News
August 27, 2016Renovation Grant Announced for Ambrose Kennedy Park
“Vision, compassion, and tenacity pay off. Many years, many partners, many investments.”
We couldn’t have said it better, Sarah Hope!
In August, the National Recreation and Park Association and American Planning Association announced that Ambrose Kennedy Park in Baltimore’s Johnston Square community will receive a renovation grant for $437,500. NDC has provided technical assistance and support for the grassroots efforts to advocate for improvements to the park since 2013 and we couldn’t be more proud. Fantastic news for our Johnston Square neighbors! Hats off for the years of stewardship and hard work put in by our community partners at the Re-Build Johnston Square, BUILD, and The 6th Branch and thanks to the support of BCPR and Parks and People Foundation.
But as we all know, $437,500 for community parks doesn’t normally fall from the sky. This is what happens when citizens, nonprofits and city agencies work together! Over 5,000 volunteer hours have been logged in the park since 2013. A team of community leaders, local organizations, churches, volunteers have been chipping away at making this forgotten space an active, colorful and safe community asset.
Baltimore City Parks and Rec then added the site to its capital improvement budget and began a phased improvements, starting with depaving of old, cracked ashphalt and planting low maintenance landscaping to green and add tree cover to the site. When the recent grant opportunity surfaced, Ambrose Kennedy was a contender due to the significant partnership, engagement, dedication and need demonstrated over time. Stay tuned for more on the design and timeline for the park renovations as BCPR and Parks and People move the construction forward. We can’t wait to see this grand vision executed.
For more on the NPRA grant, see:
To see images of the park’s volunteer-powered transformation over time, check out the 6th Branches project album.
For past articles about community efforts to support the park, check out these Baltimore Brew articles:
