LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A much anticipated project in Louisville’s Parkland neighborhood is finally complete — its first public park. What was once just a concrete parking lot has been transformed into something much more. Saturday, the Parkland community celebrates the opening of the Parkland Plaza.
“I am a West End baby. I grew up down here, so I am excited but these people are excited, they are ready to use this space, they are ready to party, have events,” Johnique Ison, Senior Neighborhood Liaison for Center for Neighborhoods said.
Ison says work began back in 2019 and the design of the park came from comments and suggestions of people who live in the Parkland neighborhood.
For longtime West End residents, this signifies more than just green space.
“I done been through the good and the bad and this is the good part of it and so we are prospering like crazy,” Monica Flowers, a longtime West End resident, said. “It’s exciting anytime I see the West End prospering. It’s so exciting to see that.”
Flowers has been in the West End for the last 25 years and even lived across the street from where the park is when she was in college.
Others are excited as well.
“To see this kind of transformation taking place, it’s really one of the most exciting days of my life,” Vincent James, President and CEO of Dare to Care Food Bank said.
Despite the heat, a large group came out to enjoy the new space. Vendors even took over the neighboring street.
Ison says this area will be greatly appreciated as the Parkland neighborhood revitalizes back into a business district.
“I think this is really important not only because this is a place for the people to commune but its also a space that they asked for, that they own and that they envisioned and so it’s good to see that it’s finally the grand opening,” Ison said.
If you would like to visit the Parkland Plaza, it’s located on south 28th street, right across from the Dare to Care Food Bank.