January 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 58

PA R K S B U I L D CO M M U N I T Y

and CEO. " It's about building an
essential resource for a community
that needs and deserves it. "
The Site
For the 2016 NRPA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, the Parks
Build Community program will create a neighborhood park in the satellite city of Wellston. Located just 7
miles north of downtown St. Louis,
Wellston is a small city that was established in the mid-1800s and is approximately one square mile in size
with a little more than 2,000 residents. It was once a thriving tourism
and business center, but during the
past 50 years has seen a decline in its
economic vitality and, today, is one
of the poorest cities in Missouri.
Despite recent challenges - students being bussed to neighboring
Normandy because their school
was closed in 2010 for lack of funding and outsourcing of all services
formerly provided by the Wellston
Police Department, also a result of
rising operational costs and lack
of funds - Wellston residents are
still optimistic and have a great
love for their city. " Wellston has a
very rich history - it used to be

Great Rivers Greenway

The Parks Build
Community Initiative
In 2009, NRPA launched its Parks
Build Community initiative. This annual program examines underserved
communities in various locations
across the nation and creates a park
that's custom designed for the community's specific needs and desires.
Project sites coincide with the host
city of NRPA's Annual Conference.
These " legacy parks " are revealed
during Conference and, to date, include Marvin Gaye Park (District of
Columbia, 2009), Selena Butler Park
(Georgia, 2011), El Sereno Arroyo
Park (California, 2012), Shady Lane
Park (Texas, 2013), Lincoln Heights
Park (North Carolina, 2014) and Joe
Kneip Park (Nevada, 2015).
Legacy park locations are selected using needs-based criteria
and the parks receive an overhaul
in equipment and facilities that is
geared toward providing community gathering places for residents of
all ages, promoting a healthy lifestyle and connecting children and
adults with the outdoors. " Parks
Build Community isn't just about
building another pretty park, " says
Barbara Tulipane, NRPA president

Project partners at the site of the upcoming Trojan Park in Wellston, Missouri are (from
left to right), Chris Krehmeyer (Beyond Housing), Gina Mullins-Cohen (NRPA), Susan
Trautman (Great Rivers Greenway) and Mayor Nathaniel Griffin (city of Wellston).
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a vibrant shopping district, " says
Emma Klues, director of communications and outreach, Great Rivers Greenway. " [People] would get
really dressed up and go walk in
Wellston to visit the shops on Sundays. The community looks quite a
bit different now, but there are a lot
of people that live in Wellston who
have been there for generations and
are very proud of their town. We're
very excited to be working with
them to help them preserve part of
that legacy. "
The park will be located on a 1-acre
parcel at the southern entrance to
Wellston, along a 7-mile greenway
connecting the 1,300-acre Forest Park
south of Wellston to the campus of
the University of Missouri-St. Louis
to the north. This greenway will provide a corridor for people to travel
between the two anchor sites and for
residents of Wellston to travel from
their city to these areas. The greenway will also link to seven MetroLink
stations, providing further transportation links in the area. " What we
are really excited about is that idea of
being able to connect people to places they wouldn't normally go, " says
Megan Riechmann, project manager,
Great Rivers Greenway. " Wellston
residents may never have explored a
rural riverside but in [the future], as
we finish some of these major connections, they will be able to easily
get...to places they otherwise may
not have explored. "
In honor of the graduates of Wellston High School, the park is being
named Trojan Park. " The name of
the park itself symbolizes the pride,
love, dedication and commitment
that we have in and for our city, " says
Mayor Nathaniel Griffin.
" The community is very interested
in intergenerational opportunities,
and that ranges from a pavilion for
family reunions or gatherings to spe-

January 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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