Is the Park Open?

No, the property is still privately owned, with portions that are an active stone quarry, and is posted “NO TRESPASSING.”

How long until the park is open and what activities will be available? 

Metro Park is currently in negotiations with the land owner and will start planning the park later this year.  The first phase of construction with trail access is anticipated to be completed by Fall 2018, with more park facilities to come in 2019-2020, assuming Metro Park’s operating levy is extended. 

What’s this going to cost?

Negotiations are on-going and confidential, but will be subject to approval by the Metro Parks Board.

What all will be in the Park?

Typical Metro Park facilities: hiking, biking, passive recreation and site-specific activities.

Will the Park have activity rentals and classes (kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, mtn bikes, rock climbing)? 

Rentals are not planned as this time, but may be available later.

Will the entire site be handicap accessible?

As with other parks, most of the site will be handicap accessible.

Will there be backpacking and back country camping?

The site is too small and urban to include backpacking and camping, but will include hiking trails.

Will there be cabins for rent? 

Overnight facilities are not anticipated in the Park.

Will there be a venue for concerts and events?

Possibly, we are reviewing different options.

Will it be dog friendly?

Yes, as are most of our parks.

Will this Park be connected to the Central Ohio Trail System?

We are looking to partner with the City of Columbus to extend their existing bike trail up from West Fifth Avenue to the railroad bridge at the southeast corner of Property. From there, we are expecting that there will be a new bike trail through the two miles of frontage along the Scioto River that will extend up to Scioto Darby Road. The City of Hilliard already has plans to extend the Heritage Trail down to Scioto Darby Road. This means that in the future you may be able to ride from Downtown Columbus to Plain City via bike trails.

What will the housing and commercial development look like?

We are just now starting to work on design concepts for the project, but we expect the homes and multifamily buildings will look different from the other buildings that we’ve built in Central Ohio in order to be complimentary to the rugged natural setting of the adjacent Park.

Will there be limitations as to how tall the buildings can be?

It is likely that there will be some multi-story buildings, but nobody is expecting anything like a 20-story building… that wouldn’t make sense in a park setting.

The land where you’ll be building currently has lots of growth and trees on it, will some of that remain?

Portions of the Property were once used as a landfill and will need to be cleared of trees and other vegetation in order to install a proper cover on the waste that was placed there. Where we can, we will look to maintain existing vegetation, especially along the Scioto River and in the Park.

How did Wagenbrenner Development come to be involved in this project?

Wagenbrenner has successfully re-developed other industrial and commercial brownfield properties, including landfills, so people familiar with the site reached out to us. We saw the potential for a new park as a tremendous amenity to our proposed mixed-use development, which prompted us to partner with Metro Parks.