Project to help business district

Fairborn will relocate Fairfield Park’s main entrance.

— Construc tion FAIRBORN ofthe ne w e ntranc e to Fairfie ld Park is e xpe c te d to start ne xt month and b e c omple te d late r this ye ar — a proje c t that c ity offic ials say will drive more traffic to the North Broad S tre et c orridor and make the fac ility more visib le for gue sts.

T he c ity is moving forward with re loc ating Fairfie ld Park’s main e ntranc e from North Ce ntral A ve nue to North Broad S tre e t afte r c ounc il approve d the c onstruc tion c ontrac t M onday night with Doub le Jay Construc tion in the amount not to e xc ee d $52 0 ,0 0 0 .

T he ne w e ntranc e , at 62 1N. Broad S t., will b e on thre e vac ant c ity-owne d lots and fe ature b ric k pillars, granite park signs, landsc aping and a ne w asphalt road.T he e xisting e ntranc e is at 112 5 N.Ce ntral A ve .

A ssistant c ity manage r Pe te Bale s said the proje c t will b e - gin mid-July and b e c omple te d no late r than Nov.1.

“It will shift all ofthat traffic flow into the b usine ss distric t for nine months ofthe ye ar,” said A lic ia Ec khart, Fairb orn’s parks and re c re ation supe rinte nde nt.“T he re are thousands ofpe ople and familie s that c ome through the re .”

T he proje c t was initially e stimate d to c ost $52 0 ,0 0 0 . Doub le Jay’s b id was $476,634, and additional funds we re alloc ate d only as a c ontinge nc y.

Last spring, Fairb orn re - c e ive d a $30 0 ,0 0 0 grant from the state to he lp c onstruc t the ne w e ntranc e for Fairfie ld Park.T he re maining funds will c ome from the c ity’s park c apital fund, whic h is de dic ate d hote l/mote l tax re ve nue .

No ge ne ral fund dollars will b e use d, Ec khart has said.

In the past, park e ve nts have had an annual e c onomic impac t to the c ity ofmore than $1million, Bale s said.But the e c onomic impac t pote ntially c ould grow be c ause the re ’s an inc re ase in partic ipation numb e rs at the park, he said.

T he ave rage daily traffic c ount on North Ce ntral at the e xisting Fairfie ld Park e ntranc e is 9,2 86, from S e pte mb e r 2 0 13.T he traffic c ount at