Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to enter into contract with Watson General Contracting for the Stockbridge Elementary School Demolition Project. The contract amount is $174,950.00, with a contingency of $25,050.00, for a total of $200,000.00 being authorized by this ordinance.
The Recreation and Parks Department purchased the former Stockbridge Elementary School site in 2020 with the assistance of a Clean Ohio Conservation Fund Grant through the Ohio Public Works Commission. The intent has been to demolish the school in order to create an urban forest as part of the entire 22 acre activated park space. This ordinance will allow the Director of Recreation and Parks to enter into a contract to demolish the vacant school building and pavement.
The Stockbridge Urban Forest Project is located in the city’s Scioto Southland Community. This second phase of the project is to demolish the derelict elementary school and hard surfaces in order to prepare the site for trees and walking paths. The property is adjacent to the City’s existing Stockbridge Park and will provide an additional 11 acres of parkland to the community. Columbus City Schools offered the property for sale and this was a unique opportunity to provide more park space and natural area in a heavily built out neighborhood with a significant deficit in green space. The Stockbridge Urban Forest Project will be the City’s first pilot project to restore urban tree canopy on a large scale to one of the city’s most hard hit communities for trees. To accomplish this, the Department has prepared a plan to raze the school, eliminate the hard scape, remediate the soil, and reforest much of the former school property. Thousands of native trees of mixed sizes will be planted and a 1 mile walking path will be installed. The result can be a unique case study of transforming an unusable neighborhood property into a significant activated 22 acre park a...
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