Stadium Drive Redevelopment Moving Forward

Plans to redevelop a portion of Stadium Drive are continuing to move forward.

The city is planning to redevelop the space it uses on Stadium Drive for Service Department buildings, updating those facilities and adding a new storage building for the salt used on icy roads. That building is expected to be built and ready before winter gets underway.

But not everyone has been pleased with the decision. The Stadium Drive plan had gotten some attention from a group of citizens in the , saying they’d rather see the land used for parks or other amenities. The group was even collecting signatures on a petition opposing the development. A representative could not be reached for any updates.

It does look like plenty of people are fine with the decision. agreed with the city’s plan for Stadium Drive.

The city has listened to the residents' concerns—Mayor Jerry N. Hruby told that he even met with someone from the Metroparks to discuss sharing some land for salt storage, but both sides decided it wasn’t a good fit. Council members voted to accept a bid from All Phase Construction to build the new salt storage facility on Stadium Drive for about $560,000.

Construction will begin in late August or early September, said Director of Public Services Ron Weidig. The city is hoping to get the salt in there by November, he said.