New Albany recently broke ground at Rose Run Park, a new civic amenity in the heart of the community, designed to foster connections among people and with the environment.
When completed in late 2019, the new “central park” will link Market Square, the Heit Center for Healthy New Albany and the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s New Albany Branch to the New Albany-Plain Local Schools’ learning campus and the McCoy Center for the Arts. It will preserve green space in the heart of New Albany and create a central gathering place for large events.
“Simply put, Rose Run Park will be a place for us, individually or as a family, to relax, read, reflect, play, cycle, and be at peace with nature,” said Mayor Sloan Spalding.
The project includes the first half mile of the Velo Loop, a protected bike lane along Dublin-Granville Road that will connect to the city’s leisure trails. Limestone pavers bordering the school campus will offer additional seating for large community events. Traffic along Dublin-Granville Road will be reduced to two lanes, with crosswalks ensuring safe passage between the school campus and the park.
A pedestrian bridge of iron and decorative brick will provide an attractive pathway across the creek as well as additional seating. The decorative brick pavers continue south of the bridge forming a promenade leading to Market Square. A birch walk will connect Rose Run Park to a new library garden and event lawn behind the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Plans call for a nature play area for children, a wooded glen and trail along the creek bed. The park will also feature a bike hub or fix-it station for cyclists.
The new park is expected to cost $17.5 million. Construction will be funded through residential TIFs. A tax incremental financing or TIF district is a public financing method that allocates funds from property tax for investment in community improvement projects and public infrastructure.
The park, which has been described as “the physical, visual and emotional heart of the community,” is expected to attract more residents, employees and visitors to the Village Center.