10 Schuylkill County Parks Get Grants, Including New Discovery Park in Pottsville

Check out the rendering above showing the proposed Pottsville Discovery Park, to be located at Third and W. Market Sts.

For years, it’s been a vacant lot right in the heart of the downtown. In 2020, however, the Pottsville Redevelopment Authority purchased the lot and discussed plans for a “Discovery Park” that were the brainchild of the city’s late-Mayor Terry Reiley, according to a RepublicanHerald report.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the project has some funding.

State Sen. Dave Argall (R-29) announced Thursday that it is 1 of 10 parks in Schuylkill County that’s the recipient of a DCNR grant. The money comes from the DCNR Conservation Community Partnerships Program.

More Than $1 Million Awarded to Schuylkill County Parks Projects

“Improved parks and trails are a key ingredient in revitalized communities, large and small,” Argall says in a statement. “If we want to breathe new life into many of our older communities, this is one proven strategy.”

Pottsville’s Discovery Park gets $120,000 in grant money. The DCNR money is a matching grant for the Pottsville project, according to Savas Logothetides, executive director at Pottsville Area Development Corp.

The park is proposed to feature solar panels, a mural, public art, and an amphitheater.

In total, the 10 Schuylkill County parks will split a pot of $1,009,000.

Here’s a list of the other Schuylkill County parks projects awarded these DCNR grants:

• $50,000: Donaldson Park, Frailey Township
• $70,000: Kaier’s Park, Mahanoy City
• $114,000: Ridge Road Park, Orwigsburg
• $46,700: Memorial Park, Reilly Township
• $76,800: Ryan Memorial Park, Rush Township
• $104,500: Schuylkill River Trail development (4 miles in Blythe and New Castle townships and Saint Clair)
• $56,000: Wildcat Park, Walker Township
• $129,000: Wayne Township Community Park, Wayne Township
• $242,000: Atlas Park, West Penn Township

Image: Oombra Architects, Philadelphia

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