Ground Breaking for New Overtown Playground (FL)

Miami, Florida: The kids of Overtown, along with The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national non-profit land conservation organization, and the YWCA of Greater Miami-Dade, Inc. “dig in” Friday, October 20th at 10:30 a.m. to begin construction of the playground they designed. Backhoes, industrial and kid-sized, dump trucks, bulldozers and shovels will be at the ready as TPL and the YWCA host the event for the Overtown community. The groundbreaking will take place at the park site located at NW 4th Avenue between NW 5th and 6th Streets, adjacent to the YWCA, 351 NW 5th Street.

The Overtown Playground project is a cooperative effort to turn a 7,500 square foot vacant lot in Overtown into a vibrant and vital green open space for the whole community to enjoy. The Trust for Public Land, which is providing a quarter acre of land and has hired an award winning architect firm, has teamed with the YWCA, which will maintain and operate the park. A third key player in this effort is the community of Overtown. The residents – children, parents, and guardians – worked with the architects to design the playground. They will also be at the ground breaking event-shovel in hand. It will be their playground. When complete it will be the first playground built in the community under TPL’s Overtown Greenprint Plan, created to serve as a roadmap to address the park, open space and pedestrian needs in this historic African-American community. The Overtown Playground represents one park element included in the Greenprint.

The Trust for Public Land’s Miami office is working to transform communities by creating parks, playgrounds, greenways, community gardens and other open spaces. The playground will be the result of years of effort by a variety of community partners, without whom this project would not be possible: MetLife Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Miami-Dade County Office of Safe Neighborhood Parks.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since its founding in 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 2 million acres of land in 45 states. Working in Florida since 1975, TPL has protected more than 300 sites – over 200,000 acres at a market value of more than $500 million. The Trust for Public Land depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to achieve its land for people mission. For more information please contact us at (305) 667-0409 or visit us on the web at www.tpl.org/florida.