We love where we live and work, and that means we’ve made a commitment to keeping our community safe, attractive, and pleasant for everyone who calls Dayton home.
As property management leaders in Dayton, we have the privilege of working with all sorts of people; tenants, landlords, real estate investors who are local, and those who are investing in this city from afar. We also get to work with vendors, contractors, service providers, and dozens of other professional and community partners around the city and the entire metropolitan region.
Our team is committed to making things a little nicer.
And that’s what brings us to our Urban Meadow Park Initiative. We’re excited about what we’re doing for community green space, and we want to share some of our plans and accomplishments with you. We’d also welcome your support, in whatever way you feel called to join us.
Here’s what we can tell you about our interest and initiatives around urban parks.
Introducing Urban Meadow Community Park
Inspired by Huffman Prairie and other local metro parks, ManCo Property Services made the decision to invest a portion of its campus space for the entire community to enjoy.
We had a vision that started with creating an urban meadow that we believed could beautify the area. Our dream was to watch this space flourish with an increase in the variety of wildflowers, grasses, birds, insects and other pollinators that would be eager to populate the meadow.
Once we had the general idea formed, we put together the project’s second phase, which was to formalize plans for creating a community pocket park.
A pocket park is a small, public park typically found in urban areas, designed to serve a specific segment of a community and often located in a previously underutilized space. That’s exactly what we have, and we know this park could serve the neighborhood both as a spot for respite and education.
That’s what inspired and created the ManCo Urban Meadow Community Park.
We could not have done this without the multiple grants from community organizations, and we deeply appreciate their investment in us and in this park, which has helped bring this dream to reality.
Here’s what the park does for us and the entire community:
- Beautifies the area by converting the empty/abandoned lot into a meadow that will increase the variety of birds, insects, and other pollinators visiting the neighborhood
- Improves the ecosystem by increasing biodiversity and providing a critical habitat for native flora and fauna
- Implements a solar grid for providing security lighting and other lighting at the park
- Builds a viewing platform and lending library to encourage neighborhood use of the park
- Commissions a significant sculpture to attract attention to the park and the importance of pollinators
- Links park signage to educational websites discussing biodiversity and sustainability
- Develops programming that will encourage park utilization and promote neighborhood gatherings
- Makes company resources available for consultation and design assistance to encourage similar projects in the Salem Avenue Peace Corridor
Learn More about The Park
Head over to the storage shed at the east end of the property, and that’s what will provide the backdrop for a viewing area and local lending library. The plan includes an eight foot wide deck that wraps from the front along the side of the shed with access from each end. On the deck itself there will be a built-in wooden bench and fixed metal benches from which visitors can view the meadow as well as spend some reading time.
The lending library and community posting board will be a part of the deck construction and will be accessible at all times. The deck also provides a space where small music functions may be staged.
Signage for the park will be located at the west end of the meadow facing Salem Avenue and will contain information about the purpose and function of the park. Lighting on the sign and component sculpture, as well as the shed will be provided by solar powered lighting systems.
We are investing in the appearance of the park, too, and we will enhance its appeal with the addition of a couple of art components.
- To link to the rich history of Huffman Prairie and the Wright Brothers achievements, a vintage weathervane (circa 1981) crafted with a replica of the Wright Flyer will be installed on the roof of the shed.
- Attached to the park sign will be a metal sculpture representing pollinators and the flying dove image consistent with the sign for the Salem Avenue Peace Corridor located at the intersection of Riverview Avenue and Salem Avenue.
Supporting ManCo’s Urban Meadow Park Initiative
We have been completely transparent about our budget and our financial needs to make this project the best that it can be. With projected costs of over $40,000, we know it will take the entire community to help this park flourish. We’d be happy to provide an itemized list of our line item budget projections, which includes things like programming costs and lighting.
We’re also opening up opportunities for people, partners, and community organizations to join in supporting this initiative. Ask us about how you can be a financial pollinator of support.
Just as the pollinators attracted to the meadow will aid and stimulate plant growth in the neighborhood, our financial pollinators will help to grow this neighborhood park into a present reality. We have invested $20,000 in the land acquisition alone, as well as the required landscaping and tree removal, the shed installation, design work, and initial seeding of the meadow.
We have been thrilled to accept donations from Miami Valley Fair Housing through the Salem Avenue Business Association. Our remaining needs can be met with your help, and we’d love to tell you more about this project and the way it impacts our community for the better.
Let’s talk more about it. We invite you to contact us at ManCo Property Services.
And remember: If it’s a property managed by ManCo, life just got better!