Woerd Ave Dump Closer To Becoming 'World Class' Park

WALTHAM, MA – For decades, almost 9 acres of land have sat largely overgrown and underutilized. But the old Woerd Avenue landfill, once used as a dumping ground for ashes leftover from heating furnaces, is a step closer to being turned into a public park.

In the 1930s, the city set up a town dump next to Cram’s Cove called the Woerd Avenue landfill. In 1971 with an estimated 35,000 tons of ashes dumped there annually, the city closed the landfill. You can see the former dump behind Koutoujian Playground, along Woerd Avenue and Cove Street near one of the city's most dense areas and in one of the lowest income neighborhoods.

For years, residents and officials have eyed the land on the Southside as other old landfills around the country were transformed into parks.

About three years ago, the city, led by Housing Division Programs Robert Waters, applied for a loan to transform the property. But as the city looked into it, they learned the site had not been lined to prevent the ash and other debris from contaminating the environment, according to a state-landfill report. So, the city set to work at an effort to remediate the fallout from the former landfill site.

Now, following several years of testing, the city is prepared to complete the installation of the environmental remediation cap and construction of a public park, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

And with that, the department announced Thursday it approved a loan to help with that.

Thursday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it approved a $4.1 million loan guarantee to the City of Waltham to complete the Woerd Avenue municipal landfill revitalization project.

The City of Waltham Open Space Plan 2015 – 2022 call for paved parking, additional playing fields, walking trails and a connection to the Charles River Walkway.

"This loan guarantee is one of the most successful investment tools that HUD offers to local governments to help strengthen their communities," said HUD New England Regional Administrator David Tille in a statement.

HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Assistance Program enables local governments to borrow money at reduced interest rates to promote economic development, stimulate job growth and improve public facilities in distressed areas.

"Nothing says happy new year like $4.1 million in funding," said City Councilor Cathyann Harris of Ward 8, who has championed more green space in the ward since she was first elected.

"We're really in need of some place to truly enjoy the Charles River," she said.

There is currently a skate board park and its right next to a little league field, but the idea is to revitalize the area so that not only do neighbors benefit, but the rest of the community wants to come and utilize the space, too.

"The idea would be that people would want to go and spend time there," she said.

The loan will be paid back yearly for the next 20 years through the community development grant block budget, which is a federal grant the city gets from HUD, according to Harris.

The councilor stresses that this is just the latest step in what has been a long process at city hall to revitalize parks in the city over the past seven to nine years.

The city sent out some 5,000 surveys to folks in Ward 8 and from Whittemore School families to get an idea of what people might be interested in when it comes to the space. The data that those surveys garnered, said Harris, helped secure the funding.

The city partnered with a Brandeis professor who put together a project for his students and came back with a concept design for options.

But it's still early days. Watch for more community meetings and opportunities for input, said Harris.

"We want to get started on the project as soon as possible," she said. And that means holding neighborhood meetings, starting a bidding process and getting official concepts. "It's going to take quite a bit of public input to properly lay this out."

There's no timeline set in stone or even a full picture of what the space will look like yet, but Harris has high hopes.

"The residents of Ward 8 are going to get a world class park," she said.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).

[Editor's note: This version has been updated to show the correct amount of the loan from Hud]