Residents of one of the few heavily residential neighborhoods in Boston without a park kicked off a planning process with the Parks Department last weekend by brainstorming park space ideas for the fertile open ground in the West of Washington (WOW) neighborhood.

After the discussion time on Saturday, WOW President Laquisa Burke said the successful kick-off marked one of the largest efforts by the neighborhood since the organization was founded around 2016.

“This is the biggest project WOW has been involved with,” she said. “About five years ago, we stood on this corner and the vision was to have a park. We pushed through to make our streets safer with Slow Streets and now we are seeing the park come to life…Without the neighbors, we wouldn’t have been able to have this kick-off if we didn’t fight for it and ask for the things we wanted.”

Said Vice President Corey Thompson, “I’m going to point out what I see in the neighborhood now – a lot of effort. It’s this kind of effort our community needs to grow, thrive, and succeed.”

Landscape Architect Kaki Martin attaches “wishes” to the wishing wall during the new park kick-off meeting.

The WOW area has always had many vacant lots left over from the 1970s when so many houses there were burned down and no one returned to build new ones. That unfortunate legacy includes four large lots next to the new Talbot Avenue Commuter Rail Station on Norwell Street. Through a partnership with TLee Development and the city, the neighborhood was able to get the vacant land set aside, and then accumulate a large amount of money designated through Community Preservation grants, as well as support from the Trustees for Public Lands (TPL). Recently, the city’s Parks Department assigned Bea Chatfield to manage the project. She was on hand Saturday to explain the process with landscape architect Kaki Martin of Klopfer Martin Design Corp.

“It’s a privilege to work on this project,” Chatfield said. “So many Parks Department meetings you get one idea here and there and a few show up for the meeting. You all have come to the table with a lot of ideas and with a lot of passion for creating this new park.”

Added Martin, “We want to know your preferences and vision for this place. That will help us when we draw up what will be here.”

The project has a budget of $660,000. The timeline for the project is to complete the input and design process in six months, start construction next summer, and complete it in the fall.

There will be two more planning and input meetings over the next few months for the as yet unnamed park. Although the space is not an official park, it has been used informally over the past two years as a gathering spot for neighborhood BBQs, concerts, art installations, and public meetings.