Catharine Park Fundraising Now Underway
Catharine Park Fundraising Now Underway
Catharine Park Fundraising Now Underway
Just saw an email from South of South Street Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) indicating that construction has begun on Philly’s newest green area at 22nd and Catharine Streets in Graduate Hospital – Catharine Park. Work seems to be progressing well but funds seem to be getting a little low and the planning team is asking for donations. Donate at least $150 to Catharine Park and receive a monogrammed brick installed in Catharine Park. Donate $1000 to Catharine Park and get your name, or that of your business or cause on a wall plaque in Catharine Park.
UPDATE: Here are some updated Catharine Park renderings compliments of Andrew Dalzell of SOSNA:
Catharine Park History and Context:
The Catharine Park Project will open a 930 SF garden at the corner of 22nd and Catharine Streets as a public pocket park for the first time in three decades. Originally created by the Rizzo Administration in the 1970s in preparation for the Bicentennial, it unfortunately became a hotbed of criminal activity by the early 1980s as the neighborhood suffered through difficult times. Drug dealing in the garden was common, as was using it to break into the neighbor’s house at 2202 Catharine Street. In response, the City of Philadelphia closed and locked the lot with a chain-link fence preventing use by the public at large.
The Catharine Park project will transform municipally-owned open space from a neglected garden into an innovative public pocket park. Renovating this park will make adjacent underutilized properties more attractive to investment and will catalyze economic development, a core mission of the South of South Neighborhood Association. Lastly, with hundreds of similar lots around Philadelphia, this project will provide a template for neighborhood-based non-profits to create passive open space in their own communities. As Public Property Commissioner Joan Schlotterbeck stated in a letter of support for a recent application to a grant from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, “In our inventory of public property, we have many lots just like 2200 Catharine Street. We believe that the successful implementation of the Catharine Park plan at 2200 Catharine Street will inspire similar transformations at these lots around the city.”
Catharine Park Plan Components
The Catharine Park plan consists of the following nine elements:
1. Pruning the existing trees inside the Catharine Park lot for the betterment of their own health, to bring in more natural light to the lot, to improve safety and visibility, and to diminish the liability to the adjacent property. COMPLETED MAY 2010.
2. Planting a new street tree on the 22nd Street side of the property. COMPLETED MAY 2010.
3. Demolishing the existing concrete slabs inside , the concrete sidewalk surrounding the park, and the chain-link fence and curb.
4. Repaving 400 SF inside the park and adjacent sidewalk with reclaimed brick and permeable pavers.
5. Replanting shrubbery and perennials in three planting areas inside the park.
6. Installing new wood benches made from old joists from demolished row homes.
7. Erecting a low cast-iron fence around portions of the planting area using a locally-based metalworker and artisan, maintaining wide entry/exit berths at three locations.
8. Lighting the park with new wall-mounted lights to improve safety and security in the park.
9. Programming Catharine Park with small children’s play sculptures on a poured rubber surface, attracting families with only the second dedicated play area in the neighborhood.
Catharine Park Project Team
The Catharine Park project team is made up of a dedicated group of near-neighbors, design professionals and business owners who share the common goal of making this park a reality.
Catharine Park Funding
The Catharine Park project is financed by the South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA), the PECO Green Region Grant Program, generous donations from neighbors and numerous in-kind contributions from stakeholders.
For more information or to MAKE A DONATION check out the Catharine Park Facebook Page!
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Blog post compliments of CenterCityTeam’s Philadelphia Real Estate Blog
Frank L. DeFazio, Esquire
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors – Society Hill
530 Walnut Street, Suite 260
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215.521.1623 Direct
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888.308.1148 Fax
[email protected]
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