Lawmakers announce $527,000 in state grants for demo at Norton Bicentennial Park site

More than $500,000 in state grants will help transform unused property on North Sandusky Avenue into a park honoring the city's founders.

The two grants were announced by state Sen. Bill Reineke and state Rep. Riordan McClain during a short ceremony in front of the old ice plant at 520 N. Sandusky Ave., which will be demolished to make way for the Norton Bicentennial Park.

Mayor Jeff Reser, introducing the speakers, called the ceremony an "auspicious occasion" for Bucyrus.

"Looking at what we have here today, really an unusable space. The community's getting no value from where we're standing," McClain said in announcing the grants. "With the vision of the Norton Bicentennial group, the mayor's office and so many others, this is going to be a place where families and outside visitors to the city of Bucyrus will be able to come and experience Bucyrus."

Two state grants will be used to demolish the ice plant and remove asphalt from the site.

"The last budget cycle saw so many communities throughout the state of Ohio that have dilapidated areas of the city or of the community that, for whatever reason, have not been able to be revitalized, and have been neglected," he said. "So through the operating budget of last year, the current cycle that we're in, there were grants that were created for the demolition and restoration for a lot of those areas of our communities. This is partially through some of those funds: $352,250 is through the building demolition and site revitalization program created in the budget that Senator Reineke and I helped steward through the General Assembly this last year."

An additional $175,000 was made available through the state's capital budget, McClain said, bringing the total to $527,250. "Senator Reineke's office and my office were working very hard to make sure that those dollars come back to our communities, and this is one of the projects that will be the fruit of that labor."

Removing the 'sea of asphalt'

The park is being developed by Norton Bicentennial, Inc. The nonprofit, an offshoot of the Bucyrus Bicentennial Commission, owns the land and already demolished the building at 510 N. Sandusky Ave.—which formerly housed Freddie's Restaurant and Good Eats — to make room for the park.

Randy Fischer spoke on behalf of Norton Bicentennial, Inc., thanking the legislators for their support of the project.

"That's fantastic," he said. "I want to acknowledge the Land Bank folks and the commissioners. They applied for this grant to demo the ice plant and it's much more than we thought it was going to be."

His group looks forward to working with both the city and county in its efforts to get the ice plant demolished and remove the "sea of asphalt" from the site.

"We had a good time celebrating Bucyrus' 200th birthday last year, but all the while we were celebrating, we were also dreaming about a project that would permanently transform our city," Fischer said. "And we identified this project and we think Norton Bicentennial Park will do just that: It will transform particularly the north end of town.

"We've got support from the state, we've got strong support from the business community and individuals. We're going to make this dream come true. This is a true public-private partnership."

He also addressed comments he's heard from some local residents challenging the selection of the flood-prone site for development.

"All the locals know this place floods, right? So you hear comments like, well, what if it floods? Well, we say bring it on," Fischer said. "Replacing asphalt with grass is going to do nothing but help that flooding problem. And we will put nothing here that will be permanently damaged by any floodwaters. If it floods, get the hoses out, hose it down, get right back to it."

The site couldn't be used for retail or any other construction — FEMA won't allow it, and no one would insure it, he said.

"We just think that grass — any grass — is the highest and best use for this piece of property, with some other amenities again, that will be flood-resistant," he said. Plans for the site include a dog park and  playground equipment.

"We're also going to have, more importantly, a fitting tribute to our founders of the town, the Norton family," Fischer said. "We don't have one here. It's been 200 years and we don't have a fitting tribute to the Norton family. Also to Johnny Appleseed. It's well-documented that he planted trees just up here on Finley Hill."

Legislators praise project

After the ceremony, Reineke praised the collaborative nature of the project.

"I like the idea that when people come through, going to the lake and other areas, that it's accessible; it draws people to the community," he said. "If they buy a cup of coffee or go to the grocery store or whatever they might do going through here, hopefully they'll make it a destination.

"And then I think it's also that history is so important, and as we grow up, we find out how important that is. So honoring the Norton family, I think that's a really amazing piece and just the whole Johnny Appleseed thing; that sounds too unrealistic that that could have been here, but it is here. ...

"I know Representative McClain and myself have tried to be representative of our different counties and we feel this is a really good project, so we hope the community enjoys it and will use it."

McClain said the project will be an overall benefit to the community.

"I'm excited for the state's investment into Bucyrus, and I'm excited for what this sort of downtrodden plot of land is going to become, and the vibrancy that will bring back both to the community members and then to the people traveling through and spending their dollars hopefully here in Bucyrus," he said.

"It's always fun to see a space go from unused and neglected to something that's a tangible benefit to peoples' lives," McClain said.

ggoble@gannett.com

419-559-7263

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: $527,000 in state grants will aid development of bicentennial park