NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — This Sunday people can check out Nashville's first permanent parking spot turned mini park — or parklet.
The parklet is being built in front of Wilburn Street Tavern in East Nashville, and that is where a Block Party will celebrate its big reveal with a block party from 4 to 7 between on the corner of Wilburn and Meridian Street.
It will feature bench seating, tabletops, and planters.
This was inspired by a yearly tradition called Parking Day that started in San Francisco in 2005 but is now celebrated worldwide. The goal is to repurpose street parking into tiny parks, places for art, and other activities temporarily.
However, this year, the Civic Design Center hosted a design competition to create a permanent one.
Hoar Construction volunteered to partner with the Civic Design Center and NDOT to build the parklet.
Philip Shepard is both a senior project manager for Hoar and a board member of the Civic Design Center. He said he hopes the Wilburn Street parklet will be the first of many in the city.
"That's where Hoar comes into play. Hoar, we're always looking for ways to give back to the community...We volunteered to kind of be the guinea pigs if you will for this first year to put this up and do a test run," said Shepard.
Hoar had dozens of volunteers building the parklet over the last two weeks.
