The "Washington Park With a Purpose" would be downtown Huntsville's first permanent pocket park. At 4,600 square feet, it would also be the city's smallest.

The park was the brainchild of a group of young professionals from the Huntsville/Madison County Leadership's most recent Connect Class. Their idea was to create a space that's tied to raising money for local charities.

"We thought, how neat would it be if we could create a place that was synonymous with giving," said Jason Lowe, one of the organizers of the park. "It's fairly easy to create a cool space people would use, but we wanted to brand it with an identity."

The Connect group enlisted the help of landscape architect Chad Bostick, who developed the design pro bono and will do the site work. The City of Huntsville agreed to provide improvements to the public alley way leading to the park; the rest of the work will be supported through private donations and volunteer labor.

The park will be located in downtown Huntsville, off an alleyway that connects Washington and Jefferson Streets. The Washington Street entrance is roughly across from Belk Hudson Lofts. The park will also connect to the alley behind Humphrey's Bar & Grill.

Lowe said the project has attracted a coalition of supporters and volunteers, including Downtown Huntsville Inc., Operation Green Team, the City of Huntsville, downtown residents and business owners.

"The response has been overwhelmingly positive," said Lowe, "to have something unique downtown that will be more than just a space. People see it as something that will continue to give back."

One long-term goal of organizers is to work with local food trucks to create a schedule for the trucks to sell at the park during lunchtime or at charitable events.

"We'd work with the food trucks so a portion of the proceeds would go back to a charity," said Lowe. "For the first year, we'd pick 12 charities and rotate them each month so that any given month, you'd know what your money was going to support."

Lowe said there are also plans for the park to have a permanent donation box that would collect funds for the charity of the month.

The project is three-quarters of the way funded. Organizers have raised about $45,000 from private donors, materials donated in-kind and volunteer work done by supporters and the city's Operation Green Team.

As soon as the remaining funding has been raised - about $10,000 - Lowe said they plan to break ground on the park.

"It will be all hardscapes, with moveable platforms so the park can be reconfigured a couple of times a year," said Lowe. "There will be a small stage and seating areas."

Nonprofit launchpad

The pocket park project was first posted on Causeway Huntsville (CausewayHSV.org), a website that helps pair volunteers and donors with charitable causes and projects in the Madison County area. Causeway Huntsville was launched by Leadership's Connect Class 14.

"We felt it was important for Huntsville community groups or nonprofits that had a good idea or a project they wanted to complete, to have a way to reach a broader audience of people who could help them meet that goal," said Les Tillery, one of the founders of Causeway Huntsville.

The way the website works: A person or group posts a project idea, along with specific things they need to complete the project - volunteers, materials and monetary donations. Individuals can sign up on the site to receive notifications when a project posts that fits with their interests. They can then offer to donate volunteer hours, materials or money to any projects that interest them.

Causeway Huntsville can be particularly useful for groups of people who may not be affiliated with a specific nonprofit and therefore don't have access to a large pool of volunteers or donors, said Tillery.

"The pocket park is a perfect example because it's not really being done by a formal nonprofit; it's just a group of people," said Tillery. "A good idea is a good idea. It's going to impact downtown and give the Huntsville community another place to host outdoor activities and have a monthly event that will benefit a local charity."

Looking ahead

A preview event for the Washington Park With a Purpose will be Thursday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. for donors and anyone who has contributed more than $25 on CausewayHSV.org.

"We will have the renderings, be able to thank everyone, and hopefully have some more discussion about our vision for the park," said Lowe.

More information about the park and about Causeway Huntsville is available at CausewayHsv.org.

"Our goal is by the first of June to have the remaining $10,000 raised," said Lowe. "Then the plan is to do the construction this summer and have a grand opening sometime around August."