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ABOUT
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Oxon Run Park William C. Smith + Co., along with Fannie Mae, community organizations, and residents of Ward 8, brought together 800 volunteers to rejuvenate 25 acres of Oxon Run Park in Southeast Washington, DC in a day-long event on May 31, 2007. The park, with natural resources to rival any other riparian area in the District of Columbia, suffered from years of neglect and had become overgrown with non-native, invasive vegetation. Basketball courts were cracked and lacked backboards, nets and striping; horseshoe pits were crumbling; an amphitheatre sat rotting; picnic shelters had been vandalized. Two pedestrian bridges were covered with barbed wire, vines and graffiti. One section of the park had been appropriated as a neighborhood dumping ground. William C. Smith + Co. began work on the park six weeks in advance of the volunteer day to remove trash and invasive plant material, construct hiking trails, and limb up specimen trees to create sight lines across the park. During that time, company personnel hosted community meetings to solicit resident input and held playground design days at neighborhood schools. This project represents $750,000 in improvements from private investors in neighborhood infrastructure. The park is once again safe and beautiful, and it has brought residents out of their homes to enjoy recreation and socializing. William C. Smith + Co. is partnering with Training Grounds, Inc. and Washington Parks and People to provide education and employment to neighborhood residents who have become stewards of the park to ensure long-term sustainability and programming.
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