Fresno should convert vacant public land into a new park for the Tower District

When we played outside, it was in the street or an adventure into the dry canal bed or the 180 freeway construction site. We had no neighborhood park. Walking to school in the morning, I traversed streets with no curbs and gutter. But Broadway and Elizabeth in front of the police substation was lined with patrol cars outfitted with the latest technology and weaponry.

Thirty years later, the police substation is gone, but the lack of basic amenities of sidewalks and parks remain.

With the decommissioning of the substation, I worked with many passionate neighbors to decide what the community’s needs are for this now vacant land in the middle of our south Tower District neighborhood. With more than 500 individuals engaged over three years, we’ve heard resoundingly that a neighborhood park is the priority for over 90% of our neighbors. We had many exciting and hard conversations as we selected amenities to suit our diverse neighborhood’s needs and designed solutions to proactively confront our challenges, such as poor air quality, disinvestment, homelessness, vandalism and dumping, as well as violent crime.

What we have developed is a grass-roots lead park proposal. We’ve attracted the support of two awesome organizations, Lowell Community Development Corp. and Fresno Building Healthy Communities, to collaborate on the development and construction process.

Further, other organizations such as Alley Pals, Reel Pride, and the Tower District Marketing Committee want to help maintain and activate what we call Broadway Parque.

However, when it comes to the city of Fresno partnership on making this neighborhood vision a reality, we have not been so lucky.

While the land has been public property for more than 50 years and zoned for public use, some within City Hall seem more interested in quietly rezoning the property for apartments and selling it off to a for-profit developer than they have been in meeting with community members and collaborating on neighborhood priorities.

It is past time that developers get special access to our public resources. It is also past time that our city commit the public land at Broadway and Elizabeth for a vibrant neighborhood park. We have a solution that addresses our key neighborhood needs while addressing our challenges with a grassroots collaborative team.

We encourage other neighborhoods to do the same, and encourage the city of Fresno to join our team to deliver Broadway Parque to a deserving neighborhood.

Editor’s note: On Sept. 1 the city gave 60-day notice of its intent to lease or sell the .65-acre property it owns at 724 Elizabeth St. The city stated the fair-market value is between $141,570 to $198,198. The deadline is Saturday for parties to submit letters of interest.