The dedication and grand opening of Highland Park Commons will be Friday at 4 p.m. Highland Park Commons is at the 2000 block of Willow Ave. and intersects at Union Avenue.
Participants will view the new futsal (mini soccer) fields and enjoy treats and inflatable bouncy house for the kids. After the dedication ceremony, the Maclellan Cup Invitational Futsal Tournament will start at 6 p.m. and follow through till Saturday for a full weekend of activity.
Highland Park Commons has been developed with the collaborative work of several prominent foundations in Chattanooga but has been spearheaded with the vision of Daryl Heald and the support of the Maclellan Foundation.
“Highland Park Commons is an important statement about our community and its future,” said Charlie Philips, senior analyst and national program officer for the Maclellan Foundation. “We saw the importance of investing in the future of this neighborhood as it moves towards revitalization. It reflects a present commitment to the growing number of Hispanic Chattanooga’s by providing them with a geographic nucleus around which their identity in the city might develop.”
Lyndhurst Foundation and the U.S. Soccer Foundation have been major contributors to the project. Tennessee Temple University, Highland Park Neighborhood Association and St. Andrews Center have also been a part of the project as community partners.
Chattanooga FC has also united with the project and will resume management of the park and futsal fields. “As a resident of Highland Park and a representative of Chattanooga FC, I am thrilled about the Maclellan Foundation’s commitment to building a community in a creative way,” said Sheldon Grizzle, president of Highland Park Commons Inc., and Chattanooga FC board member. “This is a fantastic way to reach out to the many different ethnicities that call Chattanooga home.”
Highland Park Commons will also host a Passback collection site at the opening event. Passback is a program sponsored by the U.S. Soccer Foundation with the mission of providing soccer equipment to underprivileged communities around the world. Gently used and new soccer equipment is collected at Passback sites and then redistributed to areas in need all over the country.