Volunteers Finish Sprucing Up City Lot

June 2, 2005
By ASHLEY L. BATTLE, Courant Staff Writer

The Knox Parks Foundation unveiled its latest project Wednesday: a renovated lot at the intersection of Broad Street and Farmington Avenue.

For the past year, the foundation, along with groups of volunteers, worked to clean the lot, the former site of Hartford Public High School.

Jack Hale, president of Knox Parks Foundation, said that although the lot is renovated, he does not want people to view it as a park. It is for use by joggers and walkers, but remains for sale. He said the renovation was done so that the lot could be more easily maintained.

Several groups were instrumental in the renovation of the lot, including the foundation's "Green Crew," a group of full-time employees who work with the foundation as part of the AmeriCorps program. A second group of workers, called the Greater Hartford Green Team, was made up of of volunteers. Funding from the Alexander A. Goldfarb Memorial Trust gave the foundation the money it needed to clean the lot and remove the rusty fence that once surrounded it. Forty-four new trees were planted, and a 1/8 mile track was created.

"It was a pigsty for 40 years," said James Kinsella, who administers the Goldfarb trust.