Thanks again to all the folks who attended our meeting with the OSU
Medical Center on November 12th! We had over 20 folks in attendance
from resident in NECKO and the Circles to various leaders from the
University Area Commission.
Our OSU presenters agreed to provide a copy of the meeting's
presentation, which we will share as soon as it is provided.
For those who missed the meeting, here's a review:
OSU Medical Center VP for Expansion, Dr. David Schuller and Project
Manager Jay Kasey gave an in-depth presentation on the major expansion
plans for the Medical Center in both the short-term and long-term.
This included a review of the recently removed green spaces, plans for
new green spaces, major new facilities, road realignments, and the
strategic plan and philosophy of the Medical Center. They then
fielded questions and shared in an engaging discussion about
greenspace, housing, community gardens, further expansion plans, and
more.
Here are the major takeaways we learned from the meeting:
1) OSU has an impressive expansion plan that will remake the Medical
Center and its physical presence over the coming years.
2) There are no plans for acquisition into the NECKO neighborhood or
road realignments/widenings in the existing neighborhoods.
3) The fields on King Avenue will be lay-down and construction space
for the expansion activities for several years.
4) A new Spirit of Women Park is planned to be integrated into a
redesigned Health Sciences Quad. Eventually, the space the park
originally sat on will be transformed into a "great lawn" leading up
to the new hospital building.
5) Long-term plans call for the realignment of Cannon Drive and the
expansion of a new green space corridor along the Olentangy River.
6) Community gardens may be in the long-term plans for the re-imagined
medical center, but in the short term there appears to be strong
interest in assisting with our efforts to get a garden space off of
Perry.
7) No specific plans were announced for the gravel lot along West 8th
Avenue, although neighbors pressed OSU officials to push for
beautification of the space.
Dr. Schuller and Mr. Kasey pledged to be engaged and connected to our
neighborhood groups as the expansion gets underway, so we're
optimistic and excited about the partnership opportunities that could
result. Tentative plans are to have a follow-up session next spring.
We'll share more details as we have them via the email list and the
website at www.necko.org.
Have a great week!