Preservation Parks seeks to purchase 96 acres for new park in southeastern Delaware County

DELAWARE — Preservation Parks of Delaware County may soon add its first park in southeastern Delaware County, an area the park district currently doesn’t serve.

Delaware County commissioners agreed Monday to provide a letter of support for Preservation Parks’ application for a Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant.

“I’m glad to provide that support. Preservation Parks does a wonderful job,” Commissioner Barb Lewis said.

If awarded, the grant would help Preservation Parks purchase 96 acres in Genoa and Harlem townships that are currently part of the John Beltz Retreat Center.

The reservation-only retreat is owned and operated by Overbrook Presbyterian Church and includes a rustic barn, open-air chapel, 10 campsites, a children’s play area, soccer fields and numerous existing trails, according to the church’s website.

The land also connects to the Gertrude S. Lawrence Woods Nature Preserve, a 29-acre preserve along the Hoover Reservoir.

“It’s a real gem of a property and it will help us serve an area in the county — the southeast corner in the county — where we don’t currently have a park,” Preservation Parks Executive Director Mary Van Haaften told commissioners.

“This is one of those examples where we are able to provide a new park that can connect to other community resources. It allows us to do twice as much really,” Haaften said.

Van Haaften said Preservation Parks plans to submit its grant application later this week and expects to learn by late November whether the project is recommended for funding.

The Ohio Public Works Commission’s Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program provides $37.5 million in grants annually for environmental conservation, protection and enhancement, according to the commission’s website.

Preservation Parks has received funding through the program several times, Van Haaften said.

Most recently, a 2024 Clean Ohio grant helped fund the park district’s purchase of 60 acres formerly belonging to Camp Lazarus at Winter Road and U.S. 23.

If the latest grant is awarded, Preservation Parks would have one year to purchase the Beltz property, Van Haaften said. After that, development of the land depends on what other projects are in the mix.