Plans for a revamped Linden Park and a new, 50,000-square-foot Linden Community Center were unveiled last night at a community event hosted by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (CRPD).
The new center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020, will replace a 24,000-square-foot facility that was built in 1951. Work on the project is scheduled to begin in 2019.
Linden Park occupies 20 acres of land north of Briarwood Avenue and just east of Columbus Alternative High School.
Pizzuti Companies will be overseeing the $25 million project. Moody Nolan will design the center, while MKSK Studios has been tapped to design the park.
A press release from CRPD provided a list of enhancements and amenities, including a spray ground, teaching kitchen, gymnastics room, walking paths, and a new, larger parking lot.
The project is also being touted by CRPD as an example of the department’s new Centers for Opportunity model, which looks to partner with community organization to provide a wide range of services and programs at the city’s parks and recreation centers.
The new Linden Community Center is the first of what could be a string of new building projects. Although no timeline was provided, the following community centers are in line for improvements, according to CRPD; William H. Adams, Glenwood, Driving Park, Linden, Douglas, Beatty, Fedderson, Dodge, Sullivant Gardens, Howard and Marion Franklin.