Residents of College Park’s Lakeland neighborhood are planning to add 10 murals to sidewalks, storm drains, fences, retaining walls and paths throughout the community.

The project is a continuation of a decades-long effort to highlight the history of Lakeland, said Maxine Gross, a member of the Lakeland Community Heritage Project and a fifth-generation Lakeland resident.

“It’s just a way for folks to be able to see the community that we have been talking about for a number of years,” Gross said. “We’re talking about what that community was like [before urban renewal], and help people to understand the asset that was lost and help them to understand the commitment for rebuilding.”

Some of the artwork will appear as wayfinding elements along the path of the neighborhood’s walking tour. Some will incorporate themes of the Trolley Trail and the importance of protecting local waterways.

“We felt very strongly that this is a way we could recognize and promote the legacy of College Park and the Lakeland community,” College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir said.

According to city documents, the project “prioritizes community voices, engages residents in the creation of public art and preserves the neighborhood’s heritage.”

Community members will select the artists and sites for the murals between November and February, and have them installed by the end of 2026, Gross said.

“It will be a public display that will help tell the history of the Lakeland community,” Gross said. “What exactly that looks like is still under conversation.”

At a Sept. 16 meeting, the College Park City Council agreed to repurpose a $12,650 2022 grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and add $15,732 of city funds, giving the project a total budget of $28,382.

The grant was initially intended to enhance the walking tour with 25 QR codes that would take viewers, via their phones, to art or history about Lakeland. That part of the project fell through after delays and legal issues, according to city documents.

The project is a joint effort among city officials, community members and University of Maryland partners, Kabir said. Volunteers from the public will participate in “community painting days” to help bring the project to life, according to the proposal.

“This will be a wonderful and very easy and entertaining way to know about what happened and what used to be the historic Lakeland,” Kabir said.