More than 50 years ago, the Fort Wayne parks department struck a deal to allow some of its land to be used by a nonprofit group for a special purpose.
The land had been a nature preserve within the sprawling Franke Park. Today, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is run and financially supported by the Fort Wayne Zoological Society on park property.
Nonprofit Indiana Tech's proposal to invest $6.4 million in the city's Memorial Park for sports fields and improvements is not unique, though city-college parks partnerships aren't the norm, according to a parks expert. A major hurdle for the school will be gaining public approval to move military memorials honoring World War I veterans.
“It's a public space, and I think the big thing that we always hear from a lot of different cities we work with is that you really have to make sure that the interests of all the citizens are heard,” said Charlie McCabe. He's director of the Center for City Park Excellence in Boston, part of The Trust for Public Land, based in San Francisco. “And whenever you have memorials, that's always a big challenge.”
Many park partnerships start with neighbors entering an agreement with a cash-strapped city to raise money for improvements, McCabe said.
But some colleges also have gained approval to put money into city parks they want to use.
The University of Kansas built a boathouse for its rowing team on the banks of the Kansas River in a Lawrence city park. Northeastern University is spending $26 million on an athletics complex in a Boston park.