A listening session was held last week discussing the process of developing a new park at 217 Somerville Ave. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

On Thursday of last week, residents of Somerville came together to discuss the transformation of 217 Somerville Ave. into a public park. Preceded by an official community meeting the night before, this listening session was held for those who had been unable to attend as well as anyone who wanted to hear more about the project or speak directly to public space planner Jon Bronenkant.

At this point in time, the kind of park this will be has yet to be decided. Mr. Bronenkant provided attendees with several posters detailing the options, which included the following:

• A park for people, which would include lots of space to walk around.
• A park for plants, which would create a forest-like oasis.
• An outward focus park where people would be able to walk in freely.
• An inward focus park where there would be one or two entrances.
• An active park with a playground and/or fitness equipment.
• A passive park with benches and tables aimed more towards those who would like to go there to relax.

Of course, some of these ideas could be combined. The only issue at hand is that they are working with an incredibly small space and are therefore unsure if some of these options would be doable. Those who did attend were completely on board with all of these options, yet there was one concern. One resident mentioned that there will be another active park with a playground nearby and wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to have two playgrounds in such close proximity to each other, wondering instead if it would be more beneficial to have a passive park that would cater to residents who are looking for a more peaceful environment. Mr. Bronenkant, alongside the other attendees, considered this briefly and ultimately agreed that this would be for the best.

Construction is expected to start in the spring of next year and they are hoping to open in the park in the summer of 2025.

A third listening session was held on Tuesday of this week. Additional community meetings are listed at somervillema.gov/217somervilleave.