Darley Park

May 11

Address: 2301-27 Harford Rd
Neighborhood: Darley Park

A community park built to manage stormwater runoff

For 15 years, you entered the Darley Park neighborhood on the main road; a giant pile of wreckage and trash would greet you.

Parks & People worked with the community and partners to envision, design and construct a beautiful park on a highly visible vacant lot dumping site at the entrance to the Darley Park neighborhood. A concept design was formed through a community visioning process led by Ayers Saint Gross. From there, Parks & People fundraised for the estimated budget through public and private sources. Because this was a post-demolition site with potential for treating stormwater, a unique partnership was established between the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The Departments leveraged each other's funding to invest in a beautiful community park that has multiple benefits. In an urban environment, creating a community amenity with water quality benefits on a post-demolition site is a remarkable reuse of otherwise derelict land. Other funding sources included Program Open Space, ESPN/Under Armour, Hydro Flask, and the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors.

Parks & People hired an engineer to design plans, navigated the permitting process, bid out the project, hired the contractor, and will continue to manage the project through warranty and maintenance. After two years of planning and design, the park began construction in March 2019 and was completed in June 2019. Included in the park are 21 urban trees, 4 large bioretentions for water quality improvement and flooding abatement, decompacted and aerated urban soils, native plants for pollinators, habitat and general ecosystem health, new benches and trash cans, a thoughtfully designed shade area with chess tables, beautiful paths with edging, and a lush lawn where there once was patchy, compacted urban soil.

The design and features considered safety and maintenance needs while also prioritizing community use and aesthetics. Where there once were dumping, mud, and undesirable activities, there is now a beautiful community park that manages stormwater runoff.