The Roxborough Pocket Park opened to the public on Saturday, April 21, 2018 in conjunction with the annual Art Is Life spring street festival.

The Roxborough Pocket Park, a public flex-space in the heart of Roxborough, opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 21, 2018. Through the support of state, city, foundation and Roxborough Development Corporation (RDC) funding, the new park, located at 6170 Ridge Avenue, transforms a once vacant asphalt lot into a community hub with programming for children and adults alike.

The celebration of the Roxborough Pocket Park opening, as part of the Art Is Life spring street festival, included the dedication of Watershed, a mural by internationally recognized artist and Roxborough native Paul Santoleri, produced in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia. Watershed, which was funded by the Philadelphia Water Department, blends nature and history to express the role water plays in creating and sustaining life. Watershed also pays homage to the Roxborough Pocket Park’s role as a green stormwater infrastructure system. An infrastructure which includes a range of soil-water-plant systems that intercept stormwater, infiltrate a portion of it into the ground, evaporate a portion into the air and slowly release a portion back into the Schuylkill watershed.

The $600,000 revitalization began in June 2015 as part of the Roxborough 2020 initiative, which engaged over 700 neighborhood stakeholders to envision improvements to Ridge Avenue and the Roxborough neighborhood over the next five years. A major outcome of Roxborough 2020 was a strong interest in redeveloping a vacant lot and parking lot adjacent to a recently renovated mixed-use building that was purchased and rehabilitated by the RDC. With a strong interest in redeveloping this blighted part of the community, the vision for the Roxborough Pocket Park project emerged. Plans for the pocket park site were created through a community design process which included a 200 participant survey and two public workshops.  The workshops engaged the community to envision an imaginative and beautiful public space in the Roxborough neighborhood and led to the park’s concept. With the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Neighborhood Placemaker Grant serving as a match, the RDC was able to secure a $200,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development turning the vision for the park into a reality.  

Following the development of plans for the site, the RDC purchased the vacant lot from the City of Philadelphia to develop, manage and sustain the Roxborough Pocket Park as a public space. The RDC is responsible for landscaping, cleaning and maintenance as well as programming for the park. A First Friday event series at the Roxborough Pocket Park event will take place during the first Friday of every month from May to September in 2018.

"Thrilled to be part of this celebratory event. The RDC has navigated the challenges of getting this vision to become a reality."

"Thrilled to be part of this celebratory event, said State Representative Pamela A. DeLissio of the 194th Legislative District. “The RDC has navigated the challenges of getting this vision to become a reality. The citizens of the community are indeed the beneficiaries. Pocket parks build community.”

The Roxborough Pocket Park was designed by Groundswell Design Group and Ruggiero Plante Land Design. The general contractor, StudioTorres Construction Management LLC, is based in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia. Due to the series of nor’easters recently impacting our region, the park is 80% complete with the remaining work scheduled to be completed by late May.

“This park can serve as a small oasis in the middle of an otherwise bustling shopping district,"

"I am delighted to support the Roxborough Pocket Park,” said Councilman Curtis Jones Jr of the Fourth District of Philadelphia.  “This park can serve as a small oasis in the middle of an otherwise bustling shopping district.  I applaud the Roxborough Development Corporation for their foresight and hard work in creating this park and revitalizing this important commercial corridor."

Supporters of the Roxborough Pocket Park include Beneficial Foundation, Community Design Collaborative, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, City of Philadelphia Commerce Department, PECO, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Water Department, Schuylkill River Greenway Association, The Schuylkill Project and Roxborough residents. The RDC is continuing its fundraising efforts during the final phase of construction and following the opening of the park to close a funding gap. The Roxborough Pocket Park Paver & Plaque Engraving program offers a limited number of personalized inscriptions available to the community on a first come first serve basis. To learn more about the project and to purchase an inscription at the park visit the Roxborough Pocket Park Page.