One Fairmount Park booster better than two

The plan to spend $7 million remaking West Fairmount Park along Parkside Avenue will include an area that promises nature-based play: think fountains, slides, and skating. The gateway is an 1898 Civil War monument, the Smith Memorial Arch, which needs care.

Before, two nonprofit organizations that served fund-raising and historical-preservation roles for Fairmount Park would have been involved in the project. But consolidation made more sense, said Kathryn Ott Lovell, executive director of the Fairmount Park Conservancy.

Her organization merged Jan. 1 with the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust. The new nonprofit will retain the conservancy's name. A formal announcement is to be made Tuesday.

"I've been in the nonprofit world for over 15 years, and it's something I've heard loud and clear," Lovell said. "It's become more and more challenging as nonprofits grow in the city; the funding pie doesn't get any bigger. There is more competition for funding. It's really smart and brave for organizations like us to create a more formal partnership like a merger."

The trust, formed in 1992, provided preservation services and managed leases on nearly 50 historic properties. The conservancy is a fund-raising arm that in recent years focused on project planning and development.

The Fairmount Park system covers more than 10,200 acres in the city.

Now, for a project such as the Smith Memorial Arch, all work will be done in-house at the conservancy. The monument will be restored and lighted as a plaza for the park. The historic and recreational assets are no longer separate.

"It's not just how we restore historic properties, but how we think about them in new ways," Lovell said. "The use they had 10, 15 years ago may not the appropriate use today."

The combined organization's budget is $2 million, and Lovell said savings would come from merging payroll, accounting, and other systems. The 16-person staff suffered no cuts.

Mayor Nutter, in a statement, said the new organization "will be empowered to expand its programs, increase revenue for our parks, and build on the already stellar reputations" of the nonprofits.

The 117-year-old arch is a perfect example, Lovell said.

"We don't just want to preserve things for history's sake," she said. "We also want to activate them and introduce them to the next generation."

215-854-2928 @MattGelb