Hunting Park a destination again?

[billy ross]

Michael Vick donation will renovate N. Phila. field

This is a pretty rough part of Philly, and to hear this about it:

"Looking forward, the conservancy plans to revamp the concession building and turn it into a healthy-foods market. Bike paths, more ornamental landscaping, picnic tables, a renovated bandstand, and a new recreation center are also planned. Michael DiBerardinis, deputy mayor for environmental and community resources, is optimistic that the transformation will continue now that the community has taken responsibility for the park.

"There's real data that the improved park that's heavily used is safer, and the areas around it are safer," DiBerardinis said. "Then there's the harder-to-define lift that a place like this gives a neighborhood. People are working together, getting to know one another, feeling more engaged in their community and more willing to give and volunteer. There are a number of things that I think I know in my soul. . . . I know it's real, I know it happens."

is pretty jarring. I walked around that park about two years ago, and I noticed that it was nicer than I had remembered it, but it was still more potential than reality. Can fixing up this park really stabilize the neighborhood around it and turn it into a neighborhood of choice? The Hunting Park neighborhood hasn't been on my radar screen as a potential high quality of life neighborhood. Even if it only becomes a stable ethnic neighborhood that would be an improvement over the park and neighborhood that I remember.

[eldondre]

hunting park/logan have fallen pretty far but certainly have the potential to be a high QOL area once again. sadly, shopping ctr appears to be in the cards for the logan triangle...no doubt a loq quality rendition that will do nothing but further depress existing shopping areas. I understand the park was a gem well into the 60's

[ArcticSplash]

The park itself is located at the edge of the neighborhood that's named after it.

I doubt this will do anything to improve the lot of folks who are living on the other side of Little Flower, which pretty much blocks the entire Park view from residents. It's not a central neighborhood square kind of park, like McPhereson Square where there's residents collaring the park from all sides--where a massive investment in that park would have a carryover impact.

May encourage some more people to visit and use the park rather than the junkies and hookers who trawl around it now.