ProMedica setting its sights on the east and west sides of Toledo — again increasing its development desires for the city — has elicited mixed reviews from those who live in the areas slated for a combined $150 million in investment.
Jodi Gross, community builder for the family center on Varland Avenue and One Voice For East Toledo initiative, said she hopes the future development of housing, parkland, and a restaurant will reverberate into the existing East Toledo business corridor on Main Street as well as stir reinvestment in the distressed housing stock east of Front Street and into other neighborhoods.
“We want to see positive and good things happen in our neighborhoods. We want to see healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. We think this project can only help us in those efforts,” she said. “Not only is this a great thing for East Toledo, but it is a great for all of Toledo.”
But Robert Webb, who has lived on Winsted Drive just north of Central Avenue for 23 years, is leery of ProMedica’s plans and is not looking forward to more construction noise, traffic, and dust.
“Bulldozers and golf cart-like vehicles come down this street every day at 6:45 a.m. waking us up,” Mr. Webb said, referring to construction vehicles that have been in the neighborhood for years for the work done on ProMedica Parkway, razing nearby buildings and constructing others.
Plans made public Tuesday by ProMedica executives and Columbus developer Frank Kass call for 80 acres of riverfront property known as the Marina District in East Toledo to be developed into a mix of retail, market rate apartments, and a restaurant that would be anchored by a new metro- park.
The Colony neighborhood in West Toledo, where ProMedica is building a 13-story, $355 million hospital addition called Generations Tower, would be outfitted with a mixed-use development consisting of an extended-stay hotel, apartments, and an assisted-living facility.
In conjunction with the Marina District proposal, the Metroparks of the Toledo Area plans to develop 54 acres there in the next several years in three phases. Metropark commissioners approved a purchase agreement Wednesday with Midland Agency of Northwest Ohio Inc., the trustee that owns the land.
David Zenk, Metroparks director, said the land would be acquired in three phases, with 21 acres to be bought at a cost of $1.2 million in 2017, 15 acres to be added for $880,500 in 2018, and 17.7 acres to be purchased in 2019 for $1,041,338, for total acquisition of 53.7 acres for $3,154,538.
The park district would have the option to purchase an additional 17 acres of city-owned land for future development near Front Street and the Craig Memorial Bridge.
The Metroparks has already received a $1.9 million grant from the Clean Ohio Fund program to buy property for the park and is seeking an additional $1.4 million in grant funding through the Sustain Our Great Lakes program to assist in the purchase.
Fritz Byers, vice president of the park commissioners, said the purchase is a hallmark for the park system and a decision that will mean great things for downtown Toledo, the city, and northwest Ohio.
“The location of our yet-to-be-named waterfront Metropark positions us well to be at the center of what we know is going to be a renaissance for our region,” he said. “I think it is a bellwether day for downtown redevelopment.”
The park commissioners also gave the go-ahead for a contract with SmithGroupJJR to develop a master plan for the new metropark. The firm, which is the designer behind riverfront parkland in Detroit, was used by the park district for the Middlegrounds and Howard Marsh metroparks.
The Metroparks’ development plan for Phase 1, to be completed in 2018, would cost $3,732,700. That work includes wetlands and bioswales, reforestation and prairie restoration, “instream aquatic habitat restored,” paths and river overlooks, river access for small boats, and recreational opportunities.
Metroparks has scheduled a two-hour hearing for 5:30 p.m. on June 21 at the East Toledo Family Center for the planners and architects of the SmithGroupJJR to get public input for the future Metropark.
While plans for the projects proceed, Pastor Ken Dantzler, of Salem Methodist Church on Federal Street, said he believes the neighborhoods on the east side could be on the cusp of economic change because of the development.
“This will be a wonderful opportunity to be a linchpin and build the foundation to begin changing the economic conditions and living conditions in East Toledo. It could have an effect on all of Toledo to make it a better place,” he said.
Jamie Ondrus, the owner of Ondrus Hardware on Oak Street, said the East Toledo riverfront is a long-kept secret that other Midwest cities are dying for. He said the land along the river has been under-utilized for decades and offers opportunity for kayaks, boating, and other recreation.
“My first reaction is why did it take so long to happen,” he said.
The ProMedica plans for the former Colony, the area located near Central Avenue and Monroe Street where the company wants a new extended-stay hotel, apartments, and an assisted-living facility including a unit for memory loss patients, had some positive and negative reviews.
Jeff Rhodes, owner of Rhodes’ Garden Fresh at 4171 Monroe, recalled The Colony as “a pretty cool neighborhood years ago” that was “one by one bought by ProMedica.”
“ProMedica has bought everyone out, including Barrows Greenhouse, and torn it down,” Mr. Rhodes said.
Barrows Greenhouse closed last year after more than 100 years in business. ProMedica bought the property just west of its Toledo Hospital campus on Northwood Avenue for an expansion.
Mr. Rhodes is hopeful the development will spur economic development, but he isn’t betting on it increasing his flow of customers.
“People have become big store shoppers — Kroger, Meijer, and so on — and as much as I hate to admit it, they have been doing a good job with merchandising and prices,” he said. “The days of people stopping into your little local fruit market are waning. ... The impact I guess remains to be seen but I am not expanding with the idea in mind that this is going to be a great thing to me.”
Mr. Oostra said ProMedica focused on the Colony for two reasons: to create an inviting campus for medical students and medical residents as part of its partnership with the University of Toledo and to create a vibrant Monroe Street linking the hospital with the Toledo Museum of Art and downtown.
Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.
First Published April 27, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
