Overton Park could expand as part of new master plan
The 13 acres at the southeast corner of Overton Park don’t look like much — a parking lot, some nondescript municipal buildings and greenhouses — but it provides a chance for transformation.
One of the top priorities for a new Overton Park master plan could return the land to park space, its originally-intended purpose.
“It’s possible this becomes a more active space, depending on what happens at the fairgrounds, if there’s a need for more athletic space,” Overton Park Conservancy Executive Director Tina Sullivan said of the 13-acre space. “Those are the kinds of questions we’re asking the public now. I know a lot of people want food service, some sort of outdoor casual cafe.”
A request for qualifications for the Overton Park master plan went live on Friday — the goal is to unify the 342acre park’s features and lay out a plan for future improvements and redevelopment.
A community engagement process is part of the new master plan.
The changing face of Overton Park
The city of Memphis General Services Division occupies the park’s southeast corner, near the East Parkway and Poplar Avenue intersection, but is in the process of moving out. A report the city issued earlier this year states that the city will vacate that area “in or around 2020,” and contract management of the space to the conservancy.
“We’re looking at at least a couple years before we have momentum on the next iteration of this site,” Sullivan said.
The master planning process comes at a time when both the Brooks Museum of Art and the Memphis College of Art plan departures out of Midtown’s Overton Park. The college’s Rust Hall will close its doors in 2020, and the Brooks Museum is moving downtown, while Memphians are trying to reimagine the historic buildings.
The new master plan will be the first put in place for the park since 1988. Other priorities for improvements in the plan are the East Parkway Picnic Area, access to the park from the outside and between amenities within the park, Overton Bark dog park, Rainbow Lake pavilion and playground and traffic and circulation.
Landscape architect George Kessler designed Overton Park, which was established in 1901.
The nonprofit Overton Park Conservancy manages 184 acres of the park, close to 54 percent, under its contract with the city of Memphis. The park is also home to the Levitt Shell, the Memphis Zoo and the Links at Overton Park golf course.
Firms have until 3 p.m. Dec. 14 to submit their materials in response to the request for qualifications.
The plan calls for a number of parts of the park to see enhancements, but the 13-acre space provides the biggest opportunity, Sullivan said.
“This is a blank canvas,” Sullivan said.
Jamie Munks covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jamie.munks@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2536. Follow her on Twitter @journo_jamie_.