PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Lemon Hill saw an insane amount of foot traffic this summer because of the FIFA Fan Fest. Now, the city is saying “thank you” by improving the park.
“For 39 days, Philadelphia welcomed the world to this park, with more than 500,000 people,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker.
In return for the surrounding community putting up with the Fan Fest takeover, the city will build a 43,500-square-foot playground, an adult fitness area, and two picnic pavilions. More than 100 trees will also be planted — the first of which officials broke ground for on Monday.
Nissa Eisenberg with Lemon Hill Neighbors Association said, like an oak tree, the investment needs to be nurtured.
“We can’t let this be a once-in-a-generation project. We also want to advocate for Parks and Rec to be sustainably funded.”
There will also be updates to existing infrastructure at Lemon Hill. The first phase of this plan was completed ahead of the World Cup.
The city says it's a thank you to the community for putting up with Fan Fest
The city says it's a thank you to the community for putting up with Fan Fest
