ST. LOUIS — A vacant lot in downtown St. Louis will turn into a “parcel of paradise” this weekend.
Pocketparks, a nonprofit organization that reimagines and redevelops unused plots of land to provide communities with recreational areas, will host a pop-up pocket park May 14-16. The pocket park will feature games, giveaways, food from Bailey’s Restaurants and more.
The event is preparation for the permanent “DUC Park” which is slated for groundbreaking this summer. DUC Park is named for its sponsor, Downtown Urgent Care.
Samantha Lee is one of the people behind the project. She's looking to turn empty spaces in downtown St. Louis into places of recreation and relaxation.
"St. Louis has a big vacancy problem,” Lee told 5 On Your Side. “This can be something really cool.”
She started sketching out her plan after passing an empty patch of land on the corner of Locust and 10th, the same area where the pop-up event will take place.
She believes the pocket parks will bring new life to the downtown area.
“Gosh, we have such a cool city. It’s so underrated. Our streets are very desolate, often empty. Active streets are safer streets. Safer streets attract people,” she said.
The pop-up event will be held from 4-9 p.m on Friday, noon-9 p.m. on Saturday and noon-4 p.m. on Sunday at 923 Locust Street.
Visit the Pocketparks website for more information.