Playground equipment vendor makes new home in Pataskala
A business specializing in playground equipment sales now makes its home in the greater Pataskala area.
Midstates Recreation recently relocated from New Albany to a brand-new facility at 1279 Hazelton-etna Rd SW in Pataskala, Ohio.
On Sept. 16, a special open house was held to show off the new facility.
According to President Blake Hobson, Midstates Recreation sells playground equipment for about a half-dozen different manufacturers, across five states. “Ohio is home base,” Hobson said. “It’s our strongest area, by far.” Potential clients?
Hobson said, “Parks, cities, schools… daycares. Any commercial play space. We don’t do anything residential. We’re a dealer, and we’re a general contractor. We install it, we do the surfacing.”
Midstates recently completed installation of a new playground at JFK Park in Reynoldsburg that includes an unusual interactive, noise-making “Sona” arch, the first of its kind in central Ohio.
A similar arch stands before Midstate’s new Pataskala-area home.
Hobson said he was attracted to the Pataskala area partly because of its convenience to his Licking Valley home. “It’s a great location,” he said. “We couldn’t have done much better in that we’re close to the freeway, somewhat close to Columbus .... ”
The business also includes many family members, “and we have a lot of family here in Licking County,” he said.
He also said it was difficult elsewhere to find the right location for a needed blend of sufficient office and warehouse space.
Then he found the new Pataskala site.
“I bought the property in 2017,” Hobson said. “I spent all of 2018 trying to talk myself out of building. Then, we started building in the spring of 2019 and moved in December of 2019, and then, four months later, came COVID.”
Regardless, Hobson said, “It was a real blessing to us in that in New Albany we had 2,000 square feet, including warehouse.”
The new location allowed for plenty of social distancing he said, as it measures about 15,000 square feet and “we have more space outside, so we never closed for a day,” as a result of the pandemic.
Hobson also acquired additional land for potential future expansion.
In terms of sales of playground equipment amid the pandemic, Hobson said, “Last year was our best year ever, and would have been even better if it weren’t for COVID.”