Clark Park still under construction

This Thanksgiving, Penn students and West Philadelphia residents may have many reasons to be thankful, but completed Clark Park renovations will not be one of them.

Construction on Park A — located at 43rd Street from Baltimore Avenue to Chester Avenue — began in September, and officials set Thanksgiving as the tentative completion date. However, Frank Chance, member and former president of the Friends of Clark Park organization, said waiting for inspectors’ reviews caused the project to fall behind schedule.

Chance said he anticipates the park will be closed until the end of May or beginning of June because officials want to take the time to make sure plants are growing properly.

“They’re almost finished with the heavy construction work,” Chance said.

“Other than timing issues, there haven’t been any real big problems. Things are moving along quite nicely,” he added.

The renovation plans will provide increased lighting as well as refurbished green areas and a better drainage system.

Maintaining the revamped green areas will be made easier after the park’s completion, Chance said.

“In the old park … the only water we had was from fire hydrants, which is very hard to use for watering the plants,” he said, noting that construction workers “found a water line and will be able to use regular hoses.”

Clark Park is home to a variety of events and although they have had to be modified, construction has not prevented them from happening. The Clark Park Farmer’s Market is set up outside construction fences and the Uhuru Flea Market, which is not scheduled to occur again until the spring, moved to Park B during construction.

There will be “no activities in the park through the middle of the summer, just because we want grass to get a good chance to establish itself,” Chance said.

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