Mattie Reynolds Park Planning

Named after a matriarch of Eugene’s early Black community, Mattie Reynolds park is located in SW Eugene near where members of this community were displaced to in 1949. Currently undeveloped, this 5-acre site was listed as a Priority 1 project in the 2018 Parks and Recreation System Plan (PRSP). Funding for development was secured when the citizens of Eugene passed the 2018 Parks & Recreation Bond.

Designated as a Neighborhood Park, the site was originally intended to primarily serve residents within walking and biking distance. However, the 2018 System Plan noted that the SW region lacks many significant community level park facilities, such as a Community Center, Pool, major play area, dog park, spray play and public restroom. Although the Parks & Open Space Division continues to pursue acquisition of land that could eventually include these features, we are pursuing a hybrid designation for Mattie Reynolds, ‘Neighborhood Park Plus’, acknowledging that this site has the capacity to accommodate some features that would more typically be found in a larger Community Park.

The site is relatively flat with mostly non-native grasses, has two drainage swales crossing diagonally, and some younger native and ornamental trees planted along its outside edges. The park is bounded by the Amazon Channel to the north, W 13^th Ave to the south, The Bailey apartment complex on the east, and Dani St and Everyone Village on the west.

Parks and Open Space will host three public meetings with online surveys to help create a vision and gather input on conceptual plans.

The construction of Mattie Reynolds Park is expected to be completed in 2025. Funding for this project comes from the 2018 Parks and Recreation Bond.

(Pictured: Members of the Reynolds family at a volunteer tree planting event at Mattie Reynolds Park, January 2021)