Arsenal and Leslie Parks Planning: April Update

4.2.15 Celebrating a Collaborative Effort

Thank you to the 75+ residents who joined us to celebrate the Arsenal and Leslie Park Master Plan Process last Thursday at The Grey Box Theatre.

Hundreds of community partners, residents, and business owners have dedicated time, energy, and creativity to the process over the past year– which has helped us to create exciting concepts and plans for the future of our parks.

As outlined by Steering Committee members during the event, the plan embraces and preserves our community’s and the Arsenal’s rich history and heritage, offers recommendations to make the park more accessible,  and creates and enhances spaces for residents of all ages to enjoy.  In addition to residents and stakeholder engagement, the process has been guided by a Steering Committee comprised of community representatives and partner organizations, including:  Lawrenceville United, Lawrenceville Corporation, Lawrenceville Historical Society, Friends of Arsenal Park, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Tree Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Arsenal Pre K – 5, Pittsburgh Arsenal 6-8, Allegheny County Health Department, Councilwoman Deb Gross, Senators Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana, Representative Dom Costa, City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning, Department of Public Works, and Citiparks.

We will continue to work on finalizing the plan,  and will be sharing the completed plan with a full narrative in the weeks to come.  To see some of the materials presented at the event last Thursday, see below. The document detailing the measures to be taken for historical preservation is available here: Arsenal_Historic Preservation Text.

We want to give a special thank you to Arsenal Cider House and Matteo’s for providing refreshments, and to Gina at Grey Box Theater for providing the space for our event.  Thanks to all of YOU for attending, for participating in our community meetings and events, and for signing on to Mind Mixer to share your thoughts.  You have helped to ensure that the plan for the park remains community-driven.

Birds’ eye view of Arsenal Park Concept

Arsenal Park Stone Wall Perimeter

Open House Attendees Hear Details of the Plan

Photo credit: Tony Ceoffe