Overton Park officials hope construction can begin this year on a project that will end Greensward parking, open new park-land, and relocate some facilities, but they await the arrival of $3 million in federal funds.
In March 2022, Overton Park Conservancy (OPC), the Memphis Zoo, and the city of Memphis announced a plan that would transform the park through a series of land swaps.
In July 2022, the group announced $3 million in federal funding had been allocated for the project. The group is still awaiting the money in order to get the project started.
“The city, the zoo, and the conservancy are all moving aggressively to get this solution implemented as quickly as possible,” OPC executive director Tina Sullivan said in a statement. “With federal funding, multiple partners, and multiple aspects to the project, it’s hard to pinpoint a completion date at this stage. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we do hope to be underway with construction by the end of 2023.”
Last week OPC outlined what will happen when the money becomes available:
• The conservancy will develop a plan for addressing invasive plant species in the forested acreage that is currently adjacent to the zoo’s temporary exhibit space.
• [OPC will] design and build a trail system for the new section of forest, and once it’s ready for visitors, will take down the surrounding fence.
• The city will move its remaining functions from the area in Overton Park’s southeast corner and begin work to make the space more habitable.
• The zoo will then move its maintenance facility there, freeing up its current on-site maintenance facility for guest parking.
• The conservancy will begin piloting potential uses for the remaining parcel of the southeast corner, which will be converted into an area for public use.
