Grand Opening of Pop! Heights Park

The nonprofit Far South Community Development Corporation (Far South CDC), in partnership with Sheldon Heights Church of Christ, opened POP! Heights Park on October 29. Designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative and located along the South Halsted commercial corridor between 112th and 113th streets (11227 S. Halsted St.), POP! Heights Park is the first major new park along South Halsted in more than 50 years — providing nearly 22,000 square feet of multi-use outdoor space for Far South Side communities including Roseland, Morgan Park, and West Pullman.

The new park is supported by $540,000 in grants from Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot’s Chicago Recovery Plan through the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

It is one of 12 new public plazas that will create spaces for recreation, performances, pop-up shops, gardening, and other neighborhood activities at strategic locations across Chicago through the Public Outdoor Plaza (POP!) program. The POP! program is designed to help community-based organizations revitalize underutilized land along neighborhood retail corridors.

"The transformation that Far South CDC has achieved at POP! Heights Park is truly remarkable, and will provide residents with a new community space to gather and connect in," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. "This beautiful new amenity represents the type of change we seek to achieve through the Chicago Recovery Plan and the POP! program, which are helping to make our communities that much more vibrant."

POP! Heights Park is divided into six primary zones of activity linked by a lively, brightly colored walking ribbon that meanders throughout the site. The ribbon transforms from a walking and exercise path in the morning to a roller-skating ribbon in the evening. Visitors will also enjoy a half basketball court, treefilled seating areas with moveable blocks, a shared stage for performances, community garden, space for markets and a vibrant new mural by local artist Amoz Ben Wright.

“POP! Heights Park is a game-changer for the South Halsted Street corridor and for the greater Far South region of the city. We’re excited to bring this beautiful and inspiring outdoor space to life for our community and invite everyone to come out and join us for a celebratory opening on October 29,” said Katanya Raby, Far South CDC’s director of planning.

The development of POP! Heights Park is part of the Far South CDC's bold Bringing Communities Back Initiative to repurpose nearly 1 million square feet of vacant/blighted community areas into thriving community anchors that will spur economic growth and repopulate communities on Chicago’s Far South Side that have experienced decades of chronic disinvestment. This initiative was recently named one of six finalists, advancing to the next round of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10 million Chicago Prize competition. For more information, visit farsouthcdc.org/ bcbi and farsouthcdc.org/popheightspark.