The Price (Road) Is Right

The City turns “this old house” into a “fixer upper” to provide residents with new meeting and programming space

The old proverb, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” best describes the current renovation work underway on a long-vacated home along Price Road on the City’s southwest side.

Known by many as the “Price Road House,” the City of Gahanna purchased the property adjacent to the Big Walnut Creek nearly 15 years ago. Since its acquisition, the Price Road House has seen little use aside from limited equipment storage by the City’s Parks & Recreation Department.

However, over the past few years, members of the Department began to consider options to transform the property into space for recreational activities. With its location next to nearly 50 acres of greenspace owned

Current Price Road House

by the City, surrounded by woods and fields, and with direct access to the Big Walnut Trail, Department team members recognized that the property presented a unique opportunity to serve the community.

The abandoned home is finding new life as the new “Gahanna Exploration Center,” which will serve as a space for multi-generational recreational programming, including outdoor education programs, STEM activities, cultural arts programs, day camps and school field trips, as well as provide space for small group rentals for gatherings and meetings.

Rendering of the new indoor/outdoor programs hub

“Our Department is challenged with providing indoor programming due to the lack of available space within the community,” said Bernard-Ferrell. “The Exploration Center provides us with an opportunity to expand year-round programming and to bring the outdoors into the program space.”

To help fund the project, the City applied for and was awarded a State Capital Grant of $100,000. Construction and renovation work on the house will take place through 2023, with plans to open the Center in 2024.

Rendering of the new indoor/outdoor programs hub