Middlegrounds, Westgate plans OK’d

4/11/2014

The Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commission approved site plans Thursday for the new Middlegrounds Metropark and the retail and office development for Westgate Village Shopping Center on the northside of Central Avenue.

The park will be built on the downtown side of the Maumee River on 28 acres upstream from the Anthony Wayne Bridge and will continue on for about a half-mile to a Norfolk Southern rail yard.

The park, which will cost about $3 million to build, will have a covered pavilion, restrooms, picnic area, wetlands, and an inlet for canoe and kayak launches. The Metroparks of the Toledo Area hopes to have the park open in the fall of 2015.

The proposal presented by Abbell Credit Corp., the owner of Westgate, to redevelop land on the north side of West Central also was approved.

The company wants to demolish the buildings that house Arnie’s Again Bar and Grill and El Nuevo Vallarta restaurant that ultimately would include three buildings.

Liz Holland, chief executive officer of Abbell Credit Corp., said permits would be pulled for demolition after June 1 and construction of the first phase is scheduled for completion in November.