Restauranteur William Porter spent years thinking about how to transform two vacant Cherokee Street lots into a recreational public space for the neighborhood.
In 2015, he started heading across the street from his restaurant, Master Pieza, to Cherokee Street and Nebraska Avenue to clean the lots. When the first basketball hoop was installed that year, he wrote the words “Love Bank” on the backboard.
“I saw empty space that had a bunch of trees and debris and stuff like that,” Porter said. “I just started cleaning and as I'm cutting down trees and stuff, people were willing to even chip in.”
After years of planning and development, Porter and other Cherokee Street leaders and community members reopened Love Bank Park Sunday afternoon to play basketball, chess, hear live music and eat.
Developers started renovating the public space in 2022. The $1.3 million project was funded primarily by donations from business owners, community members and the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District. Incarnate Word Foundation and the Missouri Department of Conservation also supported to the project. Designers from Patterhn Ives were the lead architects.
The space includes the region's first water-permeable basketball court that directs water into the ground to prevent sewage overflow. The community improvement district received a grant from the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s Project Clear initiative for the park.
“I think that when you have basketball courts, that says to people of color, and especially black people that you are welcome here, and you have a place here, and we invite you,” Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, who represents the ward where the park is located said. “This is a very diverse community, it's a community of color. And I liked that we leaned into putting things that make sure that those folks feel welcomed, and that there's activities for them.”
Arbolope Studio helped design water permeable asphalt, pavement and planting beds while also creating a space that attracts people from various backgrounds.
Arbolope Studio Founder and Principal Irene Compadre moved to the city nearly 21 years ago. She said the studio approached designs for the park by thinking of a Venn Diagram that reflected the diversity of the street.
“It almost brings me to tears, I've wanted to be a part of the Cherokee Street community since I moved here” Compadre said. “This was the only place that I could find in St. Louis that had a Mexican grocery store, that had Mexican restaurants. This is sort of the Chicano heritage district. So this place felt like home, like it felt like there was a place for me here.”
The park includes outdoor performance space, chess tables and murals. Cherokee Street Community Improvement District Executive Director Emily Thenhaus said the park is an example of grassroots community-led investment outside of city funding.
“Over the years, a lot has happened in this space, without the support, people made it happen, but through a lot of really hard work,” Thenhaus said “I'm really excited to see people come together in an easier way. Events, community gatherings, a way for our community to celebrate together in a way that they feel supported and celebrated.”
To hear more about Love Bank Park's reopening and the amenities that make it “not just a place of gathering but a place of comfort,” listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or by clicking the play button below.
