New Albany Park Projects

Parks Plan

From our 68+ miles of leisure trails to more than 2,000 acres of parks and green space, the City of New Albany offers plenty of recreational opportunities. Counting the Rocky Fork Metro Park to our northwest, in which we’ve invested more than $4 million, nearly one out of every five acres of our land is devoted to parks and green space. If that’s not enough, even more recreational offerings are on the horizon! Some exciting plans are in the works, including upgrades to neighborhood parks and the creation of brand-new destination parks.

It first became apparent in 2019 that upgrading the City of New Albany’s parks network was important to the community. City staff received many park-related comments from residents while conducting outreach for Engage New Albany, the City’s five-year strategic plan. That feedback highlighted the need for New Albany’s existing public parks to be examined and studied for potential improvements. Throughout 2020, staff worked with residents and community groups, such as the New Albany Joint Parks District, to create a Parks Framework Plan.

Neighborhood Park Improvements

The Parks Framework Plan includes an assessment of the City’s current parks and equipment, analysis of the accessibility of the City’s parks and trail network, and recommendations for improvements for each neighborhood park. The recommended improvements include updated playground equipment, building accessible features so people of all abilities can use the playgrounds, and amenities such as seating and landscaping.

The City of New Albany works with the neighborhood’s HOA on equipment selection that will fit the needs of each park/playground. Neighborhood park improvements began in 2021 with Sumption Park in The Links neighborhood. The City partnered with The Links HOA to install new equipment, a shade structure, seating benches and a new accessible play surface.

For the remaining City-owned neighborhood parks (Byington, James River, North of Woods, Lambton and Planter’s Grove), the City used a Request for Qualification process to evaluate various playground equipment options and selected Earthscape, an award-winning custom built playground company for playground design and equipment. Once these projects are complete, all City-owned neighborhood pocket parks will have been updated, with all remaining pocket parks still being maintained by their respective subdivision’s homeowner association. City Council has prioritized these efforts as they recognize how important these spaces are to residents and their overall quality of life.

Earthscape playgrounds are designed to be inclusive, innovative, unique and challenging; spaces for testing boundaries, advancing physical skills and building confidence and independence. They are places to be enjoyed by people of all ages and all abilities. Inviting and engaging playgrounds encourage physical activity, imaginative play and social interaction. Thoughtfully designed playscapes entice children to climb, jump, swing, hang and balance. They are non-prescriptive and often without obvious routes or pathways so children can use their imaginations to play in new ways. Read more about Earthscape’s approach to design by clicking here.

Playgrounds are the most fun when they are enjoyed with friends and family. They are community gathering spaces where new friendships begin and flourish and old friendships are renewed. Earthscape’s playground equipment nurtures cooperative and social play where children interact, encourage and teach each other.

  • To be truly inclusive, playgrounds must enable and empower kids of all abilities and ages to connect. It involves more than just access routes or surface materials to afford opportunities for all children to be challenged and stimulated.
  • Playground designs must include spaces where children can play with others as well as places where children can find solitude to ponder and observe.
  • For some children, particularly those with special needs, thoughtfully designed zones for passive play are a welcome or necessary place of calm and separation.
  • Nooks, berms, huts, seating, and shaded spaces give children and adults a place to retreat from busy play and provide a perfect vantage point for a caregiver.
input-arrow input-arrow Sumption Park - Completed 2021

The City of New Albany’s neighborhood park improvements began in 2021 with Sumption Park in The Links neighborhood. The City partnered with The Links HOA to install new equipment, a shade structure, seating benches and a new accessible play surface.

input-arrow input-arrow Byington Park Improvements - Completed 2022

Byington Park is complete.  City crews will paint the fence in late summer 2023 after it has had time to season.

If you have any questions about the Byington Park upgrades, please do not hesitate to reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.

 

 

input-arrow input-arrow James River Park Improvements - Completed 2022

The James River Park upgrades are now complete! Thank you for your patience during this project. If you have any questions about the James River Park upgrades, please do not hesitate to reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.

 

 

input-arrow input-arrow North of Woods Park Improvements - Phase Two Anticipated Completion August 2023

In 2022, the City of New Albany completed several updates to the North of Woods playground, which included new swings, round wobble boards and a playground tower. Following the completion of these updates, city staff received feedback from neighbors requesting additional information and further updates to facilitate a safer and more accessible playground.

For this playground equipment, the city utilized a company called Earthscape because their approach to playground design recognizes that every child plays and interacts with the world in a unique way. Their aim is for children to develop mobility, strength, balance and coordination through free movement and they design equipment that facilitates undefined and open-ended play opportunities with connections to nature. This aligns with the city’s goal of making all city playgrounds more accessible with engaging equipment and surfacing that is inclusive for a range of abilities.

Following the completion of these updates, city staff received feedback from residents in the North of Woods area requesting an additional bay of swings for younger children and more equipment. As such, the city has decided to pursue these additions.

The installation of tot swings and stacky stacks began in July and should be completed in August. The North of Woods playground will remain closed until the installation is complete.

If you have any questions about the playground upgrades, please do not hesitate to reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.

input-arrow input-arrow Lambton Park Improvements - Completed 2023

The Lambton Park upgrades are now complete! Thank you for your patience during this project. If you have any questions about the Lambton Park upgrades, please do not hesitate to reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.

input-arrow input-arrow Planter's Grove Park Improvements - Completed 2023

The Planter’s Grove upgrades are now complete! Thank you for your patience during this project. If you have any questions about the Planter’s Grove upgrades, please do not hesitate to reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.

Destination Parks

While there is a lot to look forward with the neighborhood parks, the City of New Albany is also currently working on designs for larger community parks, such as Taylor Farm Park, Rose Run Park Phase II and Kitzmiller Wetlands Park.

input-arrow input-arrow Taylor Farm Park

Taylor Farm park is now open! The Taylor Farm site, which had been a farm dating back to the 1800s, is a nearly 100-acre tract of land bounded by the Rocky Fork Creek, Dublin-Granville Road, Harlem Road and the State Route 161.

Aspects of phase one  that opened to the public in 2023 include a walking trail loop, wood boardwalks, a permeable parking lot, and playground. The playground features a rubberized play surface to provide accessibility to all abilities and consists of two play areas – one with play equipment designed for ages 2-5 and the other with equipment designed for ages 5-12.

As of June 2024, the back trail is now open to the public, and the expanded parking lot now features accessible, paved handicap parking spots. The restrooms and community garden will tentatively open July 3. Playground sunshades and a pavilion are pending permits, with pavilion construction expected later in summer 2024. Handrails will be installed on pedestrian bridges in mid-July, and the final boardwalk paving near Greensward is set for July 15, opening soon after.

Regarding the eagerly awaited new community garden, Healthy New Albany will use this year as an experimental season to test the new plots and amenities. The new garden features water spigots, bathrooms, tables, seating, a fire pit, native plants, and three different 4×12 raised beds for those who cannot bend over. The 2025 gardening season will open to the public, with registration details becoming available on Healthy New Albany’s website in late fall. For questions about the community garden, please contact Jennifer Cohen at communitygarden@healthynewalbany.org.

After performing an assessment of structures on site and consulting with a barn restoration expert, the City of New Albany made the decision to remove the original Taylor Farm barn and other structures on the property. The barn was in very poor condition structurally, and the restoration consultant did not deem any aspects of it worth salvaging. The barn would have needed to be lifted by several feet to get it out of the floodplain.

The City is looking into the possibility of relocating an old barn near Bevelhymer Park to the Taylor Farm Park for future use as a pavilion. The Taylor Farm house will remain standing.

The previous property owner had been constructing a wetland mitigation project on the property. The wetland mitigation project began before the city purchased the project. The following information is taken from the Rocky Fork Pooled Mitigation Site Mitigation Plan, as prepared by EMH&T on September 1, 2020:

The project will create 24 acres of forested wetland and 10 acres of emergent wetland. In addition, approximately 10 acres of upland buffer will be planted/restored and 5 acres of forested buffer will be preserved. Three wetland basins will be excavated and embankments created to reestablish hydrology on existing hydric soils. The grading will promote saturation and shallow inundation, generally from saturated conditions a few inches below the surface up to an average depth of two inches, with limited areas of deeper vernal pools. The restored wetlands are designed as seasonal features that will be wet in the winter and spring, and likely drier during the late summer and early autumn months, depending on rainfall conditions. This seasonal hydrology should support a diverse assemblage of wetland plants. The reforested wetlands will also be plated with native shrubs and trees upon completion of the wetland construction and seeding.

input-arrow input-arrow Rose Run Park Phase II

The City of New Albany opened Rose Run Park in 2020 and celebrated the park’s dedication on Founders Day in 2021. We are now in the planning stages for the park’s second phase to be built across Main Street close to Village Hall.

Rose Run Phase II will include a beautiful new Veterans Memorial with a hero’s walk, plaza and water feature that will be a wonderful new public space for reflection. Upon the request of Mayor Sloan Spalding and the City of New Albany, the New Albany Company will donate 2 acres of land adjacent to New Albany Village Hall and the existing New Albany Police Department for the project. Part of the donation also includes land that formerly housed the police station and a fuel station. This donation enables the City to move forward with its plans for a Veterans Memorial as well as commence the development of the City’s Rose Run Park Phase II, a significant next step in the expansion of the green space and parkland that is such an important element of the Village Center. This location also has access to ample parking and is well connected to the existing pedestrian circulation.

There is currently no timeline for construction, but the City of New Albany is excited to see this project take the next steps towards reality.

input-arrow input-arrow Kitzmiller Wetland Park

Kitzmiller Wetland Park is the third destination park in our long-term plans. This park, which will be built on land that was acquired more than a decade ago between Kitzmiller Road and US 62, will include active and passive areas with walking trails, lots of play spaces and climbing structures for kids, sports courts, and possibly even a place for skateboarders.

This park will remain in the planning stages for at least another couple of years, giving us an opportunity to plan the park in a way that best fits New Albany’s long-term needs.

Kitzmiller Park rendering

Pickleball Complex

The City of New Albany invites you to visit our new pickleball complex! The project, which is located adjacent to the New Albany Public Service facility and the Michael Lucey Memorial Basketball Courts at 7300 Walnut St., includes 16 tournament-level pickleball courts suitable for all skill levels. The site also includes a parking lot with spaces for 64 vehicles plus parallel parking along the service drive to accommodate up to 40 vehicles. Additional features are currently in the planning stage.

Learn more at newalbanyohio.org/pickleball.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our park projects, you can reach out to the City of New Albany at 614-855-3913 or admin@newalbanyohio.org.