Progress in transforming Parkland parking lot into community space

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A vacant parking lot in the Parkland neighborhood is set to be changed into a space where people in the community can come together.

The space is called Parkland Plaza, located at 2757 Dumesnil St. in Louisville. The area doesn’t look like much now but, there is a vision for it.

“The idea of being able to de-pave a parking lot and create green space is why we got involved,” Cindi Sullivan of TreesLouisville said.

The project is a partnership between residents of Parkland, the Parkland Business and Development Association, 1200 LLC, Center For Neighborhoods, TreesLouisville, and Louisville Metro Government.

“The Parkland Plaza project is one of a kind,” Sullivan said. “The neighborhood folks that participated in the better block wanted to see an area where they could gather, play, and see performances and have Wi-Fi access; that’s what we are providing here.”

The big part of the project will be a shipping container. It’s going to be used as an event backdrop and stage.

“It weighs about 6,200 pounds it will open outward so we can store stuff on the inside and have a backdrop for performances as well as that deck stage too,” Sullivan said.

The project will transform the area. Sullivan said there are five child care centers within the block and none of them have green space for kids to play in.

Parkland Project will change that. Local artist Victor Sweatt is painting the shipping container and a wall mural that borders the plaza.

It will reflect the “Parkland Love” theme established by community visioning and will showcase historic Parkland figures and scenery, a public natural playground with native plants, natural materials, and creative play will be constructed in an adjacent land bank lot.

Grand opening is expected be around June 11, 2022.  For more information, click or tap here.

Other funders for the project include Partners for Places, the Community Foundation of Louisville, the Arbor Day Foundation, Louisville Metro Council District 1, Fund for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Harshaw Family Foundation, Schneider Electric Foundation, the Louisville NAACP, Louisville Water Company, Signarama Downtown, and many in-kind contributions from Gresham Smith, WorK Architecture + Design, GuardTop, Trane, Beltline Electric, and Realm Construction.

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