Walnut Hill Community Playground (Archived photo/Selah Lynch).

Here’s some great news for Walnut Hill Community Playground users. The public playground, located at 47th and Sansom, will be rehabilitated thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Target Foundation, according to a recent announcement by University City District (UCD). The funds, secured through UCD’s new Community Playground Revitalization Program, will be used by members of UCD’s Green City Works landscaping social enterprise to perform general improvements to the playground.

Improvements to the park, which dates back to the 1970s, with the current version built in 2009, will be made based on community feedback. The goal is to “make it safer and more welcoming for neighbors and other users,” according to the announcement.

The playground is dedicated to Alice Jones, a community leader who dedicated her life to her neighborhood. Her grandson, Shuja Moore, who is determined to carry on her legacy of positive community change, has been instrumental in spearheading the idea to revitalize the playground.

More details on this project are coming soon.

Walnut Hill residents got a chance on Thursday to ask the proposed developers of the Provident Insurance Co. building at 4601 Market Street what benefits the neighborhood would get from the healthcare campus planned for the site.

Iron Stone Real Estate Partners execs presented their plans for the building at a Walnut Hill Community Association meeting aimed at finalizing a “community benefits agreement,” a contract that would reflect community requests on everything from hiring practices to parking to the use of green space in development projects that get public subsidies.  Continue Reading

This holiday season, some West Philly-based community organizations and churches make sure that children from low-income communities have a chance to celebrate and receive gifts.

The Walnut Hill Community Association (WHCA), in partnership with The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) and other organizations and businesses will host the 4th annual Walnut Hill Holiday Extravaganza on Tuesday afternoon, 3-5 p.m.. This holiday event is held at the Max Paul Park (4610 Market St.), and this year, over 300 neighborhood children are expected to attend.

Walnut Hill families, neighbors and friends have also been invited. A beautifully decorated 10ft Christmas tree will stand tall amidst the festivity. There will be carolers, music, lights, photos, life-size gingerbread house, Santa and gifts for everyone.  Continue Reading

A few community meetings will be held this week – in the Spruce Hill and Walnut Hill neighborhoods – where residents can learn more and ask questions about public safety, development projects, and other important issues.

Two meetings are scheduled at Spruce Hill Community Association’s office at 257 S. 45th St this week:

• SHCA Board Meeting will take place tonight (Tuesday, Apr. 12) at 7:30 p.m., and the guest speaker is Jess Hinchey, a volunteer coordinator at Refugee Corps.

• SHCA Zoning meeting is on Wednesday, Apr. 13, and has the following agenda:  Continue Reading

If you want to learn more about Pennsylvania’s state budget and its impact on the community, come to the Walnut Hill Community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 – 8 p.m. State Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr. and State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown will be at the meeting to talk about the budget. They will also answer questions and address any concerns from community members.

The final draft of Walnut Hill 2015 Neighborhood Plan will also be presented at the meeting (7-8 p.m.).

The meeting will take place at The Enterprise Center (4548 Market Street).

Residents rank priorities as part of drafting the Walnut Hill neighborhood plan last night at The Enterprise Center (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local).

A group of Walnut Hill residents met last night to put the finishing touches on a five-year plan that they hope will eliminate blight, improve local business and affordable housing opportunities and cut down on litter in the neighborhood.

The meeting was the final in a series of gatherings to create a plan that balances the demographic changes in the neighborhood in recent years with the needs and interests of long-time residents.

Walnut Hill’s borders are Market Street to the north, Spruce Street to the south, 52nd Street to the west and 45th Street to the east. The neighborhood’s population has changed a lot since the 2000 census. The number of white residents has risen from 12 to 23 percent and the number of African American residents has declined from 81 percent in 2000 to 67 percent in 2010, the year of the latest census. That number has probably dropped even further since then.  Continue Reading