Baltimore, MD (December 9, 2019) – The Turner Station Conservation Teams has received a $500,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) to reimagine Fleming Park, a 16-acre waterfront park located on the Bear Creek tributary of the Patapsco River in Baltimore County, Maryland. “This project would not be possible without the MDOT MPA funding, which itself is a testament to the dedication, collaborative spirit, and innovative design strategies our partners have worked with us to develop over the past two years,” said Gloria Nelson, President of the Turner Station Conservation Teams, a community organization that represents a historic African American community in Baltimore County.
The Conservation Teams has been working with Mahan Rykiel Associates, a Baltimore-based landscape architecture and urban design studio on the Fleming Park project through the firm’s Design with Dredge program, an initiative that brings together community members, academics, regulatory and policy officials, and industry representatives to advance applied innovation in coastal resiliency and dredged material management in the Baltimore region. “Mahan Rykiel Associates strives to enrich the human condition and support vibrant natural systems through our work and specifically through the Design with Dredge program. The Fleming Park project aligns exceptionally well with these values and we are honored to collaborate with the Turner Station Conservation Teams on this exciting effort on the banks of Bear Creek,” said Isaac Hametz, principal and research director at Mahan Rykiel Associates.
Grant funding will be used to support the first phase of the project’s four phases, which includes project and grant management, community outreach and education, pre-design investigations, 30% design and engineering, and permitting and regulatory coordination. Mahan Rykiel Associates will lead the Fleming Park project team, which includes Anchor QEA, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and University of Virginia Associate Professor Brian Davis.
“We are happy to be working so closely with the residents of Turner Station to restore this important part of their community,” said Kristen Fidler, director of harbor development for the MDOT MPA.  “The MDOT MPA is a national leader in using dredged sediment from shipping channels in ways that benefit the environment.  We look forward to transforming this park into something that can be thoroughly enjoyed by local residents and others for years to come.”
The conceptual design of Fleming Park calls for restoring more than 2,600 feet of shoreline and in-water habitat with dredged sediment from Baltimore Harbor shipping channels, constructing a community boardwalk and educational pier, and improving recreational opportunities and public access in the park’s upland environments. When complete, this will be the first project in Maryland that beneficially uses dredged sediment from the Baltimore Harbor to support in-water coastal resiliency strategies.
Release courtesy Mahan Rykiel Associates