With the delivery of thousands of cubic yards of fill dirt to the site, work officially has started on the first phase of the Owl's Nest Park renovation in Evanston and East Walnut Hills.
The dirt, which is coming from the Hoff Academic Quad construction site at Xavier University, will bring the former ball field area up to the level of Fairfax Avenue.
The site will continue to be filled for the next several weeks, and bids for the first phase of construction will go out in the next few weeks.
The Cincinnati Park Board, the Owl's Nest Advisory Council, and neighboring community councils worked together to develop the park's master plan.
Steven Schuckman, superintendent of planning and design for Cincinnati Parks, says that the plans for this park fit into a much larger design.
"This fits exactly within the new Centennial Master Plan, which calls for improving neighborhood parks and in making improvements which help act as a catalyst for neighborhood investment," he says.
The master plan for Owl's Nest includes:
- An entrance plaza at Fairfax Avenue
- A nature study area and amphitheatre
- A continuous pathway system
- New lighting
- Improved picnic and seating areas
- Renovation of the ball fields
- New half-court basketball areas
"Owl's Nest is an important neighborhood park in that it serves both the East Walnut Hills and Evanston communities as well as an adjacent business district," Schuckman says. "At over 10 acres, it's a valuable neighborhood resource and a gathering place to bring together these different neighborhoods in an enhanced park."
Funding for the project is coming from the Park Board, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, and private donors.
Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Steven Schuckman, superintendent of planning and design, Cincinnati Parks
Photography by Kevin LeMaster
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