Spain Street Park in Mid City is getting a revamp. The chief designers behind it? The surrounding Fuqua neighborhood residents.
As 225 reports in a feature in the current issue, Mid City Studio announced in early March that it would be working with BREC to see the project come to fruition. Spurred by Mid City Studio’s recent work in the neighborhood, BREC enlisted the studio to help rally nearby residents to provide their input and ideas for park improvements.
It’s the first time the design studio, headed up by William Doran and Lynley Farris, has participated in an endeavor like this, after spending the past three years drumming up interest in urban renewal in Mid City.
The nonprofit began in 2015 with the #IAMMIDCITY campaign, developing small urban design projects around the area. Monthly “Coffee on the Porch” meetups followed at underutilized spots around Mid City to help bridge the gap between disjointed parts of the neighborhood.
Then came a photography project with students at Bernard Terrace Elementary and Dufrocq Montessori Magnet Elementary, the results of which were displayed in a mural at nearby Spain Street Park. The studio developed a strong relationship with the Fuqua neighborhood through the process, Doran says.
“Part of the reason I think this came together is because we saw how actively this park was used in the community, and that it really needed some TLC,” he adds.
BREC asked the studio to come up with a toolbox of different options for the neighborhood’s residents to pick and choose, like wall murals, for their redesigned park, Doran says.
“I think it’s important to throw some general ideas out there but to also remain flexible,” he says. “A lot of the creativity and definitely the expertise about the neighborhood comes from those people—they’re the experts.”
