October 06, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Mayor Cherelle Parker and city officials on Monday unveiled a $7 million project for Lemon Hill Park that includes a new, 43,500-square-foot playground.
Lemon Hill Park will receive around $7 million worth of improvements over the next several months, which the city is framing as a "thank you" to the community that welcomed over 500,000 visitors to the FIFA Fan Festival this summer.
As part of the park's World Cup legacy project, upgrades will include a new, 43,500-square-foot playground, enhancements to athletic facilities, accessibility and safety improvements and other renovations. Officials and community members agree the changes are a long time coming, but some neighbors believe more work is necessary to meet the needs of local residents.
Nissa Eisenberg, a Brewerytown resident who's co-organizer of the Lemon Hill Neighbors Association, said a group of neighbors specifically recommended that the city invests in more "holistic" park renovations that improve pedestrian safety and free up funding for consistent maintenance, rather than one-off capital projects.
"There's a lot of other nuances that go into the park as a whole that we're intimately familiar with because we're out here all the time," she said. "We think very minimal improvements could go a long way in terms of respecting the park and respecting the natural resources."
The project that is instead being funded by the city and other private partners is anchored by the construction of the new playground, which will replace a decades-old structure and be one of the largest in the city, officials said. Its design will incorporate elements of the park's landscape like stepping logs, stones and stumps. There will also be dedicated play zones for different age groups (2-5 and 5-12), an adult fitness area and two ADA-compliant picnic pavilions.
Improvements will be made to the park's basketball court and baseball field. New wayfinding signage, security bollards and 53 new lighting poles will be installed and over 100 trees will be planted. Lemon Hill Mansion, the historic three-story property built in 1800 that now operates as a museum, will receive improvements to its HVAC system.
Philadelphia Soccer 2026 and the William Penn Foundation, who partnered with the city during the park's FIFA Fan Festival, will contribute $4 million for the project. The city will cover the rest of the cost.
The entire plan is expected to be completed by summer 2027 and status updates will be posted to the project's website. The current playground and athletic fields will be closed during construction.
"We're going to begin, today, the next chapter of Lemon Hill," Mayor Cherelle Parker said Monday. "... The World Cup came to Philadelphia. The world came to Lemon Hill, and we are here making sure that something lasting remains for the community that helped us welcome the world."
The new phase of the project is an extension of the work that was completed prior to the start of the FIFA Fan Festival, when officials added new walking paths, repaved roads, installed accessible curb ramps and improved electrical service.
A rendering of the new 43,500 square-foot playground at Lemon Hill Park, slated to open by summer 2027.
City officials said decisions on the new project were made based on feedback during multiple public information sessions that were held over the past two years. The Lemon Hill Neighbors Association, which was involved in the process, said it welcomes the improvements, but it feels the project doesn't do enough to address some of its members' concerns.
In March, Lemon Hill Neighbors Association published the results of a survey that asked residents what they would like to see from this project. Out of the nearly 450 respondents, the survey found that a majority were looking to the city to sponsor traffic-calming measures, bathroom restoration and long-term maintenance funding. Installing a working water fountain and adding trash cans and benches were also listed as top priorities. None of those concerns are addressed in the legacy project.
Fairmount residents Jen and Julian Wallace agreed that while the park has served as a great place to exercise and bring their 18-month-old son to play, there's room for more safety improvements.
"I've been in this park pretty much every single day for the past seven, eight years. … It's such a beautiful part of the city," Jen said. "But the amount of people that speed through here is a huge issue. I think speed bumps and better lighting could help."
Julian added, "It would be nice to make it more obvious that kids and dogs are going across the street, but otherwise I think (the city) is doing a good job."
Eisenberg and Shaun Cerborino, another Brewerytown resident and organizer with the Lemon Hill Neighbors Association, expressed their hope that the renewed spotlight on Lemon Hill will inspire a broader call to action to fund more park services across the city.
"This (is) one of the few left free third spaces out there where people can really just occupy without any expectations or assumptions of why you're there," Eisenberg said. "I think with increased resources, Parks and Rec could do a lot more."
Cerborino said, "Doing the things that you should be doing on a regular basis shouldn't be a 'legacy.' A legacy should mean that we reimagine and fund our park system."
