Upper Merion Township & King of Prussia District Receive $100,000 Grant from Montgomery County for First Avenue Linear Park

The Montco 2040 Implementation Grant will support landscape and hardscape improvements in Moore Park KOP, formerly known as the King of Prussia business park

Upper Merion Township (UMT), in partnership with King of Prussia District (KOP-BID), is proud to announce that UMT received a 2018 Montco 2040 Implementation Grant for $100,000 for the First Avenue Linear Park in Moore Park KOP, formerly known as the King of Prussia business park. The grant, aimed at implementing the county comprehensive plan, Montco 2040: A Shared Vision, is one of fourteen recently awarded by the Montgomery County Commissioners. These 2018 grant awards account for over $1,500,000. Since the program’s inception in 2016, over $3.7 million has been awarded to projects.

“We are thrilled to be the recipients of this generous grant from Montgomery County,” said Greg Philips, Chairman of the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors. “We have always been committed to stormwater improvements and transportation enhancements in our community, and this will allow us to further both of those goals.”

The funding will allow UMT and KOP-BID to pay for some of the landscape and hardscape improvements as part of the First Avenue Linear Park. The Linear Park will include vibrant rain gardens and planting beds, new bus shelters, shade trees and a one-mile, ADA-accessible multimodal recreational path that will be open to the community and the 20,000 employees working in Moore Park KOP. This phase of the project builds on the demonstration park unveiled in 2017, which was designed to give property owners and visitors a preview of the Linear Park. Phase 1 of the First Avenue Linear Park is in the final stages of design and engineering, and construction will begin in 2019.

The First Avenue Linear Park is also supported by PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund and the PA Transportation Infrastructure & Investment Fund, along with resources and project management by KOP-BID.

The Montco 2040 Implementation Grant Program is intended to assist municipalities in making targeted physical improvements that achieve real progress toward the goals of Montco 2040 and its themes: Connected Communities, Sustainable Places, and Vibrant Economy.

Projects were evaluated in terms of impact, county and local planning consistency, project readiness and funding attributes by a committee made up of planning commission board members and interdepartmental county staff. Projects were also given heightened consideration when addressing one of three focus categories for 2017: Walk/Bike Montco – Trails, Paths, Sidewalk Connections and Bike Facilities; Downtown and Community Destination Support; or Adaptation and Resiliency.

Visit www.montcopa.org/Montco2040GrantProgram for more on the grant program and to see all of the grant recipients. For questions, contact Scott France at 610-278-3747 or via email at sfrance@montcopa.org.