Executive Director Dave Zenk broke down the statistics of what the Metroparks has completed since 2017 and provided updates on current and future projects.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Representatives from Metroparks Toledo were the featured guests at Monday’s Rotary Club of Toledo meeting, updating members about the Riverwalk project and other successes from the parks.
In 2017, Metroparks requested the club’s support for what is now known as the “Downtown Master Plan.”
Metroparks Executive Director Dave Zenk broke down how the money is being used for the projects, displayed renderings of what is to be expected of the future construction and showed ways the parks have benefited all of northwest Ohio.
“We started by asking the question, ‘What if tomorrow were different?'” Zenk said. “[We] benchmarked communities across the country, and the idea was to use and leverage parks and open space, actively and aggressively activating them, investing in them, to create energy in portions of our community that haven’t been supported before.”
Since 2017, Metroparks has received $60 million in matching grants, most being federal dollars, established 10 new parks, created over 50 miles of trails and restored more than 1,000 acres of property.
Specifically, 142,000 trees have been planted, 500 acres of new prairie have been restored, along with 800 acres of new wetlands.
In 2020, Metroparks opened the Glass City Metropark in east Toledo, the Manhattan Marsh Preserve in north Toledo, Cannonball Prairie in Monclova and the Wabash Cannonball Trail within that park.
The results of the Glass City Metropark’s impact were displayed during the presentation, including over 50 acres of soil health improvements, over 27 acres of planned native prairie, over 17 acres of planned forest establishment, over 3,2000 linear feet of naturalized, reinforced shoreline and 10,000 trees planted.
The downtown Riverwalk Project was another update in Monday’s presentation: over 300 acres of land have been restored and six of Toledo’s oldest neighborhoods have been linked.
The city is seeing some economic results from the projects, and every dollar spent on the Metroparks’ initiative has resulted in $10 in private investment. This includes east Toledo, which has seen $70 million in private investments, apartment development, the Masonic Temple, restaurant improvements and a Huntington Bank branch.
East Toledo has also seen owner-occupied homes increasing from 19% in 2019 to 60% as of this year. The value of homes has also grown from a median sale price of $29,000 to $70,000.
International Cove and downtown are currently under construction, and the next phase will include the development of the cove, restoring the lighthouse and the ProMedica campus. This project is set to open in 2026.
Future construction will work its way into the Vistula neighborhood. Toledo Pickle is a first step toward that revitalization, and the parks are currently in the funding phase and bringing in grants to close the gap in the planning. According to Zenk’s timeline, the project will start in 2026 and have an estimated completion in 2029.
The last phase of the project will be the Glass City Upriver. This includes the completion of the riverwalk, seawall restoration, trails and overlooks, a premiere pavilion and play spaces.
This article was published by Cheyenne Kastura on 2025-04-14 16:49:00
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