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Grand River Arts Council (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
A new, accessible parklet will create a gathering space outside the Palace Theater that is welcoming to older adult patrons and people with disabilities. Amenities -- including a new ramp and bench seating -- will allow the theater to host outdoor arts programming.
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Albany, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Many communities in Lee County lacked accessibility features and infrastructure to bring residents together. To address this, the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission installed recreational equipment, outdoor art and other amenities in several municipalities. In Albany, the Commission commissioned a large sculpture of a turtle to compliment the town's other public art installations. In Leesburg, it installed park benches and message boards in the community's nature park, which joined outdoor games and cedar benches purchased by the local housing authority. And in Thomasville, the Commission created a pop-up porch, which extends useable sidewalk space into on-street parking spaces. The portable porch can be transported, reconfigured and installed in different locations, allowing residents to gather for conversation and events. The popularity of the parklet inspired a local arts organization to install their own portable porches for its annual art exhibition.
Bolivar, MO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: This project will install shaded seating beside the new inclusive playground. It aims to provide a comfortable space for grandparents to connect with their families, fostering intergenerational relationships.
Ronceverte, WV
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To give residents an outdoor space to gather, this project set out to create a pocket park in downtown Ronceverte. Organizers poured topsoil to level out the site and added benches and raised flower beds. A mural is also planned for the site.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Lemmon, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Staff at the Lemmon Public Library saw a need to reduce social isolation in town, particularly among older residents. To address this, they set out to improve the library's public gathering space. Project organizers created a new bakery cafe, purchasing folding tables with stacking chairs, an acrylic pastry cabinet, a cake cover and cupcake display, tablecloths and pump pots for coffee. Since the cafe's opening, the library has used new tables and chairs at hundreds of events and the space has accommodated pop-up shops. The opportunity to bake for the cafe led some residents to launch their own baking businesses and one retired baker was inspired to plan a workshop for women starting businesses. Sparked by the success of the cafe, library staff have since pursued other opportunities to expand community space, including providing library patrons with an outdoor area for reading and gathering.
Lemmon, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Engaging residents in vibrant public places
Description: The project will purchase a portable dance floor, which residents will be able to check out from the library for local events.
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