The Accessible
Treehouse

We are delighted to announce that our accessible treehouse opened to the community in January 2025! The Treehouse is the first portion of the plan to be developed and installed. Bennett’s Village, Inc. received input and guidance from Charlottesville City Parks & Recreation, the City Engineer, and City Planers and community stakeholder in the design. Local artisans Uhler & Company has brought to life our one of a kind treehouse that is accessible and functional and fits with the existing topography. Our goal for this portion of the project was not only to give the community a treehouse for all to use but also to give people an idea of the amazing scale and intent of the future play space. Special shoutouts to the many community organizations who helped bring our treehouse to life: Design Electric, for donating all the electrical work, Piedmont Master Gardeners who designed, donated, and helped plant native plantings of grasses and bushes (with help from volunteers Cav Futures and the UVA Library), Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards who supplied and planted trees, Audrey Dannenburg for assistance in design elements for our low-vision community members, Van Yahres Tree Company for consulting on the health of the tree embedded in the back of the treehouse, Ninni Baekstrom of Serpentine Studios and Jim Anderson who helped us design the sensory panels, Rick Harden for our beautiful butterfly friendship bench and Kaki Dimock for painting it, and all of our many volunteers and donors who helped raise funds to bring this treehouse to life.

The deck of the Accessible Treehouse
A view of the existing play ground at Pen Park through the window of the accessible treehouse
A view from the deck of the Accessible Treehouse looking out over Josie's Way. A tree grows through the deck of the treehouse.
A child sits on the blue, green, and yellow butterfly bench. Shadows from the woodwork project a sun on the floor of the treehouse.
The Accessible Treehouse next to a flowering dogwood tree