Editor’s Note: This story started with a reader question submitted through Open Source, our platform for community-driven reporting. Have a question of your own? Click here to submit.
DELAWARE — Two properties in the city of Delaware are slated for community development, and one Delaware Source reader wanted to know what’s planned for each site.
The first property at 961 Curve St. will be the site of the $1.9 million Kingsbury Park, according to Delaware City Parks & Recreation Director Ted Miller.
“In the recreation department, we’ve been coming up short on athletic field space,” Miller said.
“We’ve been looking to find a space where we can expand our footprint for athletic fields to accommodate the growing number of athletic recreation, and that includes cricket, soccer, football, lacrosse and baseball.”
Kingsbury Park will help the department “stay up with the demand that we’re seeing in the athletic field space,” Miller added.
The park will also serve as a training ground for the Delaware Fire Department, as the department is constructing a training “fire tower.”
A Delaware Police Department impound lot is currently on the site as well, which Miller said will remain in use.
The site was also a landfill at one point, and Miller said the park won’t impact the landfill area. Instead, it will be on property that was previously not disturbed.
The athletic fields, which will not be turf, will need time to cure and won’t be ready for use until 2028.
In addition to the fire tower, athletic fields and existing impound lot, Miller said Kingsbury Park will feature a maintenance building, restrooms, parking and a loop trail around the park.
Shared services building north of Byxbe Campus
The second property is owned by Delaware County at 2104 State Route 521. In May, four agencies broke ground at the site for a $35.8 million shared services building.
Delaware County Job & Family Services, the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board (DMMHRSB) and the Delaware County Veterans’ Service Office will call the 70,000-square-feet building home.
The facility, which is northeast of the county’s existing Byxbe Campus, will hold approximately 225 employees and crews expect to have the building fully built by late 2027.
The project employs three Central Ohio firms: MSA Design as the architectural firm, The Pizzuti Companies as the owner’s representative and Gilbane Building Co. as the construction firm, Delaware Source previously reported.
DMMHRSB Executive Director Deanna Brant said in May that putting all these services under one roof can make a meaningful difference for residents and families who are trying to work their way through some complicated systems.
“When they’re at their lowest point or just don’t know where to turn, the help needs to be easy to find, and it needs to be nearby,” Brant said.
“We have long known from behavioral health research that down the hall is qualitatively better than down the street or across town.”
