Imagine the site where the old Toledo Sports Arena stood being used as a sledding hill during the winter and a grassy knoll during the summer — an inviting spot with a picturesque view of downtown Toledo’s skyline that could be used for East Toledo concerts or other activities to complement summertime fun in Promenade Park and International Park.
Also think of the possibilities of safe, affordable urban camping near the Maumee River waterfront, as well as trails, biking lanes, ice skating, and kayaking. And — for those really blistering hot days when you need some relief — a public water-splash area.
Those are among the many ideas being firmed up for the upcoming metropark planned for the lengthy strip of riverfront land in East Toledo known as the Marina District.
Metroparks Toledo discussed its long-term master plan for the Marina District site Thursday night with about 70 people inside the East Toledo Senior Center at Navarre Park, the first update since the initial meeting at Waite High School last June.
Dave Zenk, Metroparks Toledo executive director, acknowledged that some are cynical because of broken promises made by past would-be developers.
But he said the park district has $5.5 million to pay for the first phase of construction, which is now set to begin in 2019. Private contributions and government grants account for $4.5 million of that.
“We’re going to make it happen,” he said of the project.
The second phase is expected to follow in 2020.
The park district got involved in 2017 as part of a deal in which ProMedica, the region’s largest health-care provider, agreed to sell it about 52 acres of the land it had purchased in 2016. Metroparks also will assume an option to purchase an additional 17 acres of land owned by the city of Toledo, bringing its total acquisitions there up to nearly 70 acres.
Developer Frank Kass also is planning a 370-unit residential project and restaurant at Main Street and Riverside Drive.
The park district and the architectural group it has hired, SmithGroupJJR, are working on a design to reconnect people with their waterfront the way it has been done in cities such as Boise, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Omaha.
“With projects like this, Toledo can be that vibrant downtown it once was,” Mr. Zenk said.
Although the park district’s initial focus is on the Marina District, SmithGroupJJR’s master plan calls for enhancements of International Park and improvements to local bridges that will make them more friendly to pedestrians, bicyclists, and joggers, including buffered biking and hiking trails on the bridges. The design is incorporating new ways for people crossing bridges to go directly into the parks and be along the waterfront within minutes.
“We want to have a consistent, unified park with consistent goals and a shared vision,” Cheryl Zuellig, SmithGroupJJR’s presenter, said in emphasizing the importance of tying together features of International Park and the Marina District.
The same design firm created the master plan for Middlegrounds Metropark near downtown and the newly opened Howard Marsh Metropark in Jerusalem Township.
Plans call for expanded pavilions, terraced steps, and a headquarters for rowing activities next to the river. One major concrete path loop in the summertime would be converted into an ice-skating ribbon in the winter, with a facility for skate rentals and hot chocolate.
Eventually creating camping opportunities will allow families to spend more time outdoors together, learn more about the river, and take in a concert, a Toledo Mud Hens game, or other activities more affordably and without leaving downtown, Ms. Zuellig said.
She said the idea is being modeled after urban camping presently being done in cities as divergent as the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock, to Australia’s world-renowned and cosmopolitan city, Sydney.
Another goal of the master plan is to revert some land behind Waite High School and nearby neighborhoods back into its natural state, then connect it with the park to create an “emerald necklace” of green space on the east side.
“It will strengthen neighborhood connections,” Ms. Zuellig said.
Contact Tom Henry at thenry@theblade.com, 419-724-6079, or via Twitter @ecowriterohio.
First Published June 22, 2018, 1:52 a.m.
