The city of Toledo Parks and Youth Services and community partners celebrated the completion of the first phase of the Schneider Park Revitalization Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the park on Thursday.
Attending the event at the Schneider Park Soccer Complex, 2706 Schneider Road, were Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, representatives from the offices of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D. Toledo), along with Mannik & Smith Group, and local soccer clubs.
After detailed planning and 18 months of construction, the initial phase of the award-winning project is finished. It includes new soccer fields, the implementation of sustainable bioretention systems, a new entrance off Detroit Avenue, a loop walking trail, and other amenities that highlight the city’s dedication to sustainable urban development and inclusive recreational opportunities for all residents.
“The park is open, ready for use, and now the public can enjoy what is, believe it or not, the only public space in Toledo where soccer can be played,” said Mr. Kapszukiewicz. “It’s not just any space, but truly one of the jewels of northwest Ohio.”
Joe Fausnaugh, director of Parks, Recreation and Youth Services, said there were several challenges since ground was broken for the project 18 months ago.
“There were times I doubted we would ever get to this day. There were so many hurdles to overcome, but because we had such a strong team working on this project, we overcame those hurdles, and we’re here today,” said Mr. Fausnaugh.
The $4 million project received funding from multiple sources.
A bioswale constructed in the park was funded by a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant from Ms. Kaptur’s office.
“All the storm water from the site and adjacent roads gets captured in this bioswale and filtered naturally before it goes into the storm sewer, then the river and the lake. It equates to several million gallons per year that is basically pretreated so it’s not flowing into our water system,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
The project also received a $300,000 grant from the Ohio EPA to pave the parking lots and entrance drive with asphalt and ground up tires. “So we have sustainable material going into the operation,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
A grant from the Toledo-Lucas County Land Bank funded the removal of a former Ohio Department of Transportation building at the site. The city bought the property 10 years ago, but it sat vacant for years as a Brownfield site.
“We demolished the entire complex and included it as part of the park,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
Funding also came from Toledo City Council’s District Improvement Program, which helps fund capital projects not currently planned by the city that have communitywide benefits.
On Wednesday, city council approved funding to install lights in the parking lots.
“There are so many other benefits involved for folks who never play soccer, such as a walking path, which provides more opportunities for exercise and being healthy,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “Soccer is a big part of this, but there are a lot of boxes checked that help us in a lot of ways.”
An accessible playground and two mini-pitch accessible soccer courts will also be in the park.
“Everyone in the community, regardless of their abilities, will have a place to play soccer here at the park,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
If funding becomes available, Phase 2 would include converting three soccer fields to artificial turf, which would provide long-term stability under severe weather conditions.
“If we wanted to schedule a large tournament and bring people in from the tri-state area, we couldn’t do that now because if there’s a heavy rain, the fields might be too muddy to play on. But if we converted it to artificial turf, you could play immediately after a heavy rain,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
Councilman Adam Martinez, who represents the second district where the park is located, said the city will be submitting applications to the District Improvement Program within the next couple of months to fund an accessible playground in the park as part of Phase 2.
“This park is a regional asset, a great economic development tool to attract businesses and visitors to our area. This rivals any soccer park in the Midwest. I’m looking forward to supporting it into the future,” Mr. Martinez said.
Councilman Vanice Williams, who is chairman of city council’s Parks, Education, Recreation, and Health committee, said she was initially opposed to the project but soon changed her mind.
“I was not a fan of this project at the beginning. But my mind was easily changed. I’m so excited to support activities for youth. The biggest thing for me is to make sure our kids are active and have a safe place to play,” said Ms. Williams. “Lives can be changed with investment dollars for our youth.”
Erica Krause, regional representative from Mr. Brown’s office, read a statement on his behalf.
“Maintaining the health of the lake isn’t just about what happens along the lakeshore. It’s also about what we do throughout the watershed. Engineers, local institutions, and government all worked together to transform a previously underused city park and empty buildings into a project that’s helping the local environment, improving the health of the lake by filtering millions of gallons of storm water and providing a place for recreation to help support our local economy.”
David Zavac, from Ms. Kaptur’s office, said the use of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant isn’t just for directly protecting the Great Lakes.
“This is an example of those dollars leading to economic development, improving neighborhoods, and protecting our Maumee River from what gets into our water streams,” Mr. Zavac said.
The Trust for Public Land annually publishes a ranking of the 100 largest cities based on the quantity and quality of city parks.
“We just learned yesterday that Toledo moved up 13 spots on the list this year to number 27 in the country,” Mr. Fausnaugh said.
“Projects like Schneider Park and other parks in our neighborhoods across the city are largely responsible for that huge improvement,” he said.
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