TOLEDO, Ohio — Glass City Metropark, on Toledo's eastside, is celebrating it's one year anniversary of phase 2 of its development.
The park sits on 70 acres of Maumee River shoreline which sat empty and unimproved for many years after a cleanup effort in the early 2000s made the land ripe for development.
One unique thing about the metro park is that it's the only Toledo area metro park that has a restaurant.
Now, the park is breathing new life into the adjacent east Toledo neighborhoods and attracts visitors from all over the region.
"It's amazing. We could spend all day here," said Katie Klug from Waterville.
Raquia Mitchell, from Toledo, agrees.
"I love it. I come here pretty often, especially just to come and wind down," said Mitchell.
Hundreds of visitors came out for the Glass City Metropark on a beautiful late spring day to help celebrate the anniversary.
People have noticed the steady improvements that have taken place at the park.
"I would say it's more than we expected, It's a large area and lots of things to keep the kids occupied," said Katie Klug, from Waterville.
Some of those features include a 40 foot play tower, pollinator play area, and the Mini-Maumee, an immersive water feature that is a scaled down version of the Maumee River and its tributaries.
While park construction cost millions of dollars, reactions to these major improvements in east Toledo seem to be nothing but positive.
"It's worth having it here, yes. So our money was well spent here in Toledo. It was," said Rosalind Huggins from Toledo.
People have even come in from other states, just to take part in all the fun, and the Glass City Metropark hasn't disappointed.
"I was actually kind of surprised. We hadn't been here before. Pulled in. Everything is pristine and new. All the facilities are right next to each other, easy to use. So, I was happy," said Elijah Skiver, From Michigan.
"They need that in the community because things is going crazy. So, this is what they need. Something for the kids to do. It's something for them to do," said Chenoa Knox from Philadelphia.
Park admission is free all and the Glass City metro park including the Mini Maumee is open from 7 a.m. till dusk daily. For more info, you can click here.
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