City Officials and Former Eagle Connor Barwin Celebrated the Opening of the Newly Renovated Smith Playground
PHILADELPHIA – City Officials, community members and former Philadelphia Eagle, Connor Barwin, the founder of the Make The World Better Foundation celebrated the completion of the multi-million dollar renovations to South Philadelphia’s Smith Playground. Renovations to the site included upgrades to the Smith Playground Recreation building, specifically, the addition of a new WHYY and Keystop Media Lab and community kitchenette; new playground equipment; renovated basketball courts; new multi-sport turf field; green stormwater infrastructure; gateway improvements and the addition of a new outdoor fitness area and walking trail.
“Smith Playground is an excellent example of the type of high-quality recreation centers and open spaces that every neighborhood needs to aid in the success of our young people,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Through Rebuild we will be able to revitalize more parks, recreation centers, libraries, and playgrounds across the city. I’d like to thank Connor Barwin for his contributions to Smith Playground and for the work he’s doing in our parks to make them fun, safe, and accessible spaces for everyone.”
Smith Playground is a 7.5-acre site located at 24th and Jackson Streets. It is one of the largest and most heavily used Philadelphia Parks & Recreation sites in South Philadelphia. Since the groundbreaking in December 2015, Smith Playground has undergone a full-site renovation over the course of three phases of work, culminating in April 2018 and totaling over $3M in investments.
Make The World Better is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization founded by Connor Barwin, an NFL player who spent four years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. The organization works to inspire community members to become more civically engaged and increase pride in their neighborhoods through the recreation of shared public spaces, primarily parks and playgrounds.
Smith Playground is Make The World Better’s second renovation project; Ralph Brooks Playground in Point Breeze was its first project site, where renovations included a new basketball court, community gardens, green stormwater infrastructure, and the creation of a new community garden. Phase one of construction at their third project, Waterloo Playground in the Norris Square section of North Philadelphia, will break ground later this spring.
“I’m not competitive or anything, but while Smith Memorial in East Fairmount Park has a slide and a Playhouse, here in South Philly we’ve got a turf field, a fitness track, and much more. Make The World Better is truly honored to have worked with the City of Philadelphia, the community, and so many great partners on making Smith Playground such a dynamic place for the neighborhood and the city,” said Connor Barwin, Founder of Make The World Better. “It was a team effort to bring sports and recreational opportunities to people of all ages here.”
Green stormwater improvements at Smith Playground were created through the City’s Green City, Clean Waters program. The Philadelphia Water Department contributed $735,000 to the project and created a rain garden and four below-ground basins to catch runoff from the site and nearby streets.
Combined with additional stormwater management improvements made during the renovations, those green tools can keep more than six SEPTA buses worth of polluted water out of the nearby Schuylkill River during a 1-inch rainstorm. Over the course of a year of typical Philadelphia weather, that adds up to more 11 million gallons of stormwater runoff kept out of local waterways.
“Water is extremely important to our city, whether it’s coming out of your tap or flowing down the Schuylkill,” said Marc Cammarata, Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department’s Planning and Environmental Services Division. “The green features in this state-of-the-art recreation facility will protect our water, so we want thank Parks and Recreation, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Urban Roots, and Connor Barwin and Make The World Better for truly putting the spotlight on this precious resource.”
The National Bar League held the fitness competition during which athletes from across the country demonstrated their skills on the new fitness area. The National Bar League, founded in 2015 by Philadelphia athlete and personal trainer, Evan Harden, is an organization that hosts freestyle calisthenics competitions, open to competitors from around the world to demonstrate their skills. Evan Harden became involved with Make The World Better’s Smith Playground renovation as a way to make fitness and its benefits more accessible to his own community.
The event at Smith Playground was open to the public and included active play time on the multi-sport turf field, playground equipment, and basketball courts; a speaking program by City officials and project partners; a ribbon cutting ceremony; a fitness competition hosted by the National Bar League; and live music and refreshments.