Why Should Delaware Care?
The Rodney Reservoir, the second highest point in Wilmington, has been preserved as a community green space thanks to local efforts. Instead of using taxpayer money to demolish the almost 4-acre land to be sold off for privatization, the space is now being transformed into a community park that will serve Wilmington residents for generations to come.
After a seemingly endless number of row homes in Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood, passersby may be surprised to see rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, potatoes, and greens growing in the Rodney Reservoir community garden – and it’s a scene that’s only possible today due to the efforts of local residents.
The reservoir, a 3.78-acre green space in the west side of Wilmington at the meeting point of the Hilltop, Little Italy and Cool Springs communities, has been city-owned for more than 150 years.
Originally constructed to support the city’s water supply, the site has since become a cherished but underutilized green space, prompting a local collective, known as Green for the Greater Good, to rally to protect it from privatization and secure its future as a community resource.
With the demolition phase being completed this summer, community members are excited for the park’s construction, which is set to be finished by spring of 2025. Green for the Greater Good looks forward to seeing the elements they’ve contributed come to life.
However, the group says their work is far from finished, as they are now developing new ideas that they hope will further expand the impact of the finished park.
“Residents and communities know what they need. And there’s something really beautiful about turning to them and seeing what they have,” said Jamila Davey, community leader for Green for the Greater Good.
History of the Rodney Reservoir
In 1862, the city purchased the Rodney Reservoir, the land that is bounded by 8th, 9th, Rodney and Clayton streets. It was turned into a functioning open air reservoir and water system. But by 1907, there were efforts by the city water commission board and city council to sell the land for support funds and residential development.
After locals restrained the city from doing so by filing injunctions and advocating through the press, a 7.5 million-gallon underground tank was installed on the site and was used until it was abandoned in the 1990s due to water quality issues.
During this time, the reservoir also acted as a recreational space for locals throughout the city.
During the 1920s the park was a space for concerts, dances and even football games. During the 1950s, the site featured an ice skating rink and sledding area for locals during the winter months.
There was also an observational tower that overlooked four states that was used by the WIlmington Ground Observer Corps during World War II.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, the park also featured basketball courts and a gazebo, serving as popular gathering spots for residents.
In 2003, the entire park was fenced off by the city due to safety concerns. However, in 2010, a group of neighbors gathered together and were given permission to garden on a small part of the site. The garden they established became the largest community garden in Wilmington.
The importance of the space continued to grow for locals and with its history of never being privately sold, the urgency to keep it public became crucial.
Groups like West Side Grows emerged from the garden, alongside initiatives like Bright Spot Farms and Cool Springs Farmers Market, two operations that provide fresh produce to the community.
The latest project on the site occurred in 2022, when Lewis Dual Elementary launched a school gardening program in collaboration with Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids and Green for the Greater Good.
A community space in jeopardy
In spring of 2022, the city of Wilmington requested funding from the annual state bond bill to demolish the underground water tank at the site with plans to sell it off for private residential development.
After getting word of the city’s plans, local residents came together for a small rally, launching campaigns via email, social media, phone and even in person, to raise awareness around the issue.
They started to meet every Saturday morning at the bus stops next to the reservoir to discuss their wants for the future of the space. These efforts formed the foundation of Green for the Greater Good.
Within a month, Mayor MikePurzycki preempted one of their planned rallies and attended their bus stop meeting, which 50 residents took part in. He and a few council members opted to work with the group and address their concerns.
With the help of state legislators, Green for the Greater Good changed the language of the bond bill to require “comprehensive planning and community engagement” before any money was spent on demolishing the site. Ensuring the site was protected and that public resources were put to use in a strategic way.
While community members acknowledge the short timeline was challenging, they note that getting the city to see their vision was also a difficult task.
“The city was resistant to community engagement of a meaningful kind in the process,” Davey said. “And so, we had to kind of do our work and advocate to be heard the whole time.”
Although the city had created a plan to work with locals, the mayor’s office still made a proposal in early 2023 to make the reservoir a completely flat green space.
Davey says the group worried that the land would become subject to developmental pressures, as locals called it “pancake park.”
Despite their worries, Green for the Greater Good continued their weekly meetings to discuss ideas among locals and different partners like West Side Grows and the University of Delaware on how the space could highlight the need for community gardening, green infrastructure, ecological education and food production.
Ana Wik, professor of landscape architecture at UD, engaged some of her sophomore students in a series of workshops with the group and locals to create a vision for the site.
The workshops, which had over 80 attendees, revealed that the community had a strong preference for making the site fully accessible and interactive for all ages. They also wanted to enhance its current use as a community garden and wildlife habitat, seeing it as a way to address the lack of green space in dense Wilmington neighborhoods like theirs.
“I hope that future large infrastructure projects like this really do take into account the importance of that engagement and asking questions and being curious about how people really feel about their neighborhoods, because that’s who is going to use this at the end of the day,” Wik said.
In July of last year, the city eventually implemented the task force that locals had been asking for, so that both the community and the city could collaborate on the future of the site. Members included city officials, representatives from Green for the Greater Good, West Side Grows, and professors from UD.
The working group implemented some of what was done during workshops to develop a basis and eventually hired the architectural firm, Hinge Collective, to handle constructing the park, while the city Department of Public Works would handle overseeing the project.
An air monitoring plan was also added after Green for the Greater Good pushed for environmental testing on the site and outreach to the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. When the city conducted testing at the end of last year, hazardous materials like mercury, cobalt and benzo(a)pyrene were found — substances the group expressed concern over due to potential health risks.
Although the mayor’s office says the information spread by the group was “unsubstantiated,” the monitoring system will continue to keep locals updated on the air quality of the area, while construction is being done.
By February of this year, the working group was disbanded and $2 million was secured from the latest bond bill to build Wilmington’s first city-managed park in 40 years.
“Large, welcoming spaces such as this go a long way toward bringing communities together, with neighbors from all different backgrounds and walks of life mingling and interacting with one another,” said Paul Ford, director communications for the mayor’s office, in a statement to Spotlight Delaware.
The community’s vision for the park
As a result of the workshops that Green for the Greater Good hosted with UD, several key features that emerged from students and community members are set to take shape.
Suggested recreational amenities such as a community garden to promote food justice, an outdoor learning space, and a naturalistic playground, will all be implemented.
“It’s going to be great for the environment, especially the children of the neighborhood, to have a place to play, to have a place to garden,” said April Collins, a local gardener and Hilltop resident.
Locals also valued the park’s topography and elevation, which was shaped during the demolition, giving residents the feeling of being outside of the city with views of the Brandywine Valley.
The park will also be ADA accessible, and will feature a sensory garden and keyhole plots for those who are differently abled.
Additionally, the park is seen as key to addressing local environmental challenges and improving public health. The planned trees will help cool down the area, something important as Delaware is among the top 10 fastest warming states. And the increase in canopy, the upper layer formed by trees that are close together, will also help to control light penetration, temperature and humidity levels in an urban environment often devoid of vegetation.
Although community members are celebrating their wins, Green for the Greater Good will focus on how they can continue to expand the park’s impact on the community.
The group plans to propose areas in the park for water catchment, a hoop house to protect growing crops and even kitchens on the site that will represent different nationalities in which people can share food together.
They have also looked at different community parks for inspiration, even visiting Baltimore to see how their community gardens function.
Davey says the group is exploring possible partnerships with other organizations, like St. Francis Hospital, which sits adjacent from the reservoir. They may aim to offer opportunities for patients dealing with different challenges to interact with the garden, promoting healing and well-being.
Ultimately the goal is to make the park a resource hub that can eventually support residents throughout the city.
“That’s what the magic of the community garden is, is when people feel it depends on them,” Davey said. “When it depends on you, you gotta show up, and for each other, and that’s part of what we want to keep cultivating.”
Get Involved
Green for the Greater Good continues to host sessions to discuss new ideas for the new park. To voice your ideas on how the park can be improved, submit a comment here. The public is also welcome to attend their weekly meetings, which take place every Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Holy City at 1118 N Broom St.
