The city's Park District and Arden Park- East Boston Edison Historic District are big winners of mini-grants to spiff up neighborhood entrances along the main artery of Woodward Ave.
The last round of the 2010 Streetscape Grant Program is organized by the Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3) through funding from the Federal Highway Administration's National Scenic Byway program. Five neighborhoods along Woodward. from Berkley to Arden Park Blvd., received grants to build benches, trim bushes and more.
"The purpose of the mini-grant program is to award quality projects
that enhance the physical appearance, pedestrian function and heritage
of Woodward in a way that all complements another," says WA3 Executive
Director Heather Carmona.
The Arden Park-East Boston Edison Historic District won $7,000 to restore the historic entry gates at Woodward Ave. Over the years, natural deterioration and the occasional automobile ding have added some wear and tear to the decorative brick walls and historic gates ,which flank the main entrance to the neighborhood. WA3's Jason Fowler, who manages the program, dates the gates back to at least the 1920s.
The Park District (located along Woodward Ave. between Six Mile and Eight Mile Roads) also won a $15,000 beautification grant. Fowler says the funds will be primarily used for light hole banners along the main entrances to the Park District along the intersections of Woodward and Six Mile, Seven Mile, and Eight Mile Roads.
"There is a certain historical aspect, since the first paved road in the country was between Six and Seven Mile Road on Woodward," Fowler says, "so we may want to do something with that. That's just one reason why Woodward Avenue is so historic, and that's why we're here. So historic, and so unique."
This is the first year that WA3 mini-grant funds were eligible for spending on implementation, not just design.
Source: Jason Fowler, Economic Development Program Manager, Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Ashley C. Woods
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