Harvest Hope Park Improves Quality of Life for Tampa Community

Tampa Councilman Luis Viera welcomes the community to Harvest Hope Park From left, HUD Community Planning and Development Director Lisa Hill, Field Office Director Alesia Scott-Ford, and Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Director Cheryl Howell at the ribbon Cutting ceremony of Harvest Hope Park in Tampa. University Area Harvest Hope Park

After years of planning and community anticipation, Tampa's University Area Harvest Hope Park made its grand opening on Thursday, November 21st, 2019.

With seven acres of land, Harvest Park looks to create a place for children to play, learn, and grow in a safe environment; an oasis for the distressed neighborhood and the community that helped design the services they will receive: A communal garden, a kitchen with cooking lessons, grass sports field, playground, outdoor fitness stations, walking trail and a fishpond.

The children attending the event had a glimpse of what is to come. There was a park tour, cane pole fishing, a youth soccer game, cooking demonstrations, painting, garden seed plantings, light food options, and music. During the park tour, guests came upon an empty lot of the land sectioned off where the park is going to build a new water play area. Individuals from the community were able to pick the layout of the new water play structure they liked the best and the most votes would win the layout.

Funding from HUD's Community Development Block Grant helped with some of the improvements to the park. The Department was represented by Jacksonville Field Office Director Alesia Scott-Ford and Community Planning and Development Director Lisa Hill. Also attending were University Area CDC Executive Director and CEO Sarah Combs, Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Director Chery Howell, board members and partners representatives, such as Florida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring, USF University of South Florida Center for Brownfields Research & Redevelopment, Florida Blue, Nujak, Bank of America, Rays, and Tampa General Hospital.

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