Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to enter into a grant agreement with Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) for the Linden Green Line Project. This ordinance will also authorize the appropriation of the grant and matching funds. The grant amount is $2,474,000.00 and the local match amount is $2,474,000.00. There is a total of $4,948,000.00 available for this project being authorized by this ordinance.
In March of 2023, the Department applied for 2023 Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant funds to be used towards fee simple acquisition of an abandoned rail corridor in the Linden and Northland Communities, as authorized by Ordinance 0440-2023. In May of 2023, the Department received notice that the grant was approved.
The Linden and Northland Communities of Columbus are one of the region’s most underserved areas for parks, open spaces, and natural areas. The purpose of the Linden Green Line Project is to provide a new approximately 58 acre linear park stretching along seven miles of an abandoned rail corridor, from Windsor Park, near 17th Avenue, to Cooper Park in the Northland Community. The rail corridor is privately owned, for sale, and acquiring the property provides a generational opportunity for over 131,000 residents living nearby to create a unique large-scale linear park through a dense inner city community. The Linden Green Line will utilize the longest abandoned corridor in Columbus, with an average width of 80 feet. The Clean Ohio funds will be used towards the purchase of the property.
Once acquired, the Linden Green Line will enter the design and construction phase of what is intended to build the first ever linear park in Central Ohio. Components would include seven miles of 10 foot wide pathway, with the remaining 70 feet of the corridor devoted to restoring a natural area, including forest plantings, native shrubs, wildflowers, and selective open greenspaces. E...
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