Karl Craven Reflects on Westerville Through the Decades

Unintentionally, Karl Craven’s career in Westerville has revolved around sewers.

It was 1973 when Craven started designing the sewer system in Westerville. He was a recent engineering graduate of The Ohio State University when recruiters at Columbus-based Burgess and Niple hired him to work on the Westerville project.

Craven was paid by federal dollars (via a grant obtained by the agency) to help modernize urban sanitary sewer networks. Two years later, Craven would apply for one of the two inspector positions in the City’s “Building, Engineering and Zoning” Department (now Planning & Development) to be part of the Alum Creek and Big Walnut Creek Trunk sewer projects and then work as a staff engineer after the sewer construction was complete.

That was 50 years ago.

To say Craven is a fixture in Westerville would be an understatement. His staff colleagues often quip that he knows what is under every street and curb in Westerville. It’s because he thrives on seeing projects through from start to finish.

“I really love to see the results,” said Craven. “It’s why I got into engineering. Most of my early career was in sewer design, but I actually have pictures of bridges in my office. It’s something built that endures and has a use for an entire community. I couldn’t put pictures of sewers in my office, of course. All you see on the outside are manhole lids, and that’s boring.”

Next January, Craven will start a new pursuit for the first time in four full decades: retirement.

After announcing his retirement date, Craven agreed to take on a special project manager role, managing key projects with the City Manager’s Office and Planning & Development. He will also work with David Efland, who joined the team as Planning & Development Director in June.

Most of Westerville’s significant modern-day projects happened during Craven’s tenure, so he can uniquely reflect on the state of the community throughout the decades. In his own words, Craven shared his memories and impressions of the Westerville we know today.

Fill in the blanks for us:

“Stuck. Westerville was not getting good advice at that time. We were not prepared to connect to the new interstate system and missed an opportunity to have access where the Main Street bridge over 71 is now. All that development blew past us, so it took time for us to catch up. We needed to become unstuck, and one of the ways we started that process was through housing development. That’s when everything east of Otterbein and Spring Roads started to come to life.”

“Emerging. We built about 300 single-family homes each year because of the completion of the sewer system. I was leading the Public Service Department then, which housed engineering. Brooksedge took off, really in part to having a proeconomic development City Manager.And staff worked hard to attract a hospital to town, with St. Ann’s opening in 1984. We also started developing streetscape guidelines for Uptown that protected the facades of the historic buildings and protected the District we have today.”

“Creating strong foundations.The game-changer was the annexation of 941 acres where Westar is located today. There was nothing there at the time before Polaris Parkway. When the road opened in 1999, there was only the Liebert (now Vertiv) building under construction. Honestly, it’s one of the projects I’m most proud of. The Parks PROS plan was approved to help us imagine the parks and facilities we have now. Our planning efforts had us building about one major road each year in the 90s. I remember our annual budget for street rehabilitation in the mid-to-late 80s was $64,000. It’s close to $6 million today.”

“Successfully growing. The Westerville Community Center opens and construction on paths and trails explodes. The South State Street redevelopment plan was approved, and phase one of two started at the 270 interchange. I think that’s when the rhythm really started in Uptown. The first beer is poured in a pizza shop and the door opened to consider how Uptown could evolve as an entertainment district. We also passed an income tax restructuring initiative that helped us get to that street rehabilitation budget we needed.”

“The envy of Central Ohio. Major employment center and thriving Uptown. The road network is the best it’s ever been. We have a strong Council/Manager form of government, and departments were collecting recognitions and awards. Uptown and the Parks system are the two stars when I think of that time. But I also remember it as the time of one of my most challenging projects: phase two of the South State Street revitalization project. That project had a lot of issues, but the outcome is beautiful with buried utility lines, lighting and intersection improvements.”

“I really wanted to see Westar finished. And we’re close. I’m so grateful to be involved in the next steps on the City’s purchase of the East of Africa land. I want to take a stab at that road network and leave knowing there is a plan for almost every acre in the 941.”

When he does walk away as a staff member, Craven will frequently return as a visitor. He knows he has deferred home maintenance to tackle and travel plans to make with his wife, Carol. He hopes to play golf, catch up on reading, and watch Westerville continue to build from the foundation he helped lay.

Photo caption: Karl Craven stands on the Alum Creek Trail bridge, the starting point of his work with the sewer system in Westerville.