I sit here, on the eve of entering my 21st year in South Park. It was Jan 28th 1986 that I bought my home. Never did I think that 20 years later, I would still be here.
While I’ve seen, and been a part of an amazing transformation of this neighborhood- the e-mail that arrived today foreshadows even greater things to come:
Historic South Park Inc. [1](HSPI) has just learned that we have been selected to receive the AIA 150 Grant (American Institute of Architects 150 year anniversary). This represents an unparalleled opportunity for the revitalization of our community!
HSPI responded to a multi-county call for entries in mid-December, made the “final four”, and participated in an interview on January 10th.
Yesterday we learned of our selection from AIA President Will Kaly.As part of the AIA 150 year anniversary grant, they are offering complete design services to a community for revitalization. The services of over 30 architects from multiple disciplines and firms will be at the neighborhood’s disposal. HPSI’s application included streetscape designs for Wayne Ave, Wyoming St., and Brown Warren. In addition, we have requested design services for a housing component to include historically appropriate infill designs and existing structure designs, and design services for all of our public spaces.
With the impending demolition of the Cliburn Manor public housing project, sky-rocketing costs of homes in the Oregon District, the future new Krogers, the investment in the Fairgrounds neighborhood and along the Brown Warren Corridor- South Park is set for terrific growth and its completion as a walkable, live/work community.
The best part of the AIA program- is the involvement of the community in the design process. There is nothing like living in a home before renovating to learn the nuances of a house- and the same goes for a neighborhood. South Park is already blessed with an abundance of beautiful public spaces- now, we will be able to fully illustrate the plan for the future.
Congratulations on winning the, uh, pro-bono architectural services?
Anyway, you are quite correct about South Park. Of all the historic districts in Dayton I always thought this one had the best basic location; between downtown, UD, and the affluent south suburbs, plus the parklike Woodland cemetary forming a southern border. The fundamentals for this area are solid, and hopefully the demolition of the housing project and that run-down housing towards US 35 and south of Miami Valley hospital will remove the last vestiges of blight to the south and west.
The new Kroger shopping center is just icing ont he cake.
For the proposal, it will be ineresting to see what housing concepts the designers come up with…will this be made public when the architects are done?
This is the kind of news I love to hear! Myself, I’d love to get involved in some investment property in historic neighborhoods and there were a few around town and one in particular in South Park that looked promising. I drove by for a second time last night to get a feel for it. The boom of the Fairgrounds neighborhood, UD, MVH, downtown, and the new Kroger (whether it be a thoughtful design or not) are reasons why SP has huge potential. And that’s not even mentioning the incredible housing that exists in the neighborhood. I hope things go well.