Plant Pride on Parsons
Plant Pride on Parsonsis an award winning community greening partnershipdeveloped to assist revitalization of the historic Parsons commercial corridor by abating litter and graffiti and creating a botanical gallery of hand-painted flowering containers and nature-scape murals.
Plant Pride Information Brochure
Parsons Avenue Walking Tour Brochure
Plant Pride on Parsons 2015 Photos
Lowes Community Improvement Grant
The City of Columbus, Keep Columbus Beautiful in conjunction with the Neighborhood Design Center, South Side Neighborhood Pride Center and the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association was a recipient of a national Keep America Beautiful/Lowes Community Improvement Grant.
These funds were targeted for assistance to small businesses and property owners along Parson Avenue as an expansion of the Plant Pride on Parson beautification efforts which began in 2010.
The project worked to improve the front of properties that showed a need on a 2 mile stretch of the Avenue. The Neighborhood Design Center offered tasteful suggestions of paint colors and simple design ideas to enhance and freshen up the façade of the business. The paint and painting supplies were paid for through the grant and all labor was completed by supervised volunteers.
The "facelift" took place in two phases. On August 15, two-hundred Lowes Heroes handled "prep work" -- sanding, scraping, priming and removal of rotted wood on those properties who signed off to be a project participant. This was followed on August 25, 2012 by 600 plus volunteers from the Vineyard Church, a key partner in the 2012 Columbus Volunteer Challenge. Vineyard members and their families painted storefronts, trash containers and picked up litter on Parsons, parallel alleys and side streets.
The grant also targeted litter. Despite bi-annual cleanups-litter remains a problem along this 2 1/2 mile stretch of Parsons. Grant dollars purchased litter abatement equipment and motivational supplies that will urge both daily and monthly efforts towards eliminating accumulating trash and debris between Livingston and Hosack.
A clean and green business district sends a strong message that there is pride in the corridor and in the adjacent neighborhoods. The grant was just a first step in helping existing or vacant businesses along the Avenue to enhance their property, attract new customers, sell or lease empty buildings and reduce crime.
On September 8, 2012, the first ever "National Planting Day," members of the surrounding Parsons Avenue neighborhoods and South Side community were invited to help transition 126 hand-painted planters from summer blooms to fresh fall foliage.
By working together, we can make Columbus a cleaner, safer and more beautiful city in which to live, work and raise our families.
The Pride is Back and it is officially Planted on Parsons!