Having paid a small fee for the property, Conscious Connect CDC’s mission is to reimagine and redevelop underutilized spaces for educational, cultural, health-related, and other impactful purposes. It is said that it is.
Conscious Connect CDC plans to convert its Lorenz Avenue and Delaware Avenue facilities into small parks that promote long-term health, well-being and neighborhood safety, said co-founder and vice president of the organization. A certain Moses Mbeseha said:
According to Conscious Connect CDC, the Placemaking project aims to address detrimental environmental sanitation conditions and provide local residents with convenient, walkable access to revitalized green spaces.
Conscious Connect CDC said the city has approved the project to provide about $250,000 of federal COVID relief funds.
Conscious Connect, which has also received approximately $90,000 from the Northwest Dayton Partnership, hopes to raise more than $610,000 for the project, but also expects assistance from several partnerships.
Dayton’s donation will help cover the costs of planting new trees and installing new benches, shelter houses, chairs, tables and signs, notes Todd Kinski, the city’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development. says.
The Delaware Avenue site in the Five Oaks neighborhood used to be a pocket park, but has been abandoned over time, Mbeseha said.
The property has a gazebo and benches, but the wooden tables and seats are rotting and falling apart, and the grounds are littered with trash and debris.
Neighbors say people rarely visit the park, mainly because it is barren.
“There’s really nothing kids can do,” said Re’Quaella McCall, 22, who has lived in the Five Oaks area since 2018.
McCall said many of his children live in the area, including his 8-year-old sister, Mari Edwards.
She said attractive parks with nice amenities could be popular.
The Delaware Avenue project is expected to be completed by the end of this year, possibly sooner.
The Lorenz Avenue facilities in the Westwood neighborhood will be combined into one space that will provide a playground and walking trails.
Both project sites have small free libraries.
The Lorenz Avenue project is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2024, and the final site plan will be determined using community and neighborhood feedback.
Dayton also recently approved $25,000 of the COVID Relief Fund to be awarded to a group called the Hope Road Organization.
The group will acquire two properties in the 700 block of Ward Street in the Edgemont neighborhood for use in its gardening program.
The grant will be used to plant new trees, install chairs, trash cans, shelter houses, and purchase gardening equipment.
Hope Road is focused on helping young people develop their character and skills through art and nature.
The City of Dayton plans to upgrade approximately 10 of its 46 parks using federal COVID relief funds and other city funding sources.
The City of Dayton has budgeted approximately $1.6 million for park improvements, but the city hopes to spend $2.3 million or more on improvements if funds are available.
Dayton also plans to create about eight new spray parks, and city staff are trying to decide where to place them. This will triple the number of spray parks owned by the city.