A New Public-Private Park Opens at Columbus and Lake

By MATTIE WONG

This past year, the Lake Street Council has been supporting the transformation of empty lots on Lake Street through their Lake Street LIFT! initiative.

One lot, at the corner of Lake and Columbus, explores what a public/private park could look like and how it might operate.

Designed to be a temporary park because the original owner wishes to redevelop it in the future, this park had to be safe, sturdy, interesting, and removable.

The lot had some challenges that made these goals difficult. Hypodermic needles covered the lot, meaning that to make the site safe, the top six inches of the original soil would have to be scooped and mounded into a hill, compacted, and then capped with one foot of uncontaminated top soil. This method starts the park off on a safe foot.

Natural materials were high priority, and the groundplane consists of crushed gravel, native buffalo grass, and teff. The buffalo grass will only grow to about four inches high, and grows best in hot and dry conditions.… Read the rest “A New Public-Private Park Opens at Columbus and Lake”