Columbus Square is a wonderful South Philly park that serves a multitude of purposes. It's got a ball field, a soccer field, a dog park, a playground, a rec center, a spray field, a rose garden, and tons of neighborhood space along the outside of the park. But soon, it seems, this park which sits between 12th & 13th, Wharton & Reed Streets, should be getting a dose of reinvestment.
Last year, the Community Design Collaborative worked with stakeholders in the neighborhood to put together a conceptual design for a remodeled Columbus Square Park. If the entire plan were to be enacted, the park would see some significant changes, including the reduction of the size of the sports fields, the demolition of the "roundhouse" structure in the first photo above, an expansion of the dog park, and the creation of a new community lawn area on Reed Street. The plan includes some additional recommendations, highlighted below:
As you can imagine, the price tag for such an effort would be rather significant. Community Design Collaborative experts, who donated their time to this effort, estimated that the total cost for the project envisioned above would be $2.8M. We would guess that City agencies would pick up the overwhelming bulk of that cost. But to their credit, the community is looking to be involved in fundraising for Columbus Square. With that in mind, there's an event taking place on Friday, September 12th from 6pm til 8pm, at the still shiny Wharton Street Lofts in support of the renovation of Columbus Square Park. According to the flyer, there's gonna be wine, beer, food, AND fun. If you wanna buy tickets or just wanna donate to the cause, click here.
