Manchester Street Park

Manchester St. Park Wins Brownfields Renewal 2010 Social Impact Award!

The recently renovated Manchester Street Park, a 5-acre former incinerator site on the Spicket River in urban Lawrence, Massachusetts, has been recognized by the trade publication Brownfield Renewal with its 2010 Brownfield Renewal Award for Social Impact. The awards, determined by a distinguished panel of industry experts, are “presented to projects that represent the gold standard of development across three distinct industry spheres of influence,” according to the publication. Read more...

Ribbon-Cutting

On Wednesday September 16, we were pleased to celebrate the opening of the park, complete with a playground, swings, a pond overlook and 30 community garden beds. Speakers representing many of the funders and park activists were represented including The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, EPA Brownfields Program, Community Development Block Grant Program (HUD), the City of Lawrence, Lawrence Environmental Action League, Covanta Energy, neighborhood residents and Groundwork Lawrence.

About The Park

Manchester Street Park (the former Covanta site) is one of Lawrence's hidden gems-- a linear 5-acre parcel of land situated in the northwest corner of the city and bordering Stevens Pond at the head of Lawrence's stretch of the Spicket River. Like many industrial sites in Lawrence, the area suffered from a history of contamination (the site at one time housed a municipal trash incinerator) that has long posed challenges to its redevelopment. At the same time, the site offers great new green space and serves as a spectacular anchor for the Spicket River Greenway.

Design and Construction Updates- read more...