Construction is complete on a performance and fitness center that will bring creative spaces and programming to residents of the Near Westside neighborhood.

A former parking lot, Performance Park will serve as a multifaceted outdoor venue on Wyoming Street, complete with an outdoor stage and fitness equipment. The park is an expansion of the Near Westside Initiative’s indoor theater complex, SALTspace, that opened earlier this year.

“Looking good, looking good. Every day it looks better,” said Gregorio Jimenez, executive director of the Near Westside Initiative, as he walked along the newly-paved driveway in early September. “I blink my eye sometimes and they change the whole place.”

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the space will take place in the spring, Jimenez said. The Near Westside Initiative is a community partnership that looks to revitalize the Near Westside neighborhood.

The park space will help facilitate more community programming and partnerships with other organizations, Jimenez said. He envisions public dance classes and competitions, along with group fitness classes like yoga and Pilates. Jimenez grew up in the Near Westside neighborhood, and although he was more into sports as a kid, his childhood friends loved hip-hop.

“A lot of our community members express themselves through performing. Through music, through dance,” he said.

Events and programming for the park are in the beginning stages of planning, Jimenez said. There are no formal plans for the winter yet, but he’s hoping to hold a snowman contest in the park.

The Performance Park project is years in the making. Talks started in 2012, but it wasn’t until Jimenez took over as Near Westside Initiative director in September 2018 that the project took off.

Construction on the lot began in July. Steve Cronk, project supervisor, said in September that the project had been going smoothly so far. There were no complaints from anyone living near the construction site, he said.

“That’s big when you’re working in the city and you hear backup alarms and everything,” Cronk said. “Not one complaint.”

Performance Park will help meet the community’s needs for more creative spaces, Jimenez said. The lot will feature an outdoor stage, built-in seating and basic fitness equipment for pullups and pushups. It’s wheelchair accessible and open on all sides, making for one of the most inclusive public spaces the neighborhood has.

Underground electrical wires run through the lot to allow food trucks and other vendors to power up for special events. The park has a rainwater collection system using porous asphalt and an infiltration basin, available through a grant with Save the Rain, a stormwater management plan for Onondaga County.

The Near Westside Initiative partners with local organizations including Syracuse University, the Gifford Foundation, WCNY, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse and Hillside Family of Agencies. In his previous role at the initiative, Jimenez worked directly with local youth. He looks to keep kids distracted from negative events happening in their lives.

The park has the potential to thrive as a community-focused space, especially for younger generations, Jimenez said.

“So, they can stay motivated, so they can learn; they can network; they can stay focused on the positive,” he said. “It looks promising to me.”

Published on November 6, 2019 at 9:20 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu