TOLEDO, Ohio — Yondota Park in east Toledo is getting a major makeover next year.
City officials said they plan to use a $200,000 community development block grant they received to renovate the park, but what the park consists of will be up to the public.
"They're the ones who are going to use it, it wouldn't make sense for me to decide what this community gets in terms of a playground," Joe Fausnaugh, the director of parks, recreation and youth services for the city said.
City leaders are meeting with the public to discuss the different variations that the city has come up with for the currently empty field.
According to Fausnaugh, there are three options that residents will be able to choose from.
The first option is a multi-generational concept that would involve exercise equipment for adults, a picnic area and a playground for kids.
The second option is a traditional playground that just focuses on the kids.
The third option is a mound-themed play area that plays off the mound currently on the land.
Fausnaugh said this will be the sixth playground that's undergone a renovation in recent years in east Toledo. The city said construction at Yondota Park would start in the spring of 2025.
"Part of the reason we really focus on this part of Toledo is because it really has been underinvested for many, many years," said Fausnaugh. "So basically all the parks here needed help and over the past couple of years we've tried to give them the help they deserved."
He said parks are an important amenity for the neighborhoods.
"We've seen the value that parks and green space have on a neighborhood," said Fausnaugh. "How it increases the economic impact through improved home values, health impact by getting kids active out and playing, combatting child obesity and just the mental aspect of being able to get out and exercise and play as family."