POWELL — Village Green’s center piece, the Veterans Memorial, may move to a proposed new public parking lot and plaza along the future Scioto Street extension.
The Development Committee met Tuesday evening to hear from Planning Director Logan Stang about Realm Collaborative’s initial conceptual design for the relocation.
“We’re not just bringing it out from Village Green, but finding ways to really elevate the space in which the Veterans Memorial would be placed, as well as finding opportunities to align some of these other efforts, to really make that entire corridor more connected,” Stang said.
The existing memorial features:
- Five granite memorials representing five of the six military branches, excluding the Space Force.
- A marble and granite bench.
- A granite plaque between the bricks noting the commission who helped create the memorial site in 2008 as well as the designer’s name.
- And 383 personalized bricks with the names of local veterans and the years they served in their respective military branches.
Realm Collaborative prepared three different concepts for the space earlier this year that relocate all existing features: the “passive reflection” option, the “memorial garden” option and the “ceremonial experience” option.
Realm Collaborative opted to blend pieces from the three concepts into one proposed final design that features a plaza on both sides of the 20-space parking lot, adds a brick signage for the memorial, green landscaping and outdoor seating.
The front plaza features seating to view a recently-approved new memorial coming to Powell later this year, and a new entrance into the Powell Cemetery.
Meanwhile, the back plaza relocates the existing memorial stones and rearranges them into a parallel line, rather than the current circle where people can stand between the stones. The center of the back plaza will feature a post for the American flag.
A shared-use path will also run along the parking lot and memorials.
Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Tyler told the committee the Veterans Committee reviewed the conceptual design, which received “overwhelming support.”
Development Committee Chair and Councilman Tyler Herrmann recommended Realm Collaborative consider keeping the circle of the granite stones rather than lining them up.
“That shape that you can go in the center of, being in there and being surrounded by them, again, I don’t know that is technical wording, but it creates a certain feeling,” Herrmann said. “And having them all lined up in a row like that, I worry will eliminate that.”
Veterans Committee members and residents weighed in
Les Wibberley, a Vietnam War veteran, agreed he likes the “feel” of the current Veterans Memorial.
“My input is that I prefer it where it is. It seems to me like this is kind of squirreling it off between a parking lot and a road,” Wibberley said.
Jeannine Ashton and Tracey Mayberry agreed they prefer the memorial at its current location in Village Green.
Former mayor and Veterans Committee member Jon Bennehoof said his comments represent the thoughts of several members of the committee.
“We are four-square in favor of this kind of treatment of the memorial. I know that it will be a curated move. I think it will actually more accessible,” Bennehoof said.
Fellow Veterans Committee member Ryan Holdren addressed some of the concerns, noting the Veterans Committee proposed the relocation.
“It doesn’t have to be moved — it was actually from talks within the veteran group that we said, ‘We’re not taking it away from where it is, we’re adding it to a space that’s gonna be better,'” Holdren said.
Kaitlyn Burkley, also a committee member, said she appreciates the peaceful location of the memorial now, but she feels it’s hidden and not enough people know about it to go view it.
“Whereas this view, you still have the opportunity to visit something beautiful, pay your respects and expose that to other people walking along the street who might not have thought of it to go over there. So I, for one, love this idea,” she said.
Relocation coordinates with other downtown developments
Relocating the memorial to the proposed parking lot and public plaza would move the existing memorial closer to the Powell Cemetery, where numerous Civil War veterans were laid to rest.
The Powell Cemetery will also soon be the home for a new veterans memorial later this year.
Powell City Council approved an agreement for the “Unmarked but Unforgotten” monument at the end of July.
Powell officials to erect ‘Unmarked but Unforgotten’ veterans memorial at Powell Cemetery
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Stang also mentioned the city will be able to shut down Scioto Street to host staple events for veterans, including the Memorial Day and Veterans Day events.
The Realm Collaborative preliminary designs also highlight potential future gateway features.
“What are other opportunities that we have and points that we need to really create? Gateway features, destinations, anchors, so that, again, you have a larger network of not just public spaces, but attractions, entertainment, all sorts of options, that relate back to downtown,” Stang said.
The city is actively moving forward on the $2.4 million Scioto Street extension project, with council looking at proposed bridge design options for the project.
The contractor demolished the city-owned structure at 44 N. Liberty St. in April to clear the path for the new roadway alignment and public parking lot.
But these are preliminary steps. City Manager Andy White said construction of the Scioto Street extension will likely begin in mid 2027.
City staff would closely coordinate the relocation of the veterans memorial to best align with the timeline of that project.
Tyler also noted there are three external funding sources the city could apply for to help fund relocation of the memorial.
Stang said the next steps for the project will be creating a more detailed, final design that incorporates resident feedback. Then it heads back to the Development Committee and officials can begin a financial analysis.
