FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 2, 2024
CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND PARK MASTER PLAN FOR CARRS AND ELKTONIA BEACH HERITAGE PARK BEGINS WITH REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Annapolis Recreation and Parks, in Partnership with the Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Seek Engineering and Construction Teams
ANNAPOLIS, MD (APRIL 2, 2024) – The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, in partnership with the Annapolis Department of Recreation and Parks, has issued two Request for Proposals (RFPs) for Carrs and Elktonia Beach Heritage Park site off Bembe Beach Road in Annapolis. Through these RFPs, the Resilience Authority is seeking proposals from qualified firms:- to prepare a Park Master Plan with Climate Resilience for the Carrs/Elktonia and Moore property sites; and
- to conduct coastal engineering and construction work for the Carrs/Elktonia Heritage Park Coastal Resilience Project.
The Carrs/Elktonia parcel was acquired by the City of Annapolis in August 2022. Those five acres were the last remaining piece of Chesapeake Bay beachfront that was a contiguous property once owned and operated by the Carrs and Sparrows families. The property was slated for development when, in 2021, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley put a team together to buy the property using Program Open Space (POS), City, and county funds.
In early 2024, the City of Annapolis, with the support of the county, nonprofit organizations, and private donors, purchased the Chesapeake Bay-front cottage that was once the home of Dr. Parlett Moore.
Together the two parcels are nearly six acres of Chesapeake Bay beachfront property. The Elktonia parcel is undeveloped. The Moore parcel includes a residential structure. The Moore property’s beachfront has the scattered remains of a riprap installation (large stone placements deployed for coastal reinforcement), while Elktonia is a sandy beach.
“We are dedicated to honoring the rich history of this site and safeguarding this coastal treasure for years to come,” said Roslyn Johnson, Director of Annapolis Department of Recreation and Parks. “We are seeking firms with expertise in planning and design with a commitment to acknowledging and preserving the diverse cultural heritage embedded in this land while ensuring its resilience. We strongly encourage submissions from teams that reflect the diverse fabric of our community, ensuring a range of perspectives in this transformative project.”
Carr’s and Sparrows beaches were welcoming Chesapeake Bay resorts from the 1920s to the 1960s. During the time of segregation, people whose heritage was African American, Jewish, Italian (and others) were prohibited from “whites only” beaches in Maryland and across the South. All were welcome at the Carr and Sparrows family beach resorts.
During the 1950s and 1960s, “The Beach” as it came to be known, drew thousands to weekend concerts from the likes of James Brown, Duke Ellington, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder and other Black artists. The sound was captured live from the site on Sunday nights by DJ Hoppy Adams. The music was broadcast on local radio station WANN and reached a wide (non-segregated) AM radio audience. The signal regularly reached Washington, DC and Baltimore, but could sometimes reach as far as Philadelphia and even into Ohio. That signal helped to make Carr’s Beach a destination for African American beachgoers and music lovers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
“We look forward to working with the project partners to build up the park’s resilience to erosion and other climate and weather-related impacts,” said Resilience Authority Director Matt Fleming. “By syncing the development of the Master Plan for the site with the engineering required to address the significant coastal erosion and flooding that is actively occurring, will not only help provide opportunities to share insights and best practices for honoring such special spaces, but to ensure that they are resilient to climate challenges.”
For more information on the RFP, visit: www.resilienceauthority.org
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The Resilience Authority was formed through legislative statute in 2021 to become the country’s first multi-jurisdictional climate resilience authority. Our mission is to actively support and connect funds to infrastructure projects that mitigate current and anticipated effects of climate change. By providing an efficient and effective mechanism for planning, funding and completing projects on behalf of Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis, the Resilience Authority has the singular purpose of investing in the infrastructure that drives the economy, protects the environment, and ensures a quality of life for generations to come.
Originally posted by the City of Annapolis, MD on Tuesday, April 2, 2024
