City of Shelby Ohio Central Park

City of Shelby Ohio

CENTRAL PARK Executive Summary

1

introduction We, the Central Park Master Plan Steering Committee see a tremendous opportunity in this plan for a park in

downtown Shelby. In 2007, the Black Fork of the Mohican River, which runs through the center of Shelby, flooded the town with waters exceeding the 100-year flood level. The central business district was one of two areas that were particularly devastated. The Police Station and City Hall had to be relocated. Many businesses were flooded, and a downtown neighborhood was inundated leaving the homes beyond repair. With the assistance of federal aid money provided through FEMA, Shelby was able to relocate all of the residents of that neighborhood, and purchase a large percentage of the affected properties. FEMA also provided money to raze the structures leaving a green space just off Main Street in the heart of downtown Shelby. Although redevelopment choices were limited, city leaders and many citizens saw the possibility for that space to be a catalyst for change in a declining downtown.

It was believed that if a flood resistant park could be created which would function as both a park and a venue for community events, much needed pedestrian traffic could be brought to the downtown business area.

To explore this idea, the Shelby Park Board, the Friends of the Black Fork, and the Richland County Foundation put up money for a Master Plan. A Steering Committee was formed, comprised of city leaders, city staff, and members of the public, and the planning process was begun in October of 2010. Working with park planning and urban design experts from MSI Design, aspirations and ideas for the new park were received from the community through public meetings, and then translated into a vision for the future. MSI designers led the process and consulted closely with Stantec, an engineering company to ensure that the proposed conceptual design would not exacerbate future flooding. Park elements were included to help restore the riparian corridor, and to keep the floodplain capacity intact. This planning process resulted in a true collaboration between the park board, city leaders and staff, the planning team, and the citizens of Shelby.

Having watched floodwaters consume our downtown three times in the past twenty-three years, flooding is a major issue for us, and we watch with trepidation when heavy rains fall. The community does not see the Black Fork as a plus; however, many towns have successfully utilized their rivers as agents of revitalization. While our Floodplain Management Commission works to find long term solutions to our flooding problems, the proposed flood resistant park is the first step in embracing the Black Fork as an asset. In doing so, Shelby will be taking the first steps to change disaster into opportunity, and leverage a community initiative into a positive path forward that has the potential to pay out enormous rewards both economically and psychologically.

The conceptual design for this park, and its subsequent construction is key to the larger issue of the revitalization of Shelby’s downtown. People coming downtown are what the existing businesses need, and what is needed to attract future private investment there. We see the creation of a renewed civic space in the Shelby downtown area, with amenities including a walking/biking trail, event pavilion, and amphitheater, as the engine that can do it.

Signed, The Central Park Master Plan Steering Committee

Football Stadium

Elementary School

Gamble Street

Park Site Fire Station

Main Street City Hall

3

The Value of Open Space Parks and public spaces are essential to the economic, social, and environmental health of cities. Investing in parks and public spaces provides a multitude of benefits for cities, including: improving public health, creating public gathering spaces, connecting residents, workers and visitors to nature, and spurring economic development and revitalization.

Parks and open spaces have a proven impact on increasing property values. Parks and landscaped streets have a positive impact on consumer behavior, increasing the frequency and length of visits and leading to higher retail sales. A recent Knight Foundation study showed that cities with high quality parks and open space also demonstrated higher rates of economic growth. As a contributor to quality of life, parks and open space also contribute to the economic development efforts of attracting and retaining businesses and boosting tourism.

Columbus, Ohio Before & after North Bank Park looking east at the bank of the Scioto River.

Numerous studies have linked the lack of physical exercise to the nation’s overall health issues and to growing health care costs. Access to open space can counteract this trend according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control that showed that access to parks and open space lead to a 25 percent increase in the percentage of people exercising three or more times per week. In addition to improving levels of physical activity, park space can also have significant environmental benefits. Parks can serve important roles in filtering air pollutants, absorbing stormwater, and acting as buffers along streams and rivers.

Columbus, Ohio Before & after North Bank Park looking west at the bank of the Scioto River.

Columbus, Ohio: North Market Festival

Community Investment

A New City Park for Shelby

Recognizing these benefits, cities across Ohio and the rest of the country have invested in urban parks and open spaces. From small towns to major cities, these parks have helped to focus investment, drive redevelopment and provide needed open space.

The new, 4.5-acre Central Park planned for Shelby aims to capitalize on several of these benefits. Downtown Shelby currently lacks a town square or any other public space that can be used for community gathering and events. The proposed park has been designed to accommodate a range of activities, from larger events at an amphitheater to smaller gatherings at the park structure and event lawn.

In Columbus, North Bank Park and McFerson Commons have had a significant impact on the redevelopment of a formerly forgotten corner of downtown into the thriving Arena District. These parks have spurred redevelopment in office and residential projects, increasing rents and boosting tax revenue. They also provide amenities to the new downtown residents, open space for downtown office workers and space for numerous community events and festivals.

Likewise, the city of Springfield just broke ground on the first phase of a new downtown park. The park will replace acres of surface parking lots with a community greenspace that will become a focal point for the community and be a catalyst for two redevelopment sites. In Miamisburg, where property acquisition was only recently completed for a planned riverfront park, there have already been significant renovation projects undertaken by downtown property owners in anticipation of park improvements.

In other Ohio cities, the Village of New Albany has plans for a Market Square Commons to create a community gathering place. The new Capital University Fountain in Bexley, Ohio, has become the centerpiece for outdoor social life in that community’s core. Cities such as Granville, Yellow Springs/Xenia, and many others throughout the state, have capitalized on parkland trail links to establish themselves as destination hubs for riders, runners and walkers.

By opening the park to Main Street, it will also attract daily users, encouraged by the proposed town square and fountain. Connections from the pedestrian bridge to the park road will help to integrate this new park into the fabric of downtown Shelby, encouraging use and enhancing its transformative impact. By attracting daily and special event users to downtown, the new park has the potential to have a positive impact on Main Street businesses and increase the amount of foot traffic downtown.

The park will also serve an environmental benefit by building on the efforts to improve the riparian corridor along the Black Fork Corridor. The park serves as a natural buffer along this corridor, helping to improve the environmental health of the stream.

Taken together, this investment in open space will provide multiple community and environmental benefits, enhancing the overall livability and attractiveness of the City of Shelby. Successful communities are those who have undertaken targeted public investments in their “Main Street� core. The new Central Park in Shelby will have long-term positive impacts far in excess of the investment today. This is a unique opportunity to help recreate downtown Shelby as a destination.

Bexley, Ohio: Traditions Fountain

Great Miami River, Ohio: Leisure Trails

5

conceptual plan Legend

It must be a place to visit on a daily walk along the wooded river corridor, or to relax in the sun on the great lawn, or to sit in the town square listening to the gurgle of the fountain while having lunch.

The park must also be the home for community gatherings, whether a local play at the amphitheater, a farmers’ market at the event lawn, a family reunion at the park shelter, a tree lighting at the town square, or an afternoon of ice skating to be warmed afterward at a roaring fire.

The park must also be the home for large-sale events such as community festivals, summer concerts, and cruise-ins. It can be a gathering place on the walk from Main Street to the football game on a crisp fall Friday night.

In short, this park can be the heart of Downtown Shelby and serve the community in many ways throughout the year. This plan represents all these visions and any others that we can individually dream up. But it is also important to remember that this is only a conceptual plan and special refinements and improvements can still be made throughout the design and implementation process that is yet to come.

1. Town Square 2. Fountain 3. Park Structure 4. Event Lawn 5. Riparian Corridor 6. Bike Trail 7. Pedestrian Bridge 8. Stage 9. Amphitheater 10. Great Lawn 11. Park Road 12. Vegetated Ridge 13. Parking and Service Scale: 1� = 100’

Gamble Street

This plan is an illustration of potential park improvements, following the goals established by city leaders and the public throughout the park planning process. The ideas that emerged were used as the guide to creating this City Park conceptual plan. In particular, the new park must serve as a community gathering place.

Main Street 1

2 13

12

3

4

11

Black F

ork

10

9 6

8

7 5 Tuby Run

7

Before

TOWN SQUARE after

9

Before

event lawn after

11

Before

amphitheater after

13

Before

black fork corridor after

15

Before

park road after

17

phasing summary A phasing approach has been outlined for the

implementation of park construction. Numerous factors might play a role in the overall cost to the City to construct the park and the final order in which the phases might occur. The first is the availability of grant funds, donations or matching assistance. If certain park elements become eligible for outside funding, that could significantly alter the order in which the phases are performed.

Should opportunities in funding arise, the phases can be reallocated. Each has some independence from each other from a construction standpoint; however, certain items such as demolition and utility infrastructure might need to be reallocated if the phases are significantly altered. Also, there may be some cost advantage to concurrent construction of several phases instead of each one following another.

Town Square Phase 1 a&b

Includes: Specialty Paving Fountain Site Furniture Lighting Landscaping Site Demolition Park Building Event Lawn Black Fork Corridor Phase 2 Includes: River Edge Planting Reforestation Pedestrian Bridge GREAT Lawn Phase 3 Includes: Grading Amphitheater Seating Stage Path System Lighting park road Phase 4 Includes: Utilities Street Streetscape Reforestation of Ridge

ork

Black F

Gamble Street

Main Street

19

2011 Shelby Central Park Master Plan

Prepared by: MSI Design For: The City of Shelby