March 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 50

OPERATIONS
The 10th NRPA Parks Build
Community Project Begins
Signiﬁcant renovations in store for Orlando's Grand Avenue Park
By Suzanne Nathan

his spring, NRPA and the City of Orlando Families, Parks and
Recreation Department will begin working with generous donors
on the renovation of Grand Avenue Park, the site chosen for the
10th NRPA Parks Build Community project. Portions of the park
will undergo significant renovations as corporate donors and local companies
come together to transform the area into a vibrant public space where residents
of all ages can gather and play. The renovated park will be unveiled during the
2020 NRPA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, October 27-29.
amazing park transformations to
life. These projects demonstrate
our commitment to ensure every
person in every community has access to quality park and recreation
amenities that boost quality of life
and strengthen communities. "
The 12-acre parcel surrounding an
architecturally significant and historic
schoolhouse, built in 1926, creates the
perfect landscape for Grand Avenue
Park. This park was selected for the
10th NRPA Parks Build Community
project, because it is at the center of a
neighborhood in need of a renovated

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF ORLANDO FAMILIES, PARKS AND RECREATION

" NRPA is thrilled to announce
its 10th Parks Build Community
project, " says Kristine Stratton,
NRPA president and CEO. " Over
the years, we've had the distinct
privilege of working with donors
and park leaders from local agencies in cities where we host our
annual conference to bring these

Parks & Recreation

public space to serve the community.
In addition, the City of Orlando Families, Parks and Recreation Department is planning multiple recreation
enhancements and programs, including the renovation of the adjacent
community center, making the overall
project a community jewel.
Lisa Early, City of Orlando Families, Parks and Recreation director,
says, " Playgrounds are such an integral part of childhood. I'll never forget the wonderful experiences I was
lucky to enjoy, swinging on swings
and sliding down slides when I was a
child. Residents of the neighborhood
surrounding Grand Avenue Park feel
the same way, and they're thrilled to
know that their beloved and historic
park and its playgrounds are being
renovated, and that now their own
children will be able to build beloved
memories there. I'm deeply grateful to the National Recreation and
Park Association for supporting the
Grand Avenue Park renovation, and
I know the residents of this great
neighborhood are grateful, too. "
In 1938, the Grand Avenue site
was selected as one of four new
summer playgrounds with activities
supervised by the city's then Recreation Department in partnership
with the PTAs in the area. The purpose was to promote recreation for
children, and it did for many years.
Decades later, the school was slatThe land surrounding a 1926 schoolhouse will serve as the grounds for the
10th NRPA Parks Build Community
Project.

| M A R C H 2 02 0 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G

March 2020 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2020 - Parks & Recreation