John Ross Commons renovation completed

The Monday before Thanksgiving, 90 members of the Rossville community picked up shovels and laid 13,000 feet of sod and planted $10,000 worth of plants at the duck pond near the gateway into the city, now called John Ross Commons.

It was the final step in a yearlong effort to rehabilitate the park.

“It was the happiest group of volunteers I’ve ever seen,” said Elizabeth Wells, founder of Redev Workshop, a nonprofit volunteer group dedicated to bettering the Rossville community.

Wells was not expecting the number of volunteers — or the amount of work they were willing to put in.

Ahead of schedule, the park was expected to open in mid-December. Visitors will find new sidewalks, benches, the area’s first community garden and a large, lighted fountain in the pond.

The park will host movie showings, concerts and a fishing rodeo, and Wi-Fi connectivity will be added, Wells said.

“What started as a spark turned into a flame, which turned into a fullfledged fire,” she said.

The $20,000 donated to the project by Chattanooga’s Lyndhurst Foundation has gone untouched — everything from a butterfly park to the sidewalk has been donated, Wells said.

The money instead will be used to sponsor an arts festival.

It’s the linchpin in the Redev Workshop’s hopes that the park project will bridge arts and culture in the community to bring economic growth and more life to the city. Every day, thousands of people drive Rossville Boulevard, the gateway into the city, according to traffic counts — making it a great place for economic opportunities such as additional retail, manufacturing and education facilities.

“This is just the beginning,” Wells said.

To get involved in other local projects and growth initiatives, visit the Redev Workshop’s Facebook page.

Email Alex Farmer at afarmer@timesfreepress.com.