Playground Project Emerges in Hillside Court

By Yaba Ahounou

RICHMOND, Va. -- City and community leaders cut a ribbon on Nov. 20 unveiling a full athletic court in South Richmond as part of a community project. The project includes a permanent playground and a garden space.

Built and funded by the Public Art Commission (PAC) and local sponsors, the project intended to provide a space creating opportunity within the neighborhood and create social ecosystems through design, according to the commission.

Hamilton Glass, a Richmond artist, designed a mural that accompanied the basketball court.

“I met with the kids at Hillside and came up with six different designs and took their feedback,” he said.

The final product is two hawks painted in vibrant colors of yellow, light blue, red and orange. Hillside Court residents and local artists gathered together back in September to paint it.

“It always feels good for the community in general to have a stake in the work they’re growing up in their neighborhood,” Glass said. “That way they hopefully feel a sense of pride by it.”

High angle viewpoint of the renovated basketball court. The mural was painted by neighborhood residents as part of the project for community engagement. The photo was taken by Friends of Hillside Court Facebook page.

Reactions from the Hillside community about the playground project have been generally positive, according to Anthony Lee, former Hillside Court resident and former coach for Hillside Court’s football team Southside Soldiers.

“It would give younger kids something to do and actually interact with each other in a positive way and learn how to play together,” he said.

Anthony Lee lived in Hillside Court from 2009 through 2017. He’s a former coach for Hillside Court’s football team Southside Soldiers. Lee currently lives in North Carolina but still keeps in contact with some people from Hillside.

“I’ve lived in a lot of places in my life, and Hillside was an experience,” he said. “The community itself is a family.”

Hillside Court is a predominantly Black neighborhood made up of 402 apartment units tucked away in the south Richmond industrial district of Commerce Road. Lee described the community as “tight-knit” and “filled with the nicest, hard working people you’d ever meet.”

The project was funded through donations including a $50,000 grant from PAC, $75,000 from the RRHA and $150,000 in city funds from city councilwoman Ellen Robertson of 6th District, according to Richmond Free Press.

The mural is complete, but the playground is currently under construction with no set deadline. It will be located at 1500 Harwood St. and serve as a central community gathering spot, according to the commission website. You can view the map of the playground’s location here.

More information on the project can be found on PAC’s website at https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/public-art-commission.