The park at 1st St NW and Florida Ave is undergoing a complete renovation by the city with an estimated completion sometime this October. The park has been closed, and contractors are pulling permits and finalizing construction details.
Once the renovation is complete, the community has a responsibility to ensure that the park continues to be a resource to the residents and children of the neighborhood. Everyone who has lived in the neighborhood is aware of the numerous drug and alcohol problems associated with the park.
Under the Bates Area Civic Association’s charter, a Friends of the Park Group will be formed. This group will work with DPR to coordinate maintenance, address concerns, schedule activities at the park year round, hold fund raisers to make improvements to the park and organize community programs. The Fiends of the Park will have the ability to seek grants and business sponsorships to make this a true community park. Volunteers for this group may contact the Project Coordinators, Jon Hasse at jwh.east@gmail.com or Brett Abrams at blabrams2@gmail.com. We hope to have the Friends of the Park in place prior to the re-opening of the park in November.
Timeline
- November 15 – Scheduled Completion of park
- August 16 – Ground breaking for the new park. link
- August 15 – Community meeting prior to final approval of park plans. recap
- July 9 – Contractor approved
Park Planning and updates
- Florida Ave Park Meeting – Aug 15
- Good News? About the Renovations of the Florida Avenue Park – 7/6/2011
- Department of Parks and Recreation Makes Progress on Florida Ave/First Park – 6/12/11
- Update on Renovations of Florida Avenue and First ST Park – 5/2/2011
- OPEFM Fed 2011 report – Page 29
- Renovations at Florida Ave Park in the works – 12/7/2010
Park Events
The Park in the News
