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Welcome to the Franklin Park Coalition

The Franklin Park Coalition (FPC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to involving the community to work, play, & engage in Franklin Park, Boston’s largest green space. Designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 1800s, Franklin Park serves as an urban oasis to the surrounding neighborhoods and the City of Boston.

Latest News

Franklin Park Coalition White Stadium Renovation Survey

 

Just released: Read the Full Survey Report with Data and Analysis

Read the press release: Survey of 700+ residents shows broad support for White Stadium renovation if park and community concerns are addressed.

Mark your calendars! Spring is really coming … just not quite yet

  • Franklin Park Kite & Bike Festival: Saturday, May 18 from 12-4pm – spread the word and bring all your friends and family!

Shattuck Hospital Re-development

The (BMC) Boston Medical Center-led development coalition has responded to both community and state concerns about the size and cost of their proposal and will be resubmitting a smaller project in the coming months. You can read our Letter to the Boston Globe from last summer about FPC concerns. There will be presentations and public meetings going forward that we will publicize.

White Stadium Renovation Project

At the other end of the park the Boston Public Schools and a professional women’s soccer team have developed a renovation plan for George Robert White Schoolboy Stadium.

  1. General White Stadium updates page
  2. Boston Unity original proposal/deck (In response to the RFP)
  3. White Stadium public meeting on the transportation plan for soccer games
  4. Recent Updated Boston Unity proposal to the Boston Parks Commission
  5. FPC comment on the Stadium project for the Article 80 development process

Again, FPC is concerned about the size of the plan. The renovated Stadium will include 11,000 seats for 20 pro women’s soccer games every year (and where will all those fans park?!) and new buildings for BPS athletics, including fitness rooms, a sports medicine facility, and administrative offices. This project is on a faster track; the next public meeting with discuss the interface with the Franklin Park Action Plan, of special interest to FPC. Register for the meeting on Monday, February 12

Franklin Park Action Plan

Implementation update: FPC members were in the house for the Mayor’s State of the City speech in January announcing big investments in Franklin Park to begin implementation of the Franklin Park Action Plan. We are thrilled that a new park administrator, new maintenance staff, and a woodlands restoration team will be hired in response to Action Plan recommendations. Thank you, Mayor Wu!

The Franklin Park Coalition Board of Directors offered their Comments on the Action Plan and sent a budget request to the Mayor and our elected officials for a significant operating and capital investment to begin Action Plan Implementation. Much of this request will be met in 2024-25. Thanks to all the community members and park users who contributed to the Action Plan development over the last five years and to those who advocated at the Mayor’s Coffee Hours and City Council budget hearings.

Report & Track Concerns about Franklin Park

We’re please to announce a new page dedicated as a one-stop-shop to report and track your concerns about Franklin Park.  Go to www.franklinparkcoalition.org/311 to view open and closed comments and complaints from parks users.  The page leverages the City of Boston’s 311 service to display requests relating to issues in the park.  See litter that needs to be addressed?  Fallen limb? Out of service water station?  You can report these issues, and more, on your smartphone (Android; iPhone) or via the web.  And track your report, and those of other park users, at www.franklinparkcoalition.org/311.

Bos: 311 is the best way to report all the issues you want to see address in the park.  Download the app, then snap a photo on your phone, tag the location in the park, and write a short description.

Upcoming Events

Work

The Franklin Park Coalition plays a big part in conservation and stewardship of the park. This work is carried out primarily through our volunteer programs. FPC volunteers come the local community, Northeastern University and other educational institutions, and businesses/corporations. We also have hosted AmeriCorps members, and organized a summer youth conservation team.

Play

There are lots of opportunities to play in the park! The FPC organizes the annual Kite & Bike Festival, the Elma Lewis Playhouse concert series, and the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. We also host the Winter Festival and a range of health & fitness activities throughout the summer. Stay up to date on upcoming events by checking out our calendar and joining our mailing list!

Engage

Although most people know the FPC because of our events and park stewardship, advocacy is really at the core of what we do. FPC advocacy has deep roots; the organization was founded in 1974 by community members concerned about mismanagement in the park. They made the park the urban oasis that it was meant to be. The fact that Franklin Park is such a beautiful, safe, and well-used space is due in no small part to the advocacy of the FPC and our membership.