Park project needs funds

Although the plan to revitalize University City's Clark Park is well under way, the groups organizing the project are now making an appeal to the community to raise the remaining funds for safe playground equipment. The William Penn Foundation has offered a $50,000 challenge grant to the Clark Park Steering Committee. The committee has already raised more than half of the funds necessary to secure the grant but still needs $18,000 by March 15. The proposal calls for safe, code-compliant playground equipment to be built and maintained in Clark Park, which is situated between 43rd and 45th streets and Baltimore and Woodland avenues. The revitalization project began four years ago as a cooperative agreement to supplement maintenance in the park, according to University City District Executive Director Eric Goldstein. Goldstein noted that the UCD was struggling to maintain Clark Park due to a limited amount of resources. Many different groups came together to hold annual fundraisers to generate the revenue needed for the continual maintenance of the park, which included mowing grass, mulching trees and keeping the park safe and clean. Due to this "incredibly successful" project, Goldstein said, an endowment for the maintenance of the park was finally established. Friends of Clark Park then began a proposal for a master plan of the park, which included new playground equipment, and UCD offered to help the cause, Goldstein said. Initial planning lasted almost a year, and eventually the plan was endorsed by the Recreation Department, West Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell's office, UCD's board and other groups as well, Goldstein said. The planning committee "sees this playground as a very important part of the neighborhood," Goldstein said, and it is essential in a district that struggles to "attract and retain families and children." Because there are many families with children populating the district, constructing new playground equipment became the revitalization effort's top priority, Goldstein said. "We already have a great K-8 school," Goldstein acknowledged, noting that having a "beautiful park nearby" that was "full of amenities" could also be an important asset to the neighborhood. Although the UCD and other groups involved in the effort have only until March 15 to raise the remaining funds for the project, Goldstein is hopeful about the community coming through. Aside from word-of-mouth appeals for help, the groups have also been placing advertisements in a local paper and applying for grants. Although Goldstein acknowledges that the "last $18,000 is the hardest," the UCD and all of the other groups involved in the project are "hopeful." "We're closing the gap," Goldstein said. "I think we're doing OK."