You might’ve seen it while in Phoebus festively painted and displayed alongside bails of hay — the new mini-park on Mellen Street would be hard to miss, but don’t get used to it.
The “parklet,” yellow and orange furniture and umbrellas, is designed as a common social space located outside of Sly Clyde Ciderworks, but Hampton city officials said, it’ll be moving soon.
“This fall version will appear — somewhere in the city — until mid-December. Look for a spring version in 2020,” officials said.
The trend, inspired by city planning groups throughout the country, is a means “to create little casual spots where people can gather, to encourage people to walk, to be social, and to have fun,” said Robin McCormick, a spokeswoman for the city of Hampton.
“At this point, it’s just kind of an experiment to see how people like it and so far they have…,” she said.
Colorful spaces, including the crosswalks at Lincoln and Eaton streets and safety “bump-outs” near City Hall, have been popping up and are “part of the city’s placemaking strategic priorities and help create public spaces, activate existing spaces and make neighborhoods vibrant,” officials said in a news release.
Though McCormick said it hasn’t yet been decided when and where the parklet will be moving to next, it’ll be gone by winter so don’t miss the chance to have a cupcake, wait for your table, or just visit with friends on Merrell soon.
