Optimism and high anticipation are the feelings city and project leaders have for the upcoming Wooster Green Space, but the timeline of the effort is still covered in uncertainty.
“I can certainly say that I am confident that this is going to be nothing but good for our community and be a beautiful place for people to gather,” said council member Sandy Rowland. “A space where many different activities can take place; it’s very positive for me.”
The Wooster Green Space task force was comprised of 17 active individuals in the Bowling Green community who sought to develop a unique alternative to a building or parking lot on the 1.7 acre plot on the corners of West Wooster, South Church and South Grove streets. Instead, the space that once fostered the junior high school will be installed with newly planted trees, sidewalks, benches, a sculpture and a gazebo.
“It’s about creating something that has the most impact on the community while incorporating the objections and the desires of the community and coming up with a solution that meets the core objective: to have a space for the community to use,” said Bowling Green State University graphic design professor and task force member Lori Young.
The design option for the space was agreed upon by 272 Bowling Green community members; more than half of the responses collected preferred the chosen design.
“This is not another park, it’s a small space for community gatherings, and it’s what I envision Bowling Green’s front yard to be,” said Michael Penrod, a task force member and a representative from the Bowling Green First Presbyterian Church.
“It’s going to be a place for gathering,” said Dick Newlove, task force member and president of Newlove Realty Inc. “(It is) a passive place for people to meet casually, and will act as a town square.”
While the design has been finalized and agreed upon for implementation, the timeline for the future of the space is still unclear.
Joe Faucet, information director in the mayor’s office, said there was “no formal timeline as of yet.”
He also said fundraising for the project is expected to begin soon, and the fundraising committee is projected to mainly be collecting private donations.
The firm that composed the designs for the project, Poggemeyer Design Group Inc., estimated the cost of the project to be $345,000.
Mayor Dick Edwards hopes to have a formal ground-breaking ceremony sometime in the spring of 2018.