Brooklyn Centre Park Re-Opens After 5-Year Cleanup

CLEVELAND, OH — W.C. Reed Park was rededicated and re-opened Friday. The park was shut down in 2013 after a soil test put it on the U.S. EPA's Superfund sites of polluted areas that needed long-term responses.

The park — on the city's west side — underwent a massive, $3 million cleanup effort courtesy of the EPA. The cleanup included a two-foot buildup of clean topsoil, storm water drainage, and an underground conduit for lighting. The city also spent $1 million for new playground equipment, a ball field, a basketball court, sidewalks, a paved parking lot and newly seeded grass.

“We now have a new wide-open space of recreational land that is safe and clean for all to enjoy,” said Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli. “After decades of dumping dangerous pollutants on this site, Mother Nature has joined us in giving it a new life.”

On Friday, Brancatelli was joined by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Mayor Frank Jackson and others for a re-dedication event. The park was then opened to the public.

Before it was a park, the W.C. Reed area was a dump for garbage and industrial waste. It teemed with dangerous levels of toxic pollutants. The city had to close the park in 2013.

The park is 12-acres in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, between Denison Avenue and Pearl Road, south of Riverside Cemetery. The park is named for 1940s Cleveland Councilman William Reed.

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