Plans for new park at Aspinwall Marina
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Things can look different on the water. Last October, Susan Crookston received a call about the Aspinwall Marina, which at the time was under auction with UPMC St. Margaret to be turned into a 650-car parking lot. She went down to see the property for the first time and decided it would be a better spot for a riverside park.
Since then, Crookston has created a plan for a 10-acre park, obtained various approvals and endorsements from the community, solicited a conceptual design of the park from a landscape architect, and in fewer than seven months raised $2.2 million to buy the marina through Friends of the Riverfront. She did all of this, and more, in 10 months as a volunteer. She recently announced that she and her husband have formed a company, Allegheny Development Partners, through which she will manage the Aspinwall Marina and continue to finance and develop the park. In short, she will continue the same full-time work for a salary, now that the initial purchase of the marina has been completed.
"This shift gives us the security to sit back and take a breath and plan how to make this property the community treasure that it was meant to be," Crookston said.
Friends of the Riverfront signed an agreement of sale in January, and since then people in the community of Aspinwall have worked to raise the funds necessary for the purchase. A combination of grassroots efforts -- everything from penny drives and lemonade stands to T-shirt sales and Beatles tribute concerts -- and some significant foundation support allowed them to reach their fund-raising goals in such a short time. The completed purchase was announced Oct. 12.
As Friends of the Riverfront works to add another 27 miles to the current 22 miles of trail along both sides of the river, executive director Thomas Baxter said the Aspinwall Marina is a "key parcel along that stretch" and "a tremendous opportunity to create a community aspect."
Friends of the Riverfront is the owner of the marina, but because the community became invested in the park through fund-raising efforts, the group has formed a subsidiary non-profit charged with managing the project for more local control of the direction of the park.
Crookston described the completed purchase as "step one." The marina is not yet open to the public, but the newly organized team is working to continue to engage the community to create a cohesive and concrete vision for the park. Though Crookston said there is no fixed timeline, she remarked that they are "ambitious in how quickly we expect this to open."
First Published October 23, 2011 12:00 am
