It is with great pleasure that we announce a major step forward in the timeline of Peace Corps Park, with final design approval by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts at its last meeting on October 17.

The Foundation has been working tirelessly with the CFA since the site selection process in 2014 to refine our design approach, using creative problem solving to address feedback around the symbolic representation of the world map in the Park’s central plaza, the granite benches encircling it, the inscriptions carved into the stone, and many other aspects of the Park’s concept.

Our expert design and landscaping team, led by Larry Kirkland and Michael Vergason, made countless refinements to the plan to ensure the best possible artistic and practical expression, some of which we have shared in our recent newsletters.

We are thrilled to see the fruits of this collaboration, and are looking forward to finalizing the engineering plan to make the design a reality.

Another critical stakeholder in this process is the National Park Service, which will maintain the Park in perpetuity once built. On Friday, October 18, the NPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Peace Corps Park, a precursor to obtaining final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which is expected to review the plan in its December meeting.

With the Park’s design process in its final stages, we turn our attention to raising the $5 million needed to put shovels in the ground, and look to our generous and dedicated community to get us to groundbreaking and make Peace Corps Park a reality!