Sherbondy Hill, Kenmore parks win 2024 Akron Parks Challenge, receive funding for improvements

Two more Akron city parks were named winners of the sixth installment of the Akron Parks Challenge on Friday, winning more than $100,000 in city funding to design, build and maintain new park structures.

Sherbondy Hill Park (Ward 3) and Prentiss Park (Ward 9) will each receive $150,000 for improvements, with support from the Akron Parks Collaborative and community engagement from the two neighborhoods.

"Both recipients this year have a strong focus on providing safe and vibrant places for our youth to play and interact,” Akron Parks Collaborative Executive Director Bridget Ambrisco said in a release. “It is so important for our neighborhoods and our city at large to have active, welcoming, inclusive and safe places where kids and adults alike can go for recreation and relaxation.”

Residents were invited to give their ideas for how their local parks could be improved as part of this challenge, which launched April 1.

“The Akron Parks Challenge process puts community engagement at the beginning of the process, so that neighborhood residents themselves decide how to use their own park and also provide input on how they want it to look and feel,” Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said . “It’s essential to neighborhood health and safety to have engaged and active groups involved in solutions toward a more vibrant Akron.”

The vision for Sherbondy Hill Park, which the Akron Bengals Youth Football organization uses for practice, includes increased seating, a walking path, a pavilion and a small play space for families

“Congratulations to Sherbondy Hill Park on winning the 2024 Akron Parks Challenge,” City Council President Margo Sommerville said in a release . “We are so excited about the investment of resources, the construction of a pavilion, and the enhancement to community well-being that having such a gathering space will bring to the residents of Ward 3.”

Organizations including First Glance, South Street Ministries and Better Kenmore as well as Councilwoman Tina Boyes were part of the application team for Prentiss Park.

“For years, Prentiss Park was the recreational center of Kenmore but it has since fallen into disrepair," Boyes said in a release. "With this funding and the creative ideas of neighborhood students, residents and nonprofit leaders, we look forward to once again making it the fun and inclusive central gathering place our community has long needed. We are grateful to the Akron Parks Collaborative board for their confidence and support.”

Students on the Changemaker Challenge team from Innes Community Learning Center were recently awarded $4,000 to improve Prentiss Park, according to the city release. These eighth graders will continue to work with their teachers and local community leaders to enhance the park as a community gathering space.

The goal of the Akron Parks Challenge is to empower community members to put forth ideas about how to turn their local parks into active and vibrant public spaces. Submissions were reviewed by the Akron Parks Collaborative and judged based on neighborhood impact and feasibility, among other factors.

The city of Akron and the Akron Parks Collaborative will soon begin working with the teams from each park to develop a plan for community engagement over the next few months, including public meetings, events and surveys. Improvements could arrive as soon as a year from now, according to the release.

To learn more about the Akron Parks Challenge, and to view the previous winners, see akronparks.org .

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sherbondy Hill, Kenmore parks win 2024 Akron Parks Challenge, receive funding for improvements