Story Mill Community Park Receives $100,000 Federal Grant

A $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts has just been awarded to Bozeman’s newest park, The Trust for Public Land announced today.

The Story Mill Community Park project received the grant from the NEA’s “Our Town” program, which is designed to help projects in communities which have art in the projects. NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “For six years, Our Town has made a difference for people and the places where they live, work, and play. Projects such as this one led by The Trust for Public Land help residents engage the arts to spark vitality in their communities.”

“This will help achieve the goal of building this wonderful park,” said Dick Dolan, the Northern Rockies director of The Trust for Public Land. “Already, more than 450 kids from Bozeman have explored Story Mill Community Park through place-based art projects and summer camps.”

The Trust for Public Land is leading the effort to turn 60 acres in northeast Bozeman into a city park which will provide recreation, a signature playground, outdoor community gathering spaces, a nature sanctuary, new trails and trail connections, and natural and cultural interpretive programs.

With this award from the NEA, the Campaign for Story Mill Community Park has secured $9.63 million to design and build the park, which amounts to 80% of the fundraising goal with $2 million still to raise. With funds secured, The Trust for Public Land and City of Bozeman will break ground next spring, and construct the park over the 2017 and 2018 summer seasons, opening the park in the fall of 2018.

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Millions of people live near a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. To support The Trust for Public Land and share why nature matters to you, visit www.tpl.org.