Community discussions lead to vision for art installation, nature play space, platform for events
An empty lot in the 5800 block of York Road would become “a flexible neighborhood park that can host community and entertainment activities as capacity grows” under a plan adopted by the Belvedere Improvement Association.
The plan comes out of a series of community visioning sessions that were held last year in conjunction with volunteer architects from the Neighborhood Design Center.
“This is something BIA has taken on for our neighborhood, but the intention is really to create a community space for the [York Road] Corridor and North Baltimore in general,” said BIA President Anna Evans-Goldstein.
She said the project addresses one of the key problems in the area, the “very limited access to public green space.”
Over time the neighborhood’s efforts will “convert an abandoned, uncared-for vacant lot space” into a “community-owned, community-managed, community-maintained site that will be available for public use and will improve the ecology of the area.”
The community visioning process resulted in a draft plan from NDC that would have placed trees on a gridded pattern across much of the lot. Based on feedback from the BIA’s Lot Committee, NDC came up with a final plan that has “diagonal paths, a pavilion and a circular gathering area,” NDC said in presentation materials dated October 2025.
Development is expected to occur in two stages. The first one calls for removing the asphalt from half of the site and creating “a mulched, permeable surface for strategically planted trees that frame a central pavilion and provide privacy buffers.”
The north end of the site would remain as a gravel parking lot, and the south end would retain its grass cover supplemented with new trees and a native rain garden.
The second stage of development would lead to a nature play space, signage or public art, lighting and possibly a stage or platform for events.
“The first phases of this are starting this year, and depending on how smoothly they go, we hope to be able to start activating the space in the next couple years,” Evans-Goldstein said. “It’s a little bit contingent on things falling into place, funding wise.”
The BIA acquired the property, popularly known as “the old diner site,” in early 2025 thanks to a capital grant that was pursued by state Sen. Mary L. Washington, the Democrat who represents District 43.
Purchasing the property cost $500,000, and the cost of further improvements could add another $500,000 or more to the total development costs.
Next steps will involve removing debris from the site and grading it to get rid of the existing potholes.
While it may not appear that much is happening with the site, Evans-Goldstein said there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes. “Our hope is that more residents, both within the Belvedere neighborhood, but also along the Corridor, want to get involved and help contribute to making this project happen.”
Some specific needs, she said, include people with grant-writing skills, legal backgrounds or experience in urban design.
In the meantime the site is available for public use. She noted that HEX Superette used it for overflow parking during last year’s Baltimore Fermentation Festival.
“People are welcome to reach out to the BIA if they’re interested in using the space for any kind of event like that, pending the approval of the BIA board.”
