CINCINNATI — After more than a year of planning and construction, Ziegler Park’s renovations are complete and city officials are ready to show off the changes.
The OTR park already featured a large pool and smaller lawn area. But now visitors will find the park has expanded to Woodward and Yukon streets.
Spearheaded by 3CDC, the park now features a new synthetic turf field for outdoor games.
The city is also set to unveil new art that was incorporated into the expansion from Black Art Speaks.
Talks about the project started last summer and in October 2022 Cincinnati City Council's budget and finance committee unanimously approved the funding for a $3.5 million park expansion, which paved the way for construction to begin in November.
One of the goals of the project is to improve safety in the area.
"We’ve had some serious public safety concerns in this very vicinity, particularly on Woodward,” 3CDC President and CEO Steve Leeper said. “We would like to try and address this by creating a space for everybody, a safe area that will be safe for both children and members of the community.”
However, not everyone in the community thinks the park expansion will improve safety in the area.
“They’re under the assumption that the expansion of Ziegler Park will control the crime,” said Deborah Mays, who has lived in Pendleton and Over-the-Rhine for decades. “Actually, nothing is going to change the crime until we change the minds of those who have a need to shoot somebody.”
The official ribbon cutting ceremony is set for 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13. Mayor Aftab Pureval and other city leaders are expected to attend.
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