Grove City plans permanent stage at Town Center park
The stage is being set for the further development of the park at the former Grove City Library site in the city's Town Center.
The city plans to build an enhanced performance venue to replace the temporary stage now used for performances and events at the park.
"We put up the temporary stage to last through this summer so we could hold our Summer Sizzle concerts there and other special programming," recreation superintendent Kelly Sutherland said. "We used to hold concerts at the George Edge Plaza at Broadway and Park Street. It's a nice space, but Broadway can get awfully noisy with traffic going by. It wasn't so conducive for concerts."
The 0.63-acre site, which incorporates the old library site at 3959 Park St. and a portion of the property behind where the library building once stood, provides more room to accommodate a larger audience, according to Don Walters, the city's business- and community-relations officer.
The park currently has picnic tables and park benches for visitors to eat and enjoy the scenery.
"People can spread out a little more. The space holds a lot more people than the George Edge stage," he said. "We had more than 200 attend our last concert. It's just a quieter, calmer park experience in the Town Center."
The project to build a permanent stage is expected to get underway this year and be completed in the spring of 2023, Walters said.
Design work was handled by the city's engineering firm, EMH&T, and Grove City is working with Midstates Recreation as a potential builder, according to Walters.
The project is being funded with a $200,000 state capital grant that must be used by December 2022, he said.
The original intention was to use the grant money for a planned project to build an amphitheater at the new park being established as part of the Beulah Park Living development, Walters said.
"We aren't there yet with completing the final design for the Beulah amphitheater, so we decided to transfer the use of the grant for the stage in the Town Center," he said. "Both projects are still planned, but we still need to work out the details of the amphitheater project. When that project is ready to move forward, we will find another funding mechanism for it."
Outdoor fitness, library programs at Town Center park
This summer, the temporary stage at the Town Center park is being used for a weekly outdoor fitness program that has been offered on Thursday evenings during June and July.
The series features a different fitness program led by a local instructor each week, Sutherland said.
"The attendance has been getting better as more people hear about the program," she said. "We always expect new programs to start slowly and build momentum. Also, it's been pretty hot this summer."
The initial two months of programs have been coordinated through a partnership with Ohio State University, Sutherland said.
The fitness program is slated to continue in August and September in partnership with the YMCA, she said.
"We're looking to expand the program next year with the YMCA and hold the fitness programs over a longer portion of the year once the weather turns nice again after the winter," Sutherland said.
The temporary stage also has been used for programs offered by the Grove City Library, including children's storytimes, Southwest Public Libraries director Meredith Wickham said.
"There's something about holding programs outdoors that really engages children," she said.
Next year, the library plans to hold additional programming at the site, which also might host a Little Free Library, according to Wickham.
"We've talked with the city about putting in some more benches there that children and adults could use to sit and read in the park setting," she said. "We're so grateful for the chance to work with the city to find ways of using the new park space. Given the site's connection to the library, it's a way to honor that history.".
Later this year, the park is expected to have an official name, as voted on through a process that is being coordinated by the library and city.
The park is to be named after Catharine Grant, who moved in 1804 to central Ohio from Pittsburgh with her husband, Hugh, and their five children.
After her husband died in 1806, she moved the family to a property in what is now Grove City and built a cabin. Her son, Hugh Grant Jr., built a house on the property around 1840. It is now known as the Grant-Sawyer Home and is open for public tours.
Southwest Public Libraries opened the library at 3359 Park St. in 1954. It served as the Grove City branch until the new library at 3959 Broadway was opened in 2018.
The ballot to name the Town Center park offers three options for voters: Catharine Grant Place, Catharine Grant Square and Catharine Grant Yard, Wickham said.
Votes may be cast by paper ballot at the library or online, she said.
"It will be a wonderful way to honor one of the founding mothers of Grove City, who helped establish the city 170 years ago," Wickham said.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Grove City looks to develop Town Center park as performance venue
