airport which itself sits on a wetland pledged about million to assistance the plan I think it s been a really great opportunity to combine a lot of requirements for positive overarching goals for masses space not only in the neighborhood Rasheed commented The size and quality of this park makes it a city destination especially with the increasing heat waves and impacts on state FDR Park is the first of its kind that is climate-focused and sustainability-focused And there is a deadline on this kind of work she added If we don t change the hydrology of the acres the city at large is at liability of losing this open population space with these really special and engaging habitats Rasheed noted Citizens input played huge role On a current visit with Billy Penn Ausra Mussett the planning and engagement project manager laid out blueprints for the project on a carpet to show particular of the details Accessibility was a priority so the park was connected to the Broad Street Line so those without cars could get there A lot of detail went into restoring the area s biodiversity too The Gateway Plaza introduces somewhere between plugs native perennials native grasses in what was just monoculture It was grass and all the same species of trees Mussett explained Visitors enjoy food and drink at the concessions area at the opening of the Gateway Plaza section of FDR Park during its launch event in June Paulina Reyes Billy Penn And upgrades were made to increase visitors comfort We have misters at the plaza for cooling Mussett explained And as our summers get hotter making the space surroundings resilient adding benches and custom seating was key The planning was not done in a vacuum more than people participated in the input process The group conducted surveys and workshops and engaged with population members in multiple languages to gather feedback Questions questioned included What is missing in these spaces What would encourage you to come more to the park What initiatives do you need to see here in order to make this serve Planners noted the feedback provided essential building blocks for addressing things like Bathrooms High-quality play space Food concessions Seating Lighting I can t stop coming by Construction on the upgrades hasn t been all smooth sailing however Renovations caused unforeseen flooding of the park s lakes in and certain neighbors and society groups objected to the changes made to the former golf module area popularly dubbed the meadows For a while during construction messages were scrawled on bridges benches and rails along the park s trails reading like breadcrumbs of opposition to the project Save the Meadows was a constant refrain with insistence on the sanctity of nature scattered throughout Now though Philly native Jose Garcia mentioned he visits the park with daughters Michelle and Esme every Saturday and Tuesday It s a fun time for everyone he mentioned I grew up coming here so I enjoy bringing them here as the space at last gets the remodeling it deserves My girls got so excited to see the park come alive It s nice to have a break from stress and just enjoy nature and watch the birds They have good spaces to cool off in the shade which is great too Another family Jasmine Rivera and her daughter Sianni enjoy the flowers and swings The playground area at the Gateway Plaza section of FDR Park during its launch event in June Paulina Reyes Billy Penn I started coming here in recent times when I learned about the Gateway Plaza opening I didn t know we had this park in the South Philly area but I can t stop coming by now Jasmine Rivera disclosed My daughter loves the swings and I love feeling the breeze coming from the lake Minho and Ara Lee of Philadelphia have enjoyed seeing the changes as well I ve been bringing my wife here for a very long time We came to the neighborhood from Korea in the late s and have been here ever since disclosed Minho Lee We ve dependably loved this park My wife and I love to watch the birds We come to the Saturday food markets best food by far As it got hotter and unmaintained I hadn t seen a variety of birds come by Now that there s different plants around you can see the birds came back Taking the project from planning to seeing people in the space brings satisfaction to the project band It s transformational it goes beyond updating and improving it and refreshing it It s a once-in-a-generation outlay Mussett stated FYI FDR Park is open every day from a m to p m through October The park hosts residents events on Tuesdays Wednesdays and on the weekends through the summer These include nature walks paddle boating and Southeast Asian African America and Latin American markets The post A once-in-a-generation venture FDR Park opens st phase of comprehensive overhaul appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY