Metro Parks to demolish 4 rental houses after Dispatch probe, buys more land for two parks
Metro Parks has awarded a contract to demolish four homes in two parks that it formerly leased to tenants until The Dispatch published an investigation into rental rates.
It also has purchased land to add to Rocky Fork Metro Park in northeastern Franklin County and Blacklick Woods Metro Park on the Far East Side.
The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks District board of commissioners voted Tuesday to authorize a $99,500 contract with Raze International of Shadyside in eastern Ohio to demolish three homes along Amity Road within Prairie Oaks Metro Park in western Franklin County and a fourth at Chestnut Ridge Metro Park near Carroll in Fairfield County that it formerly rented to tenants.
The board had decided in September 2021 to demolish the homes after an investigation by The Dispatch raised questions about rental rates and oversight of the homes, some of which were being leased to people with ties to the parks district.
The resolution the board passed last year also said that when Metro Parks acquires any buildings when buying land for park space in the future, it will dispose of them within six months, either by a sale through a competitive process or demolition.
Tim Moloney, Metro Parks executive director, said that the properties to be demolished, which were being rented to people to live in until the Dispatch report, have no value to the district.
"They're not good buildings for adaptive reuse," he said. "They're in parts of the parks where a 2,000-square-foot house makes no sense."
The demolition work will take place by early next year, Moloney said. Other buildings to be demolished include several buildings at the Hoover Y Park in southeastern Franklin County, which Metro Parks owns.
The moves followed an investigation by The Dispatch into the oversight of residential properties owned by Metro Parks.
The Dispatch reported in June 2021 that Metro Parks leased a stone house, the Benua House, at Clear Creek Metro Park in Hocking County for more than a decade at monthly rates that Hocking Hills real estate experts said were well-below nightly market rates. Among those who leased the 4,700-square-foot Benua House, which has since been demolished, was a group led by prominent Columbus-area developer Mark Wagenbrenner.
Metro Parks was leasing two of the houses on Amity Road for $500 a month and one for $600 a month, and the house at Chestnut Ridge, which sits on a 39.7-acre parcel, for $400 a month.
Board member Aryeh Alex said the demolitions are part of an ongoing commitment to remove properties no longer needed.
"Our goal is not to acquire buildings. Our goal is to acquire and preserve natural habitats," Alex said.
Purchases to add land to Rocky Fork, Blacklick Woods parks
The Metro Parks board also voted Tuesday to spend $3.67 million to buy 92 acres off Schleppi Road in Plain Township to add to Rocky Fork Metro Park near New Albany in northeastern Franklin County.
The Metro Parks board approved a transfer of $3 million from the general fund to capital improvements to go toward the purchase. Metro Parks will also use a Clean Ohio Fund Green Space program grant of $1.5 million to help pay for the acquisition.
Moloney said the land is within the identified zone for the park, and district officials have been negotiating with the landowners, the Brenning Irrevocable Heritage Trust, for three years.
The property has farmland, woods and a stream lined with vegetation, Moloney said. "It's a great piece of property," he said.
The board also voted to spend $510,000 to buy about nine acres in Truro Township from Jerry and Maria Ong to add to Blacklick Woods Metro Park on the Far East Side.
Alex said that the money transfer from the general fund for land acquisition will not affect the park's operating budget as the year comes to a close.
"We’re actually really doing well on the operating side of things," he said.
In other action, the board approved approved $122,637 for Pummell Construction Services of Columbus to build sidewalks in the open but still developing Quarry Trails Metro Park.
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Homes Metro Parks leased will be demolished following Dispatch probe
