Parks Projects Progress
Highlands Park
Workers on Tuesday tore down the wooden shelter at the baseball fields at the rear of Highlands Park. The structure has reached the end of its life after several years of repairs, making it unrealistic to keep it. It will be replaced in time for spring sports.
Olde Town East Park
Carpenters began this week, replacing trim on the post supporting the Olde Town East Park pavilion. The last several years have shown several upgrades to the park, including new equipment on the expanded playground.
Alum Creek Park North
A workman lays forms for one of several new sidewalks being built at Alum Creek Park North to make portions of the park more accessible for people in wheelchairs and walkers.
Sycamore Trail Park
Crews finished the concrete foundation this week for the upcoming North Star sculpture at Sycamore Trail Park, marking the first visible step toward installing the park’s signature artwork. The hexagon-shaped pad sits just inside the park’s entrance along Africa Road, positioned on a rise overlooking the intersection at Polaris Parkway. It will support Casto Solano’s stainless steel sculpture, “The North Star – Channels of Freedom,” a 16-foot illuminated piece symbolizing the paths taken by freedom seekers traveling north along the Underground Railroad. Installation of the sculpture is planned next spring.
Metzger Park
Plans and dates for the renovation of Metzger Park have not yet been announced by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, despite several years of study and extensive public input. A draft concept exists, but it remains only a working outline. No formal meetings, decisions, or timelines have been set.
Metzger Park was first developed in 1989, and an additional five acres were added in 2016. The long-term goal is to refresh the park, fold in the newer acreage, and balance active spaces with preserved woodlands.
About 240 residents attended public meetings earlier in the process, roughly 200 participated during Fourth Friday events, more than 260 completed online surveys, and social outreach reached nearly 28,000 people.
Traffic, neighborhood impact, and tree preservation continue to shape the discussion. Residents have raised concerns about speed, cut-through routes, drainage problems behind homes, and the effect of adding parking near backyards. Others have urged the city to protect the tree line, keep existing soccer and baseball fields in place, and expand nature play, pollinator beds, and shade.
Shinto Shrine
Westerville’s plan to rebuild a traditional Shinto shrine is on hold as the Parks and Recreation Department continues to refine the design and determine which location best supports the project’s purpose.
The shrine is linked to a largely forgotten chapter of local history. In the early 1960s, a Japanese-style tea house stood on the site where Northstar Cafe is today. The structure included a Shinto shrine, a torii gate, and a hand-built cultural garden created by the Henderson family, who imported materials directly from Japan.
The tea house was demolished years ago, as shown in photos from the period that capture heavy equipment tearing down the building. Before demolition, the Mt. Fujiyama mosaic that decorated the tea house was removed. It now hangs on an exterior wall of Northstar Cafe as one of the few surviving pieces of the original installation.
City officials say the temporary pause will help them choose a site and design that honor that history while making the rebuilt shrine accessible and meaningful for today’s residents. No new timeline has been released.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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