The Allentown Parknership has received a $4 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative to fund a comprehensive regreening and renovation of the City of Allentown’s Franklin Park, a vital 1.1-acre neighborhood space west of 14th street between Chew and Turner streets.
Allentown is one of eight urban areas sharing $100 million in Bezos Earth Fund investments as part of its Greening America’s Cities initiative. The initiative is funding community-designed parks, beautiful large scale green space, and immersive outdoor areas in Atlanta; Cleveland; Indianapolis; Little Rock, Ark.; Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; and Sioux Falls, S.D., in addition to Allentown. Funding across each of the cities will incorporate native plants and trees, new parks, and urban wildlife habitat alongside recreational amenities, blending community values with ecological function.
“The generosity of the Bezos Earth Fund will make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Allentown families and give our neighbors access to a fully functional outdoor space that meets community needs,” said Parknership Executive Director Ruffian Tittmann. “These are the types of generational projects that the founders of the Parknership envisioned when they created our organization to find partners who want to invest in a shared vision to enhance, activate and invest in public spaces that connect people and parks.”
The City of Allentown has already allocated up to $725,000 in federal funding toward design and construction of the park.
“Franklin Park spent decades off the radar as a patch of concrete in a rapidly changing Allentown,” said Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk. “When we started partnering with residents to make the improvements that they wanted, the excitement started to grow. We’re so grateful that the Bezos Earth Fund is helping accelerate the collaboration, showing residents what’s possible when a city listens and invests.”
An essential part of the neighborhood
Serving more than 16,000 residents in a one-mile radius in one of the city’s most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, Franklin Park is slated to receive improvements such as tree planting and shade structures, dedicated play areas for small children and other youth, intergenerational gathering space with seating and game tables, a community garden with water access, a basketball court, accessible pathways, restrooms, water spray areas, signage and parking.
Specific improvements to Franklin Park are following a community-driven design plan undertaken this year. A timeline for construction will be provided once design and permitting are complete.
The park anchors the Franklin Park neighborhood. Once home to Franklin Elementary School (1888-1967), the city park has for generations served as a safe haven for local youth. For many residents, it serves as a shared front yard and a place where relationships and community grow.
First PA project for Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America City’s initiative
This is the second round of funding as part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America Cities initiative, with a total of $150 million deployed across 11 cities so far, towards its commitment to invest a total of $400 million to prioritize green spaces as essential infrastructure across the United States.
Projects from the first round of the program, which started in 2023, have resulted in hubs that combine urban agriculture, fresh food access, and local entrepreneurship; community gardens on previously vacant land; restored outdoor trails that were previously full of debris and materials; and vibrant parks that promote nature and local landscapes; among many other projects across Albuquerque, NM; Atlanta; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Wilmington, DE.
“At the Bezos Earth Fund, we want to make the planet a place people can and want to live, and that includes making sure people have green spaces woven into daily life — places to cool down and get shade, bring their families, or simply walk through on their commute. Those places shouldn’t be a luxury,” said Tom Taylor, CEO and President of the Bezos Earth Fund. “Greening America’s Cities shows what’s possible when communities, local leaders, and partners come together to transform overlooked spaces into something extraordinary.”