October 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 18

MEMBER TO MEMBER
That Must Be a Fun Job
By Paul Gilbert
[Editor's Note: Following is an excerpt of an article about the process of rebuilding the
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) Occoquan Regional Park
in Lorton, Virginia. To read the entire article, go online to www.nrpa.org/parks-recre
ation-magazine/2019/October/that-must-be-a-fun-job.]

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL PARK AUTHORITY

Those who work in the field of
parks and recreation often hear
some version of the same comment
when talking with others about their
career. Just under the surface is the
thought that such a job must be easy,
usually based on people's experiences with parks. When they are in a
park, people typically are relaxed
and having fun, and it may be difficult for them to understand the wide
range of skills and effort that go into
creating such an environment.
NOVA Parks rededicated a completely rebuilt Occoquan Regional
Park, which began with a 350-acre
property that it leased in the late
1970s and opened in 1982. Fast forward 40 years, and this well-built
park was ready to be totally reimagined. Since its rededication in
June 2018, it has performed better
than anticipated: The River View
event venue and Brickmaker's Café

Parks & Recreation

(housed in the Jean R. Packard
OccRquan Center) were enough to
cover the debt payment and turn
a modest profit for the park. Reflecting on the years of effort that
went into creating this space and
the planning and execution of the
grand opening day prompted me
to think about all the elements that
went into this park.
Every park has a unique origin,
but they all have a story that involves
smart, hardworking park professionals, civic and political leaders, community groups and more. An understanding of what goes into creating
these spaces provides a better appreciation not only for the park, but also
for the dedicated individuals involved.
Land Acquisition
NOVA Parks owns more than 90 percent of its parkland but leases the Occoquan Regional Park property from
The Jean R. Packard Occoquan Center at
Occoquan Regional Park in Lorton, Virginia.

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Virginia's Fairfax County. In 2012,
the county and NOVA Parks entered
a new 99-year lease, which opened
the door to planning and developing
a new park on the old property.
Master Planning
NOVA Parks brought in meeting facilitators from George Mason University's Center for Conflict Resolution
to conduct community meetings to
plan the future. Their inclusion meant
that during the meetings, all ideas
were heard and valued. NOVA Parks
identified all the stakeholder groups
it could think of and invited them all
to participate. Its board worked with
stakeholders to prioritize the many
ideas, and from multiple meetings
over a six-month period emerged a
vision for the park that was very different from the original park.
In addition to the River View
event venue and Brickmaker's Café,
elements to the new vision included
a rebuilt sea wall and plaza area by
the water, an enhanced trail system
internal to the park that connects
it to larger trail networks, a large
group shelter area, preservation
of historic structures, creation of
a Suffragist Memorial with a local
nonprofit dedicated to that cause
and demonstration of environmental design. A boat ramp and kayak
rentals were the only intentionally
retained old-use featureV
Read the article in its entirety
online at www.nrpa.org/parks-recre
ation-magazine/2019/October/thatmust-be-a-fun-job.
Paul Gilbert is the Executive Director for
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
(pgilbert@nvrpa.org).

October 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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