The BPDA awarded final designation to the Frederick Douglass Peace Park Stewardship Committee and the Boston Food Forest Coalition Inc. in October of 2023 to redevelop the Frederick Douglass Peace Garden into restored open space.
In October 2021, the BPDA released an RFP for the sale of Parcels X-26B and X-26-2 in the South End Urban Renewal Area, known as the Frederick Douglass Peace Garden, for open space and community garden uses.
The BPDA received one proposal in response to the RFP from the Frederick Douglass Peace Park Stewardship Committee and the Boston Food Forest Coalition. Community members are welcome to review the proposal here and view a recording of the community meeting on March 8 here.
The Frederick Douglass Peace Garden Site
The Property consists of approximately 8,498 square feet of vacant land, comprising two parcels, known as Assessing parcels 0901930010 and 0901925020. The Property is abutted to the southwest by the Bessie Barnes Garden owned by non-profit land conservancy, The Trustees of Reservations (the “Trustees”), to the northwest by a cobblestone street and a condominium building at 1008-1012 Tremont Street, and to the east by privately owned rowhouses.
Beginning in the 1990s, the South End Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust (“SELROSLT”) made improvements on the site with the involvement of community residents and assistance from Urban Ecology. These improvements included perimeter fencing, unit paving, topsoil, a stone wall, a gazebo, and flower, tree, and shrub plantings. The fencing and gazebo have since been removed.
RFP Guidelines
The BPDA seeks creative and innovative proposals for public open space or community garden that meet the following objectives:
- Honor the history of the original Frederick Douglass Peace Garden on the site.
- Address the climate and open space needs of the Lower Roxbury community
- Create a sustainable public open space that can be maintained in the long term
- Promote the health and safety of open space users and the surrounding community
For the full RFP, see the procurement page here.