Pictured L-R: Larry Cockrell, Commission Park & Recreation Board; Pastor Ronald DeRamus, former Greenwood Resident; Wendy Jackson, Freshwater Land Trust; Phillip McWane, Valeria Abbott, City Council District 3; Maxine Parker, City Council District 4, Ruff
Pictured L-R: Larry Cockrell, Commission Park & Recreation Board; Pastor Ronald DeRamus, former Greenwood Resident; Wendy Jackson, Freshwater Land Trust; Phillip McWane, Valeria Abbott, City Council District 3; Maxine Parker, City Council District 4, Ruff

The former residents of the Greenwood community in Birmingham, Ala. will always remember November 17, 2012; the day they returned home to their old neighborhood to see the beautiful new park built by McWane. The idea for Greenwood Park was born out of the settlement of an enforcement action, United States, et al. v. McWane, Inc., taken on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce federal environmental laws. McWane requested that a portion of any fine or penalty be channeled back into the Birmingham community for the benefit of its citizens.

Greenwood Park is the latest addition to green space redevelopment in Birmingham, much of it contemplated by the Olmsted Plan (A Park System for Birmingham) published in 1925. With Greenwood Park and its predecessors Jemison Park, Homewood City Park, the Shades Creek Linear Park, Ruffner Mountain Preserve, the Railroad Reservation Park, and Red Mountain Park, Birmingham is well on its way to offering its residents as much urban open space as any city in the United States.

In 2005, McWane explored several options in the vicinity of its North Birmingham pipe plant for a park that would also benefit the environment. The Greenwood neighborhood, a 34-acre tract that was once occupied by a number of residential properties emerged as the clear winner. The land is located in the Village Creek floodplain and directly underneath the glide path to the Birmingham Airport. BecauseĀ  the residents suffered from both frequent flooding and aircraft noise, in the 1980s and 1990s, the City of Birmingham and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began relocating residents and demolishing the buildings on-site.

With the proposed site identified, McWane developed preliminary plans for the project. The draft plans were discussed with all stakeholders during meetings and consultations over several years, including meetings with six surrounding neighborhood associations. The project contained two major features: a community park and a bio-remediation facility that improves the water quality of Village Creek through natural processes, all at an expected cost of approximately $3.7 million. After receiving final approval from all stakeholders, construction on Greenwood Park began and was completed in November 2012.

A 3,600 foot long walking trail meanders through the constructed wetland areas as well as through the site's existing large oak, cottonwood, hackberry and pecan trees. The park also includes many common park amenities including a playground area, picnic shelter, restroom building, 38-space parking lot, two basketball courts, and a multi-useĀ field suitable for baseball, football or soccer.

In addition to these much needed recreational facilities, and to comply with EPA's SEP requirements, the park's showpiece is a natural stormwater treatment system designed to collect and filter contaminated stormwater runoff from the 679-acre watershed that drains through the park site. Stormwater collected in two bio-retention cells will eventually be absorbed and filtered through layers of grass, sand and soil, and gravel into a series of underground pipes. Any remaining stormwater will then be pumped into one of two 20-foot wide bio-swales lined with native shrubs and grasses through which the stormwater will slowly migrate to provide additional filtration before being absorbed into the soil or entering Village Creek. Together the bio-retention cells and bio-swales will work as a "constructed wetland" designed to reduce many of the impurities currently being washed into Village Creek from the upper watershed.