Upper Moreland Township Gets $335K State Grant For Improvements To Farmstead Park

UPPER MORELAND, PA — State officials announced Tuesday that Farmstead Park, a community space that is home to four historic structures, will be receiving state grant dollars that will help with some much-needed improvements to the property.

Cindy Adams Dunn, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, visited Upper Moreland Township Tuesday to announce the $335,000 in Keystone, Recreation, Parks and Conservation Fund grant dollars that will be used toward the restoration of Farmstead Park.

"This restoration project is key to helping with our efforts to expand recreation opportunities for all Pennsylvanians and we are proud to support Upper Moreland Township with this critical funding," Dunn said in a statement. "We expect this project to have a transformative impact in the community by making this space a destination for visitors. DCNR is grateful to the township and its partners for focusing on a sustainable recreation space."

Farmstead Park is a 10-acre parcel located along Byberry Road that the township purchased two decades ago, Upper Moreland Parks and Recreation Director Patrick Stasio told Patch on Monday.

It is in need of various upgrades, and the DCNR grant, along with other donated dollars, will help the township make improvements, Stasio stated.

Upper Moreland Township Board of Commissioners President Kevin Spearing said in a statement that the DCNR grant would provide "necessary environmental improvements and recreational opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.

"We are excited to receive this grant funding, and other assistance from all our partners, to help us restore and reinvent the sustainable reuse for this treasure within our community," Spearing said in his statement. "Our relationships with the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, the dedicated group of volunteers that make up the Farmstead Alliance, and the granting agencies that share our vision are very much appreciated."

Spearing said that the township remains committed to improving the "natural environment and water quality throughout the Township."

The four historic structures at Farmstead Park are a farmhouse, barn, carriage house and spring house. They remain some of the few, nearly complete, 18th century farmsteads in the region.

The DCNR grant will help with various improvements at the property, including water management upgrades and recreational trail improvements.