Help us design the new Sixth Ward Neighborhood Park!
The City of Chillicothe is looking to bring the Sixth Ward its first park, thanks to several partnerships across the community. The Sixth Ward is the only ward in the city without a park currently.
The property, which is currently owned by former Councilwoman Pat Patrick, is in front of City Council to be accepted as donation for use as a park. The City Council Parks Committee will be meeting January 9th at 6:30 p.m. to discuss. This meeting is open to the public.
As we continue linking partnerships to develop the park, we want to hear from the community about what park components should be included. This feedback will be incorporated to guide the design of the park. Design options will be shared with the public for further feedback before implementation.
Update 3/30/2023 - Playground options are now live! Vote for your favorite!
The Ross County Land Bank utilized grant funds to demolish the existing vacant and blighted structure on the property. Additional work including fencing will be taking place in the coming months through the same grant.
The Ross County Health District's Creating Healthy Communities program has selected the Sixth Ward Park as one of its priority projects for 2023, providing funding to support infrastructure at the park and technical assistance in the implementation.
The Ohio State Landscape Architect Program will take your input and develop a design for the neighborhood park. Further public input will be sought throughout the project as the equipment (playground, exercise, benches, etc.) is decided on.
The Sixth Ward is the only ward in the city without a park within its boundaries. Further, the Sixth Ward is located in the census tract with some of the greatest health disparities in our city with 48.5% residents experience obesity, 30% of children in poverty, and the lowest life expectancy in the city at 68.9 years.
The Ohio Department of Health advocates that parks play a major role in health. Parks have been shown to increase physical health and well-being and improve mental health by increasing opportunities for social interactions, as they act as a gathering space for communities.
To learn more about more about park access and health, check out this quick guide from the Ohio Department of Health here.
Phases
Presentation of Final Design
Presentation of the engagement results and resulting design to Park Commission. Installation timeline will be updated then.
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: April 19th, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
27 Wade Street
Event date: January 9th, 2023 from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM.
26 S. Paint Street