TOLEDO, Ohio — Five years after the Downtown Toledo Master Plan was presented in 2017, many of the ideas contained in its vision of the downtown region have come to life.
For Randy Oostra, ProMedica's CEO and one of the original leaders behind the project, he says when it was first developed he didn't realize just how successful it would be.
"At the time, it was like, we just need a plan, ya know? every successful venture starts with a plan, and people giving input to that plan. And I think we thought it was going to be positive, and then what I think we were really pleased with is just the response and what came out of the plan," Oostra said.
Empty warehouses are now apartments, fulfilling the need for more housing.
Plus, new development is happening at Fort Industry Square and the former Seagate, now Glass City Center.
And bike lanes and rentable scooters across the city answer calls for easier transportation.
"We've heard a lot from people who haven't been here in Toledo for awhile or who left and came back, and they're kind of like, "what happened?" so I think the perception is very positive and I think it should be very, very positive," Oostra said.
Oostra said a huge benefit of the plan is re-emphasizing the value of the Maumee River, with Promenade Park and Glass City Metropark adding more access, and the in-progress Glass City Riverwalk allowing people to walk across the river. Oostra said long term this will give the city more appeal, but Wendy Gramza, President and CEO of the Toledo Area Regional Chamber of Commerce says there's still more to be done.
"We need to keep the momentum going, we need more people to invest in Downtown, it's been a lot of heavy lifting by a small group of people thus far, so we need to attract other investors, private investments," Gramza said.
Oostra said he'd like leaders to work on a second master plan to address future investment in local neighborhoods.
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