According to Ellie Devyatkin, commercial corridor manager at the
Frankford Community Development Corporation, the name for
Frankford Pause -- a new park coming this spring to a piece of land at Frankford Avenue and Paul Street -- came about because whenever the el rumbles by, locals know to pause their conversation.
It’s going to be a unique and much-needed green space for the Frankford Avenue corridor: the result of dollars from an
ArtPlace America grant via the
City Planning Commission, and subsequent partnerships between Frankford CDC, the
Community Design Collaborative and the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).
In the process of pursuing designs for what was originally envisioned as a temporary park, Frankford CDC quickly realized that to secure the necessary funding, they had to think beyond a pop-up.
“We realized that we would need to actually build the park," recalls Devyatkin. "With all the effort that was going into it, it made a lot more sense for it to be a permanent park than a temporary pop-up."
That meant going back to the drawing board, but the work has been worth it. A design grant from the Collaborative made the initial concepts possible, while
Locus Partners ultimately drafted the final construction documents. Remaining ArtPlace America dollars will fund the construction -- estimated at about $240,000 -- with additional support from Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez’s office.
The CDC calls the planned park "a new hub of community activity" and a "flexible open space" that can host a variety of gatherings and events. The design features open lawn, flexible seating, a performance stage, plantings and raised vegetable gardens.
The latter will be made possible through $25,000 from PHS, and Devyatkin hopes that maintenance of the plantings and gardens will continue with help from the neighborhood’s many active gardening groups.
Seating will consist of benches made from repurposed plastic milk crates and pressure-treated wood, and wire mesh gabion structures (pressure-treated wood, lacing wire, mesh and rocks).
A distinctive aspect of the space will be bright pink "loops" that surround the space with stripes painted up the sides of the adjacent building and extend over the top of the park in the form of long, durable shade cloths that can be removed in bad weather. There will also be sound-activated lighting triggered by the passing train and other city noises, bringing new awareness to the urban acoustic landscape.
Devyatkin predicts that the park will break ground this spring, with an official opening in June or July.
Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Ellie Devyatkin, Frankford CDC