Design aims to turn landmark parcel into community gathering space
The Bellona Triangle is about to get a $310,000 makeover intended to transform the site into a community gathering space with new lighting, shrubbery, benches and a raised deck that can be used for pop-up markets or performances.
“This project sits at the intersection of different communities in the Govans area that have long experienced significant cultural and economic divides,” said Sam Storey, executive director of the York Road Improvement District, which is overseeing the renovation.
“This is an opportunity to bridge those divides with a world-class signature outdoor space that can be used by, and enjoyed by, all of the surrounding communities,” Storey said.
“It’s a small plot of land, but the idea we have landed on is intended to support the surrounding businesses in the immediate area while creating something that the community can be proud of and that adds a sense of pride to everyone in the community,” he said.
Design features will address safety concerns that were expressed by residents and create a sense of welcome for visitors from across different generations, Storey said.
He believes park users will include “both the youth coming from the Govans library, the Tunbridge School and Govans Elementary as well as the seniors who live in the numerous senior homes near the property.”
The new design for the site emerged from a series of community meetings that were held to get input from local residents and businesses.
“In that process, we really tried to reframe the project in the historic context of York Road, which has been a connector, particularly north and south, but it’s also been a barrier, too, from east and west–racially, economically,” said Nick Glase, a partner at Unknown Studio, the landscape architects chosen to redesign the park.
“We see this project as an opportunity for a little public space to serve as a bridge between those four different directions,” he said.
At the community meetings, attendees were shown alternative plans and asked to comment on them. “One option was a little bit more focused on events. One was more of a quiet natural space,” Glase said. “And then there was a third one that had a little bit more of an urban plaza feeling.”
The design that emerged from this process, dubbed “York Meadow,” will include “a raised deck that could be used for performances and events and be just a welcoming gathering space,” Glase said.
“Based on community member input, we adapted the design to fit community events with a more biodiverse planting concept that also preserves the existing tree canopy on site,” he added.
“I think we’re trying to balance two things,” he said. “One is filtering out some of the roadway noise and the sort of disruptive traffic flow that makes it feel uncomfortable.”
That issue will be addressed “with some planting that’s probably about 3- or 4-feet high, so you can still see over. It feels safe, but provides a thick buffer on that edge.”
At the same time, “we want to make it feel welcoming from the east side, so we have a series of entries into it so it never feels like it’s walling off the east side. It feels, we hope, very welcoming from the east side, and it’s easy to access from both the east and west sides,” Glase said.
“Everything’s supposed to be very natural looking,” said Dave Berman, design and construction project manager at Parks & People, a Baltimore nonprofit that focuses on improving green space in the city. The plan is to incorporate the distinctive “square log benches” that are made at Camp Small, the operation that recycles wood from fallen city-owned trees, he said.
The raised deck will be “a really nice integration of a built-up stage and seating area that also has different holes in it for trees and plantings to come through,” Berman said.
“This platform area can work as a stage, or can work as a place to set up tables for a market or can work just as seating around the edge,” Berman said. “A serpentine path wanders through the park,” he said. The idea is “keeping the elements as flexible as possible for multiple uses.”
Safety issues will be addressed in several ways. “Lighting is an element for helping
people feel safe there at night,” Berman said. Some of the lighting will be integrated into the platform. In addition the budget calls for the installation of six light poles.
Pedestrian safety is another concern. “We paid a lot of attention to the crosswalks that go from Bellona over to the other side of York and pass through the triangle,” Berman said.
“At the very least, there will be a request into the city to make [the crosswalks] more prominent because there are two schools very close by, and it is a well trafficked area through pedestrian use. We really want there to be a high safety factor for people.”
The redesign plans have drawn a positive reaction from community members, although some have also expressed concern about implementation.
“I’m excited,” said Danyell “Danny” Williams, who owns Illicit Rag Vintage, a clothing store directly across Bellona Avenue from the park.
The reconfiguration of the space will “bring the community together, provide a space for a sense of togetherness and also promote for people to be able to actually come outside and engage with one another and engage with the businesses in the area,” she said.
“These latest designs show how this could be a green, truly activated gathering place for people all along the York Road corridor and a place for community-building events,” said Dan Pontious, president of the York Road Partnership. “We don’t have a space like that right on the commercial corridor right now. This should be a unifying and fun new outdoor space for everyone.”
“It’s exciting to see the Bellona Triangle re-envisioned,” said Gia Grier McGinnis, executive director of neighborhood resilience and community engagement at Loyola University Maryland.
“Students and residents have volunteered many hours of their time over the years to maintain the grounds,” she added. “I hope there will be pride in the fact that more investment has finally come to a green resource residents they knew could have more potential, and that the new look will attract people who never thought to visit it before.”
“It is a nice addition to the Corridor,” said Nichole Battle, CEO of Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. GEDCO’s first development project was Epiphany House, a former hotel just south of the triangle that is now an apartment building for older adults and those with disabilities.
“I am sure our residents will … love spending time in nature at this location,” Battle said. “Access is so important.”
She called the new design “beautiful” and added, “I hope maintenance is minimal.”
Ongoing maintenance is just one aspect of making sure the redesign accomplishes the goal of upgrading the neighborhood. Nearby residents and business owners are hoping that improvements to the triangle do not make it a magnet for drug activity or persons without permanent housing.
For nearly two decades Tony Wheatley has owned TGQ CUTZ, a barbershop right across Bellona from the triangle. “The whole idea is to attract people to the triangle and to give a different look to this particular part of York Road, which I think is great.”
But he cautioned that the wrong kinds of activities could be drawn there if the community does not remain vigilant.
“I’ve been here almost 20 years in this corner, and it’s always been a nice part of York Road,” said. But he said the Bellona intersection has been roughly the dividing line between “negative activity” to the south and a more positive feeling to the north.
“We want that type of vibe that you’re getting from Belvedere Square,” he said. “We don’t want this particular area to become a hot spot” for public nuisances. “That will chase away business and clients.”
The Bellona Triangle got its start circa 1800, when the builders of the Baltimore and York Turnpike decided they needed a more direct route between Towson and downtown. They opted to bypass the existing wagon road, which wound its way north from Govans and became known as Bellona Avenue because it led to the Bellona Gunpowder Works on the Jones Falls near what is now Lake Roland.
In the years since the triangle has been the site of a luxury hotel, The Guilford, and a gas station selling petroleum products from Esso, the corporate predecessor of Exxon. In 1947 the Govans Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars erected a memorial at the tip of the triangle to commemorate those soldiers from the neighborhood who died in World War II. That monument will be retained.
Funding for the project has come from a variety of government sources, including a legislative bond initiative sponsored by Sen. Mary Washington, D-43rd.
The site plan is currently going through final design, and the first phase of construction is expected to be finished by the end of June. The plan calls for the installation of a half-sized shipping container, which will be used for the storage of park furniture. The container is projected to be clad with wood or a similar material and will likely be fitted with some artistic signage. Future development may include a sculpture and additional visual elements.
“Between the lighting, signage, the structure, and then just really curating the new entryways into the park, we hope it will create a real, iconic presence on the roadway,” Glase said.
The new look of the Bellona Triangle will be “clearly visible for folks traveling through and around the neighborhood.”