Metroparks Toledo now has a commitment of $7.9 million for the first phase of the unnamed Metropark it is developing across the Maumee River from downtown inside East Toledo’s Marina District.
That’s just for work being done this year and in 2020.
While the cost for all additional work beyond Phase 1 remains unknown, the park district’s planning chief told The Blade on Wednesday it’ll almost certainly end up being twice that when the historic project wraps up years from now.
Emily Ziegler, Metroparks Toledo planning chief, provided the update on Phase 1 spending while giving the park district’s five board members an update on a project seen as a major catalyst for cash-strapped East Toledo.
Ms. Ziegler said the $7.9 million raised for Phase 1 will cover construction work being done this year and in 2020. She told the board $3 million of that sum is coming from the park district itself, with the rest from a combination of state and federal grants, as well as private donations.
Board members said they are confident the return on investment in the Marina District’s future waterfront park — along with any improvements the city can make to adjoining International Park — likewise will inspire more interest in East Toledo and the region as a whole.
“This is a tremendous engine for economic development,” said Fritz Byers, a Metroparks Toledo vice president and a local attorney.
Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Napoli is leading a rejuvenated Metroparks foundation in its attempt to privately raise most of the money for costs beyond Phase 1.
A preliminary rough estimate of $10 million was made for the project when it was unveiled in early 2018 as part of a master plan for the East Toledo shoreline, about $5.5 million for Phase 1 and $4.5 million for work beyond that. But officials say those figures were never firm and are now obsolete.
“It’s likely future phases will exceed the cost of Phase 1,” Ms. Ziegler told The Blade after the meeting.
Phase 1 includes construction of trails, a pavilion, a dual event lawn/sledding hill, and a canoe/kayak launch this year, as well as the construction of a pedestrian bridge over Main Street to connect the new facility with International Park in 2020.
The event lawn will be large enough to hold as many as 6,000 spectators. The pavilion will be earth-bermed, with see-through glass and seating for 150 people. The pavilion also will have room for 450 people to stand. Electricity is being brought in so food truck vendors will be able to cook and sell lunches there.
Phases beyond that will include construction of an urban campground between Craig Memorial Bridge and the National Museum of the Great Lakes, plus a refrigerated ice skating ribbon, and water play and discovery areas.
The park’s main entrance will be built along Front Street, via an extension of East Broadway. The longstanding entrance to the site off Main Street, near the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge, will be kept as a side entrance, Ms. Ziegler said.
Ms. Ziegler’s presentation included a historical overview for the park board’s two newest members, Kevin Dalton and Molly Luetke.
While parks, museums, and other community assets have long been taken into consideration for economic development and business retention, the final straw for Metroparks Toledo came when Hickory Farms pulled its international headquarters out of Maumee’s Arrowhead Park a few years ago for Chicago, where it reopened in 2017. Hickory Farms did so because it grew frustrated over a lack of amenities in the Toledo area, Ms. Ziegler told the board.
That has resulted in a reboot of thinking for many people in the community, including Metroparks Toledo’s board members and planning staff. Only a few years ago, Metroparks Toledo was content to be a mostly suburban park district, Metroparks Toledo President Scott Savage said.
Even the idea of creating the Middlegrounds Metropark on the outskirts of downtown was “a completely foreign notion” when U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) helped the park district start securing money to buy the property more than a decade ago.
When the Toledo Plan Commission gave its endorsement a week ago, its chairman, Ken Fallows, congratulated the park district “on doing something nobody would have dreamed of doing five years ago.”
Toledo has taken its cue from other cities investing in their waterfront, such as Omaha, Tulsa, Grand Rapids, Mich., Boise, Columbus, and Detroit, Ms. Ziegler said.
“They're really changing the narrative and perception of their cities,” she said. “We're hoping this park will be a regional draw and will continue to expand the economic base and growth of Toledo.”
First Published January 16, 2019, 11:27 p.m.
