Find us on Facebook
Follow us on TwitterNew City Park Will Befriend Environment
Published: April 22, 2009
When the city acquired the former Allen-Morrison Corporation plant site on Rutherford Street, it took on an environmental disaster. That was in 2003. The nearly 17-acre site had been cleaned up to an extent by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but it remained an industrial wasteland.
That is about to change as the city Parks and Recreation Department embarks on an ambitious project to transform the site from its former environmental nightmare into a cutting edge “eco-park.”
When Allen-Morrison, which produced metal signs, went out of business in 1996, it abandoned a cluster of brick and metal buildings. The city acquired the property through eminent domain with a plan to turn the site into a park for the Fort Hill neighborhood.
That plan has now become one that makes the park as friendly to the environment around it as possible. The project, referred to as “City Stadium Park” because of its proximity to the stadium, was one of 16 chosen nationwide for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program. The program provides grant money for the redevelopment of property with hazardous environmental issues.
That grant, combined with money from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, has paid for the early stages of the new park.
“Our goal is that this park will model sustainability,” said Parks and Recreation Director Kay Frazier, “and we want to use green building practices as much as we can as we design this park.”
Those practices will begin with the demolition of the buildings now on the site. The deconstruction, as it is now called, will salvage materials that can be recycled or reused in other city projects. They include metal, wood, lumber and bricks that could be given a new life. The ultimate aim is to keep those materials out of the landfill, said Frazier.
The buildings could be demolished as soon as this summer.
So what constitutes green building practices? The entire project will be as friendly to the environment as possible. The plan, which was designed in part by graduate students from the University of Virginia, restores trees and green space to an area dominated by concrete and asphalt.
The park will feature a multi-purpose athletic field, a community center with an indoor gym, playgrounds, trails, picnic shelters and pedestrian access to the stadium and Lynchburg Grows, another nearby neighbor.
Rain gardens will be a part of the park that will reduce the amount of runoff from rainwater leaving the site.
Frazier emphasized that public comment will be solicited for the park before any plans are made final. And for those who may be worried about the city taking on another capital project during the economic downturn, she said the park’s completion could be years down the road because of the lack of money.
But that doesn’t mean planning can’t go forward so that when money becomes available, the city can move ahead. Demolition of the existing buildings will be the most visible phase of the project in the near future.
The eco-park will be a welcome addition to the Fort Hill neighborhood, an area that Frazier says is presently “underserved for recreational space and park space.”
The result, when it is completed, will enhance that neighborhood — and the city. More than that, it will benefit the environment in an area where little or no regard for the environment has been shown over the years.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Packer what you say in theory makes a lot of sense. In practice, well that’s an entirely different matter. A bankrupt nation will not survive, clean environment or septic tank. Unfortunately our government, at all levels, creates more problems than it solves. And the environment is no exception. Mark my word. The government will screw this up as well. And the environment will actually suffer consequently. Remember,the executive branch is only one branch but Obama did chose to appoint many of the usual suspects who are career govt. servants and contributed to this mess. And many of our legislators have been in office for a very long time so I have a real problem with having any confidence in those incompetents.
Of course, we’ve steered off course a bit. I remind you my original point was that the city has no business proceeding with its plan for this eco-park nor should it be partnering with an ineffective and corrupt organization like Lynchburg Grows. Although an interesting thought just came to mind. Since the city has no money to fund the project perhaps they could barter organic vegetables or other cash crops for building costs.
packer - per Obama’s own budget projections, there is no reduction in the deficit. There’s an enormous amount of say one thing, but we’re doing another with this administration. As for the “jury’s out on the current debt”, there’s no evidence in favor of the administration, 90 days or not.
goodcarp, the government might have failed us and it is certain that the markets have failed us. The current government has only been in office for 3 months…a bit early to say it has failed us.
You might be liberal, you might be right wing…it matters not to me. I know that the way our society has worked for the last many years has really not worked as it is culminating in where we are today.
You might think that not taking government money to improve our environment and our quality of life is a good thing, that economic responsibility comes first. You say you want good water and air, etc. Yet, you also say that, basically, we can’t afford it now. I say that air, water, and quality of life come first and that we need to get our priorities straight.
Our security ain’t based on credit default swap investments. Its based on the earth on which we live.
And, the jury’s out on the current debt. Are you willing to give more than 90 days to an administration who says it will cut spending to bring the deficit (a deficit maybe necessitating government spending) back down?
No worries Jimm. We all seem quick to label one either left or right these days. I will take issue with the suggestion that the government wasn’t at the very least as culpable as the private sector in this mess. Probably more. They are the ones, after all, who hold the purse strings. What we should all agree on, however, is spending must be restrained and this astronomical debt reduced. You made fun of an earlier comment re: the chinese. Keep laughing. This is very, very different from the Japanese situation of the 1980s. For one thing, no dot.com boom is on the horizon to rescue us this time. I firmly believe that the govt. has failed us. And I don’t believe failure should be rewarded with greater power.
Mr. Carp you are the one that stated that I had ilk which indicated to me that your ilk is/are the opposite of mine. If I have erred, sorry.
Nonetheless you seem to be in right-wing panic/ blame mode. If not, then again, sorry.
The government has a place in our lives and it will become a bigger place for the markets have failed us, if you happened to notice. Perhaps it wasn’t the government’s fault. Whoa, what a radical thought since you seem to be in blame the government mode. That’s OK for I am part of the government and so are you.
Wow Jimm you seem to know a lot about me based on only a few brief posts. I bet you think I’m a republican too. You’re dead wrong on your first point. Not all projects are a combination of public and private money. Not even close. And by admitting that you don’t know where the money you will come from you are once again putting your faith in the very hands that has spent us into massive debt. I am confident that the immense promise that the so-called “green movement” holds will be squandered by meddlesome and incompetent government at all levels. You and I agree on much believe it or not. Where we part ways is on the role the government should play in this and what our priorities should be in the current economic climate.
I’m not sure where the numbers come from but financing will be a combination of public and private money as all projects happen to be. There is money to be had from environmental and green organizations.
Politically, you just don’t like this but then you are dead wrong, anyway.
Green will be the wave of the future or as you seem to think, there will be no future. This is interesting since your particular philosophy is what got us to this point anyway.
OK then answer a simple question. Let’s say this new green park will cost $15 million (conservative estimate). Where will that money come from?
Man, once you know you have ilk, you got troubles, right here in River City.
I was wrong, the sky has fallen and broken to bits. Oh, the conservative/republican humanity.
And the Chinese bogeyman of the 2000’s and has replaced the Japanese of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Remember when they ruled the world and owned this country?
The world is a scary place for scared people, isn’t that right carp?
goodcarp, not a dream world at all. A realistic world.
Like bigjimm alludes, the sky is probably not falling. Rarely does. It is time for a reset in our values. Maybe you can say that is a dream world; it was a dream world that got us here in this mess in the first place, the belief that money is most important, that our economy is everything. That world is a world of a pure free market where business is unregulated and we all make as much money as we want, own all we want, drive all we want, etc. at someone else’s expense. Unfortunately, it’s are our, yours and my expense.
Interesting that we’d bail out banks and investment firms where money is made is so many artificial ways and not put much of a dime towards climate change or repairing environmental damage, all very real.
What’s going to support us most in the future? We’re going to have to change our values because what we are doing is not sustainable at all.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement