Doylestown Borough’s Broad Commons Park now has a small picnic area where visitors can relax.
The three tables with attached seating, shaded by metal umbrellas with solar collectors used for charging cell phones, opened recently as the park completed its second phase of work, said borough manager John Davis.
The newly created space, said Davis, complements the nearby playground area, uniquely designed to replicate Fonthill Castle.
“It’s a generally passive park and this is intentionally meant to be small,” said the manager, who can view the park from his office across Doyle Street at Borough Hall.
As the borough anticipates an influx of new residents, Davis said, Broad Commons will provide a green space for the growing community.
“This is a nice gathering place for existing and future residents,” he said, in a phone interview.
Davis said the borough plans to add two public restrooms in extra space in its administrative building across from the park that will be open beyond normal business hours.
“They will be accessible directly from the park,” he noted.
Work on the project should be completed this winter.
Looking ahead, Davis said, borough officials are carefully considering any future additions to the park. Nothing more is currently in the offing.
“We want to be very intentional and involve the community,” before moving forward, he said.
The approximately three-acre park stretches along North Broad Street as it intersects with Doyle Street. Once an industrial corridor, the park plans were more than 30 years in the making as the area was transformed from a PennDOT maintenance facility.
An expansive, 233-unit, four-and-seven-story apartment complex is expected to open later this year at 333 N. Broad St. across from the park along Atkinson Lane. A townhouse development is also planned across from the park on North Broad Street.
“The character at that end of town is changing,” Davis said.
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