The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
FEEDBACK SOUGHT
Top of the Tank event set for discussion on future park
Euclid residents will soon have the opportunity to scope out the site of a future city park in the middle of the downtown area at the Top of the Tank open house event.
From 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 25, Euclid officials are inviting the community to come visit the construction site on top of the city’s waste water treatment plant holding tank. The roughly 2-acre site of green space, located at 22201 Lakeshore Blvd., has been under construction since 2014 and not accessible to the public while the treatment plant was being worked on.
According to Euclid Planning and Development Director Allison Lukacsy-Love, city leaders anticipate that construction on the site will be substantially complete by the end of December. They are now looking ahead to the future of the site, and inviting residents to share their ideas and visions for what they would like to see as the open space is redeveloped into a park over the next few years.
Due to its location near Shore Cultural Centre and the downtown Euclid business strip, Lukacsy-Love said the park could eventually become a highlight of the city.
“This green space has the potential to become a 21st century park — it could become our Central Park or our Public Square,” Lukacsy-Love said.
“We want to hear what the 5-year-olds have to say, along with the 50-yearolds, and the 15-year-olds.”
— Euclid Planning and Development Director Allison Lukacsy-Love
She explained that due to the fact the green space is covering the large holding tank, there are a lot of challenges and constraints when it comes to building anything on the property, as it wouldn’t be suitable for any homes or commercial developments. However, Lukacsy-Love said, this leaves the property in a unique position — it could really only be developed into a park maintained by the city.
“It’s not very often that you have a space that can only be a public park,” she said.
The Top of the Tank gathering will look very different than a city council meeting, Lukacsy-Love added. Not only will attendees get a firsthand look at the site in question, it will be geared to be a familyfriendly evening out — complete with free frozen treats from East Coast Custard. The local custard shop will be providing a non-dairy option as well for those with food sensitivities.
“At this point, we want to open it up to the public, we want people to visualize what they want to see in a few years,” she said.
Representatives from Environmental Design Group will also be in attendance to listen to resident’s ideas. The city recently chose the Akron-based design consulting firm the city to put together detailed plans on the site redevelopment and help with the community engagement process.
EDG will likely begin presenting some initial plans for the property over the fall, Lukacsy-Love said.
In addition to the Top of the Tank open house, an online survey will also be available after the event for locals to share their ideas for the park and its future amenities.
Lukacsy-Love said she and the other city leaders involved in the project want to hear feedback from as many residents as they can, as this project serves as an opportunity for people to potentially have a direct impact on what the park will look like.
All ages are welcome at the planning event, Lukacsy-Love added, since the completed park will ideally have something to offer that everyone will enjoy.
“We want to hear what the 5-year-olds have to say, along with the 50-year-olds, and the 15-year-olds,” she said.