Lowell, Mass., October 10, 2025 - The City of Lowell invites residents to help shape the future of Saint Louis Park at a free community Block Party on Thursday, October 30 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The event will take place at Saint Louis Park, 424 W. 6th St, just off of Lakeview Ave in Centralville.

Building on the success of a Community Cookout that the City held in July, this Block Party will offer residents another opportunity to engage with the park's design process. Attendees will enjoy free food, live music, free swag, and kid-friendly activities. A physical model will be on display, showcasing resident-informed, preliminary designs for the park, including improvements to the riverfront, relaxing natural spaces, an outdoor classroom, and improved entrances and pathways around the park. The park designers will be on hand to answer questions and receive feedback. 

Saint Louis Park is a beloved park in Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood, known for its baseball fields and basketball courts. Both the park and Centralville face intensifying climate hazards, including extreme heat, poor air quality, and flooding. The new "Sponge Park" design integrates innovative strategies to mitigate these climate hazards while enhancing riverfront experiences and creating vibrant community gathering spaces.

This project is led by the City of Lowell’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) with design support from Agency Landscape + Planning, a landscape architecture firm based in Cambridge, MA. Funding includes a $979,120 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, over $575,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding allocated for the future Riverview Park, and a $5 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant that is making cleanup of the adjacent site possible - paving the way for long-term investment in a healthier, more resilient waterfront. 

The first phase of improvements to Saint Louis Park are already underway, including updates to the existing playground and basketball courts. The focus of the Block Party is on the second phase of improvements, which will include expanding the park across VFW Highway all the way to the Merrimack River.

For more information about the Saint Louis Sponge Park project, visit the City's website at https://www.saintlouisspongepark.com/.