New Ormond-Grant Park Looks Great and Getting Better

By Annie Jackson
The weekend of Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18 was especially exciting for neighborhood residents and businesses in southwest Grant Park and Peoplestown as they celebrated the reopening of the playground at Ormond-Grant Park. The City of Atlanta’s official ribbon cutting on Friday was followed by a community celebration on Saturday.
The Friends of Ormond-Grant Park began working with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation on revitalization efforts in 2014. In 2015, the City unveiled a master plan for the park, which addressed many of the communities’ concerns. Thanks to the City’s generous funding, Ormond-Grant Park now has a granite seating wall, an ADA-accessible walkway into the playground, and new playground equipment.
What’s even more exciting is that additional improvements are on the way for the little pocket park. The Friends of Ormond-Grant Park were notified in May that they have been awarded a Legacy Grant from Park Pride that will completely fund the remaining renovations. The grant will finance a large rain garden on the south side of the playground. Rain gardens temporarily store rainwater to reduce runoff rates and pollutant loads in the local watershed. They also prevent flooding, provide habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife and create an interactive and natural play environment for children and adults.
The grant will also create a new access point to the park by installing a staircase at the corner of Ormond and Grant Streets. Remaining funds will be used to beautify and enhance the existing landscape. The Friends Group will work with Patrick Hand at Innovative Land Design to oversee these projects, which should be completed before the end of the year.
The rain garden, staircase and beautification would not be possible without the Legacy Grant from Park Pride and the support of neighborhood businesses, residents and associations who donated the necessary matching funds. Thank you to Park Pride for believing in the revitalization of Ormond-Grant Park.
If you haven’t visited Ormond Grant Park recently, take time for a visit. It’s a place where the community can come together to play, socialize and relax in a beautiful green space that makes the neighborhood happier and healthier.