Columbus Monthly Special Section: Grove City Suburban Section

Grove City

Richard L. “Ik e” Stage, Mayor

Welcome to Grove City!

Grove City is a welcoming and inclusive community where all can feel safe and respected—a full-service community where each person feels at home. It’s that warm, friendly reputation, along with an unmatched lifestyle, that has twice earned Grove City the title of Ohio’s Best Hometown by Ohio Magazine

Celebrating more than 170 years since its founding in 1852, Grove City has far more than old-fashioned charm. We’re a thriving city that has grown from fewer than 20,000 residents in 1990 to more than 42,000 today, and we remain the largest Columbus suburb wholly within Franklin County. Yet as you read through this special section, you’ll discover the pleasant, hometown charm remains a constant. In fact, it’s what we are known for.

Town Center boasts a blend of newer buildings artfully designed to blend beautifully with restored historic buildings, all brought to life by treasured local businesses. In the warmer months, streets are lined with colorful blooming baskets hanging from gas-lit lamps reminiscent of the turn of the century. Large planters overflowing with extraordinary flowers adorn Columbus Street, where Town Center connects to the new Beulah Park development.

Grove City is home to impactful businesses, from manufacturing and service to medical innovation and research. American Nitrile, Forge Biologics and Tosoh SMD, for example, are part of the growing and welcoming business community as they continue garnering international rec-

Inside 4

LIFESTYLES

The Town Center is ready to welcome a new cornerstone.

ognition. We are incredibly proud they chose our community for their headquarters and even more excited for the value they bring to our community. These businesses and others value integrated education, a premise we continue to improve upon and grow. Working together with the city and Chamber of Commerce, many Grove City employers provide local schools and resident adults with career exploration opportunities, training and advanced education. Scholarship opportunities are plentiful as well, including a unique Skilled Trades Labor Award for individuals pursuing a license, certification or apprenticeship in a skilled trade.

As a diverse, family-friendly community, we proudly plan for and maintain conveniences that support the work-life balance our residents enjoy. Neighborhoods offer a range of amenities, such as connections to our trail network and an abundance of open space for recreational activities.

There’s over 1,100 acres of parkland in Grove City for all to explore and 40 miles of paved multiuse pathways connecting the entire community. I invite you to discover all there is to see and do in our hometown and learn why so many families and businesses choose to call Grove City home.

EDITORIAL

SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR

Emma Frankart Henterly

COLUMBUS MONTHLY EDITOR

Dave Ghose

CONTRIBUTORS

Mandy Shunnarah

Tatyana Tandanpolie

Peter Tonguette

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION/ DESIGN DIRECTOR

Betsy Becker

DIGITAL EDITOR

Julanne Hohbach

ADVERTISING

MULTIMEDIA SALES

EXECUTIVES

Michelle Crossman

Tia Hardman

Jackie Thiam

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Rebecca Zimmer

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING OFFICES

62 E. Broad St. P.O. Box 1289 Columbus, OH 43216 614-888-4567

8 CASE STUDY Community sports help unite an active population.

10

BUSINESS

The southwest corridor is poised for new development.

12 EDUCATION

Youth and adults alike are building career foundations.

14 HOUSING Beulah Park continues to grow and attract residents.

Grove City: A Columbus Monthly Suburban Section is published by Gannett. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted © Gannett Co., Inc. 2023, all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials.

Richard L. “Ike” Stage Mayor

The Heart of the City

A vibrant Town Center is about to get even more lively.

By Peter Tonguette

Grove City leaders commonly refer to the Town Center as the city’s heart. To complete the metaphor, one might also say that it’s the place from which the city’s pulse emanates.

“It’s where we started as a city [with] our historic core,” says Grove City community development manager Kim Shields. “We hear, in so many of our community surveys, that the Town Center really is important to a lot of our community. People want to come here for not just events; they want to come here for shopping, dining [and] really like a 24/7 town center.”

Take your pick: Browse home décor at The Farm Table, check out

the clothes and accessories at Grove Sheek Boutique or satisfy your cravings at Grandstand Pizza or Plank’s on Broadway. Those age 21 and over may engage in the Town Center’s DORA by swinging through any of the participating establishments.

If that’s not enough, annual events held in the Town Center include the Wine and Arts Festival (June 16–17) and the Food Truck Festival and Shop Hop (select dates, May through October). From summer concerts to farmers markets, there’s enough to keep your calendar full.

City leaders encourage use of the Town Center by maintaining land-

scapes and keeping the area wellstocked with benches and bike racks, Shields says. A Town Center Commercial Revitalization grant program is available to reimburse a portion of property investment costs borne by Town Center businesses. “The structures down here, since they’re historic, have unique challenges,” she says. “We offer grants to help local business and property owners.”

As if all this activity weren’t enough, the Town Center is about to become even more robust: Axiom Ventures’ upcoming mixed-use development, Broadway Live, will include apartments, a food hall, a plaza and retail opportunities.

PHOTO: COURTESY GROVE CITY

A Town Center mural depicts Grove City of yesteryear.

“It’s expanding on all of the great investment we’ve seen in the Town Center,” Shields says. “This is kind of why we do what we’ve been doing: to attract businesses like this. From the city’s perspective, we feel Broadway Live meets so many of the goals we’ve outlined in our Town Center framework, which was approved a couple of years ago by City Council.”

Indeed, Axiom Ventures partner Ethan Temianka says his company was drawn to the site in part due to the foot traffic that comes through the Town Center already.

“They have so many events that the community, the city, put on every year,” Temianka says. “And they’re just attended so massively. It’s just such a great community feel down there. They have thousands of people come to some of these city events. And it’s just incredible to see them all show up.”

The new development will replace several buildings, including the former Schoedinger Norris Funeral Home, but will be nestled among a pair of businesses that will remain in their present

structures: Grove City Brewing Co. and Zassy’s Cocktail Lounge.

At least 150 apartments will spring up on the former Schoedinger site, while the food hall will be some 35,000 square feet, Temianka says.

“Our vision is to have a two-story food hall, eight food vendors, two dessert vendors, tons of seating, lots of televisions for sports-watching,

one downstairs central bar and then another upstairs bar for more of the adult-centric programming,” he says.

Adds Shields: “It’s introducing a lot more restaurants, which is usually the No. 1 thing on any resident’s list of what they want to see more of in a Town Center. It’s just a way to build on so much of the …. progress we’ve experienced.”

A rendering of Broadway Live’s food hall concept

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Although the development was originally supposed to break ground later this year, current plans call for construction to begin in early 2024.

Shields says that the upcoming development is one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken in the Town Center.

“Redevelopment anywhere is hard,” she says, “but redevelopment in a historic town center is probably one of the most challenging things you can do.”

All plans were undertaken with respect for the existing character of the Town Center, Temianka says.

“People understand that Grove City is a growing city, and clearly there’s a demand for more dining and more entertainment in the Town Center,”

Getting Around with COTA//Plus

With so much going on in Grove City, residents and visitors alike need easy access to get from place to place. COTA//Plus aims to make transportation in Grove City simpler by offering rides on demand in vehicles accommodating up to six riders throughout much of the city. The vehicles take riders from one destination to another, or originate or end at COTA transit stops.

The service is also available in other Central Ohio communities, but Grove City pioneered the program with COTA in the summer of 2019. It’s available in the city Mondays through Fridays from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Rides can be arranged via the COTA//Plus app or by calling a customer service line. Single trips cost $3, and rides to and from COTA stops are free, providing crucial services to close the last-mile transportation gap. Users can also purchase one-day and five-day passes for $6 and $20, respectively. Reduced or free fare options are available for C-Pass holders, seniors, students, keycard holders and disabled riders. cota.com/services/cota-plus

Temianka says. “Our company really wanted to do more than go in there and just pop apartments in, like a lot of developers tend to do these days.”

City officials appreciated the care with which Axiom Ventures planned the development.

“It’s a great opportunity for the Town Center and for Grove City, but it can’t stick out like a sore thumb,” Shields says. “So many people love the charm and the unique character that we’ve been able to maintain in our historic Town Center. … Much like what we did with Beulah Park, Broadway Live is a really good opportunity to bridge the two halves of honoring the historic components of the Town Center but also showing that Grove City is looking to the future.”

For its part, Grove City Brewing Co. has embraced its soon-to-be new neighbor. The brewing company has even made an investment in itself, relocating its beer and wine production facilities and renovating its current space by adding a larger kitchen, additional seating and an eventual connection to Broadway Live.

“This development will elevate our downtown, giving our community residents more dining and entertainment options right here in the heart of Grove City, without having to go elsewhere,” says managing partner Jodi Burroughs. “It is a win-win for us all!”

Adds Temianka: “With the amount of space we had there, right in the heart of the Town Center, I think it just fits in as a community hub, a vibrant place for the community to meet, families to engage and create memories together.”

PHOTO: COURTESY GROVE CITY

Grove

Brewing Co.

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Active City, Active Community

Grove City’s thriving sports scene brings its residents together in more ways than one.

By Tatyana Tandanpolie

In Grove City, participating in a sport is a rite of passage that starts early. “It’s ingrained in the kids,” says Grove City Parks and Recreation superintendent Kelly Sutherland.

As early as preschool, kids can enroll in youth teams for baseball, football, softball and more through The Naz Church, the Grove City Kids Association, the Parks and Rec programs and others. Many student athletes continue their activities into college and later join the city’s adult teams or coach their children’s teams, Sutherland says, calling it a “family cycle” of sports involvement.

This intergenerational love of sports doesn’t just come from a desire to stay active or a competitive spirit. Grove City residents’ greatest motivator is connecting with their neighbors, according to Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage.

“[The sports scene is] one of the attributes that makes Grove City be judged as one of the best hometowns by Ohio Magazine, because the sports— like churches and schools—bring people together,” he says.

Baseball, the city’s most popular sport, has nearly a century of history here. Ten baseball diamonds and eight softball diamonds unite the community for casual play, Little League baseball games and the 40-year-old Grove City High School alumni tournament.

The Buddy Ball league, Grove City’s baseball program for players with disabilities, makes the activity accessible through the rubberized Mirolo Dream Field at Mount Carmel Stadium and newly upgraded Batter Up machine, which allows players in the all-ages and competitive adult leagues to bat by pulling a string.

Since its founding in 2015, the program’s participation has grown to nearly 100 players, 70 volunteer “buddies” who coach or assist players during the game, and a larger cohort of community members who come to support, says Mike Jech, a longtime Buddy Ball volunteer and the Grove City Parks and Rec sports coordinator.

“Seeing the athletes in Buddy Ball be more ingrained in the community—it’s been really awesome to see that growth in the last couple of years,” Jech says.

Pickleball, a backyard activity combining doubles tennis, badminton and table tennis that’s become the country’s fastest-growing sport, is gaining traction as a beginner-friendly way to get active and build community. Residents enjoy the six outdoor courts at Windsor Park and two indoor courts at the local YMCA.

Pickleball’s popularity has even sparked the creation of a Mayor’s Cup

Pickleball Tournament, slated for Aug. 2 through Aug. 5, 2023. The inaugural event will take place on the tournament courts in the Park at Beulah, a new, 32-acre park set to open in midsummer, adding seven pickleball courts to the city’s offerings.

The tournament, alongside the annual Mayor’s Cup Golf Outing held at Pinnacle Golf Club each May, will bring the community together in more ways than one. Proceeds from the events benefit LifeCare Alliance, a Central Ohio nonprofit that supports seniors and disabled citizens.

“It proves to our citizens that we have a very caring heart, and we want to give as much back to the community as we can by way of not just the monetary side but the facilities that we offer,” Stage says of the events. “Pickleball, Windsor Park, the senior center—the list goes on.”

Above, Buddy Ball; below, pickleball

A Commitment to Growth

By Mandy Shunnarah

Grove City is one of Columbus’ fastest-growing suburbs, and with thoughtful city planning and innovative developments coming to the area, life here is on track to get even better in the coming decade.

Nearly 1,000 acres of land are ripe for development in the southwest corridor, and the city has big plans for it. A new development, called the Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway, has been proposed to bring more businesses—particularly those in medicine, research and light manufacturing—to the area. That means more jobs and a diversified economy designed to make Grove City a top choice for businesses expanding into Central Ohio, and it means an even better place to live, work and play for current residents and those to come.

While the Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway will take

years to fully come to fruition, the early stages of development will begin soon.

“Right now, we have a smaller, 5-acre development getting ready to break ground, probably later this summer,” says Kyle Rauch, Grove City’s development director. “This area represents our future economy.”

One of the biggest economic drivers in the southwestern portion of the city is Mount Carmel Grove City hospital. The new development seeks to draw in related businesses to create a holistic array of available services.

“When Mount Carmel built their hospital, that really raised demand, so we’re trying to find spaces to accommodate those kinds of uses,” Rauch says. “For example, down the road on North Meadows Drive, the VA [Veterans Affairs] built a facility, and the Ohio State James Cancer Hospital has a

facility in that same building.” And calls from those who want to build nearby continue to come in.

Mount Carmel Grove City opened in 2019, fulfilling a need in the growing city. And earlier this year, the Buckeye Ranch, in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, announced plans for a new residential youth mental health center adjacent to Mount Carmel, to be completed in 2025. Considering that medical facilities in the area were scant just a few years ago, it’s a testament to Grove City’s rapid growth and thoughtful planning that more medical facilities are slated for the area, mirroring the city’s increase in population.

“We’re excited to see Grove City continue to expand and grow, especially within the medical field,” says Tauana McDonald, president and COO of Mount

PHOTO: BRAD FEINKNOPF

A prime parcel in the city’s southwest corridor is ripe for development, and city leaders are approaching it with intention.

Mount Carmel Grove City

Carmel Grove City, adding that the city’s growth was a significant factor in the decision to build there. “There was no other hospital south of [Interstate] 270 at the time, and we saw there was a need to bring full-service, high-quality medical services to the community,” she says. “A healthy, thriving community is very important to us, and we are thrilled to welcome the [Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway] to Grove City.”

While the addition of more medical facilities in the area will expand care in the future, Mount Carmel Grove City has already done much to improve the quality of residents’ health, adding acute, obstetric, heart and vascular, orthopedic and other care services, McDonald says. “Since [coming to Grove City], we’ve partnered with the James Cancer Network to bring medical oncology to our campus. We’ve also expanded our Mount Carmel Bariatric Center here.”

Because the land proposed for development of the Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway is on both sides of Interstate 71, city planners are tasked with figuring out how to connect future developments in a way that’s seamless and convenient for residents and workers. The solution is to build an overpass that connects Hoover Road and North Meadows Drive on the east side of the interstate to Haughn Road on the west side.

“What the overpass does is really open up the proximity of the Southwest

Medical Gateway to the other medical uses in the area,” explains Rauch. “By building an overpass, we remove the barrier of I-71 and make more of a bisected medical campus area. We receive a lot of interest and demand for sites for medical, but right now the barrier is 71.”

The overpass would further connect Grove City’s growing housing developments on the east side of the city to the new developments in the southwest, making travel to the newly built areas easy and convenient.

In addition to medical facilities, the Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway will be home to light industrial facilities, which offer a number of business possibilities.

“We’re not looking to allow for refineries or heavy, dirty uses—we’re looking more toward cleaner manufacturing and knowledge-based economy type of companies, so we can capitalize on Intel coming to the region and the LG Honda facility that’s coming to Fayette County,” says Rauch. “We [want to] get some of those spinoff companies, like their suppliers, that want to be close to those facilities, but not close enough that they’re competing with workforce concerns.”

This move toward light industrial development is designed to pave the way for Grove City’s future. The goal is to ensure that quality, high-paying jobs are available locally and that the city is attracting and retaining talented residents who will benefit from the city’s

cradle-to-grave amenities—for both the immediate and long term.

“More innovative and flexible uses [in the development] will allow us to capitalize on the changing economy. The economy changes every 15 to 20 years, and with technology changing, you have to be in a position to react and be progressive and ahead of the curve,” says Rauch.

This type of innovation isn’t new for Grove City. Forge Biologics, a gene therapy manufacturer, opened in recent years and has grown to more than 400 employees. More recently was the grand opening of American Nitrile, a company that manufactures medical and lab-grade gloves. Its new Grove City facility will allow the company to make upwards of 4 billion gloves per year.

As valuable as a thriving economy is, what really makes a city is its people.This is why city planners have been in conversation with property owners in the southwest portion of the city.

“We want to make sure they see our vision and see if they’d want to partake in that vision with the city,” Rauch says. The goal isn’t to force participation, but to educate property owners about the city’s vision and available incentives. “What we’re trying to do is look holistically at the underutilized ground in that area and make sure we’re programming it right, incentivizing it right, zoning it right, and doing the necessary infrastructure to ensure the land is as productive as possible to meet the city’s goals,” he adds.

Of course, with any commercial development comes the question of jobs. Rauch estimates, conservatively, that the Southwest Regional Medical and Innovation Gateway will bring 6,000 to 8,000 jobs to Grove City over the coming decade.

For companies looking to expand in or relocate to Grove City, take it from someone who knows best what the city’s development can do for business:

“I’d say, ‘Please come join us in Grove City.’ This is a thriving community, and it’s expanding every day with more and more businesses opening,” says McDonald. “If you’re looking for a place where there is a commitment to growth and where businesses support each other, this is the place for you.”

Rendering of the planned connector bridge over I-71

Lifelong Learning

Grove City prepares students and adults alike to meet workforce demands.

By Peter Tonguette

The South-Western Career Academy is not only a place of learning, but something of an epicenter of activity.

On any given day, high school juniors and seniors are being taught trades ranging from engineering and robotics to welding and manufacturing.

“Students are engaged; students are doing things,” says Amy Schakat, career technical director at the Grove City academy. “They’re not just sitting necessarily, but they’re doing things. They’re analyzing, synthesizing, building things, creating things all day long in all of their programs.”

Elsewhere in the building are usually several dozen adults participating in one of the academy’s newest programs, an Adult Training Hub aimed at unemployed or underemployed workers, or those simply seeking fresh career paths.

“The big thing with the adults is, it gives them a new lease on life,” says Denise Giesecke, the training hub coordinator. “They are very excited about it.”

Whether working with students starting out in life or adults charting new courses, the South-Western Career Academy’s technical teachers, all of whom are industry professionals in their fields, help to prepare Grove City residents for a rewarding future.

“In the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of jobs that go unfilled because there is a lack of skilled workers,” says academy principal Pamela Downing, Ph.D.

“The average job does not require a bachelor’s degree or higher, and we have a huge amount of college debt in this nation, which really impacts quality

of life for a lot of college graduates,” she adds. “This is an opportunity for people to earn a living wage, for them to not go into debt for college and then also to fill a much-needed space in the American workforce.”

Although the academy prepares students for college if they choose to pursue higher education—classes representing 174 college credits are offered on-site— all students, college-bound or otherwise, walk away with training that can be put to use immediately upon graduation.

“[Students] come here because they can earn an industry-recognized credential in addition to a diploma,” Downing says. “They can walk out and earn a living wage right out of high school; they can go on to post-secondary education; or they can do a combination of the two.”

The academy not only benefits Grove City residents, whether high-school-age or adult, but also provides a boon to Grove City businesses.

“[Employers] are looking for workers that have higher levels of skill,”

says Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage. “We also know that there are people who are underemployed within our community. We want to make sure we satisfy our employers, but also potential employees.”

As a show of support for the academy, the city has made tangible investments in student outcomes through its College Scholarship Investment Program and Skilled Labor Trade Awards. The city also provided $50,000 to help support the Adult Training Hub (which also received funding from the State of Ohio and Pathways Financial Credit Union).

“There’s not one business right now that isn’t suffering or struggling with workforce,” says city development department manager Brittany Seebach, “so what better way to upskill our community members to help our business community?”

The South-Western Career Academy draws juniors and seniors attending one of South-Western City Schools’ four high schools: Central Crossing, Franklin Heights, Grove City and Westland.

Many will have already visited the building as eighth graders. “Then, their sophomore year, students come and have an experience here,” Downing says. “They can choose several labs to spend some time in. Following that, they can come and visit for the full day and experience time in two different labs.”

Once enrolled in the academy, students, who attend full-time, can match their goals with their aptitudes, choos-

ing among numerous fields. In addition to business and IT programs, other skills represented include manufacturing, transportation, electrical trades and automotive programs. “We also have a robust health/science pathway,” Downing says.

In all cases, the academy, which has a present enrollment around 600 and boasts a graduation rate of 100 percent, tries to teach skills that transfer seamlessly to the job market.

“All of our programs have a business advisory council so that we can be relevant and up-to-date in what we teach [and ensure] that it’s matching the skills that are necessary in the world,” Schakat says. “We have people from the city who are actually on our advisory council.”

The Adult Training Hub debuted in the spring of 2022 with the first batch of free classes intended to kickstart community members in new careers. After completing the program, some gain entry-level jobs in relevant fields, while others proceed to acquire additional credentials.

“We did an ‘introduction to electrical’ and a ‘computer skills in the workplace’ [class],” Giesecke says. “We had around 40 people, and we were really building the boat in the water. There’s not necessarily a similar program to model this after. There are no other programs, from my understanding, in the state that gives the training at no cost to the adults.”

Classes for adults generally run from six to eight weeks.

“It’s enough time to develop a habit, enough time to learn an entry-level skill, but it’s not so much time that we lose you,” Schakat says. Programs have attracted a diverse student body. In a State-Tested Nurse Assistant (STNA) program last fall, she says, students ranged in age from 20 to 55. “Many different cultures; one non-English-speaking person,” Giesecke says. “It is a huge commitment on the part of the students, because they’re working all day, and then they come here two nights a week for four hours each night.”

Yet, as with their younger counterparts, adult graduates enter a workforce that needs them.

“[STNA] is the entry-level position to work in long-term care or a nursing home,” Schakat says. “Right now there’s a dire need [for the position] in our nursing home and our health care [systems]. It’s also the entry-level credential to enter into an RN training program at a college level.”

But those most fulfilled are the adult students themselves; currently, there are more applicants than there are seats available for the Adult Training Hub.

“A lot of people are hearing about our program,” Giesecke says, pointing to the welding program’s popularity. “By the end of the program, four of our people were already out working—three of them female—in the area of welding. They had never welded before; one of them was actually a substitute teacher. …. [Now] they’re in businesses and excited about a new career field.”

This page and opposite, the South-Western Career Academy and its students

The Home Stretch

Grove City’s newest mixed-use development offers options for all walks of life.

By Peter Tonguette

Last year, Nicki Martin and her husband, Utkarsh Kopulwar, were seeking to buy their first home.

The couple, then residents of Grandview, looked throughout Central Ohio with ideas about what they wanted and what they didn’t.

“Given my professional background … I was not so much shopping [based] on suburb,” says Martin, an urban planner. Her husband is a chemical engineer. “I was really shopping on the type of neighborhood and the community that we could be a part of,” she says.

Beulah Park, the 220-acre community that sprung up on the site of what was once an iconic thoroughbred racetrack in Grove City, checked all the boxes. It’s a vibrant and diverse community in and of itself, boasting 222 single-family homes from either Pulte Homes or custom builders, as well as 384 apartments, 114 ranch homes, 82 townhomes and an 88-unit senior living community by Danbury.

Beyond those housing options, though, the development was embedded in the heart of the city—appealing for the now-former Grandview residents.

“We really loved that it’s walking distance to the historic district, and the whole community is really anchored by that community park,” says Martin, referring to the 32-acre central green space within Beulah Park. The couple moved to The Grove, Pulte Homes’ community within the development, last October.

“We had no previous ties to the community,” Martin says. “I think it’s a real testament to the community and its ability to draw residents from across our region to Grove City to experience all that the core of Grove City has to offer—from walkability and bikeability [to] the arts and restaurants and dining and entertainment.”

Despite its historical significance, city leaders had targeted the old Beulah Park racetrack site for redevelopment for years.

“The site was becoming blighted,” says Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage. “That really is part of this transformation, because had the site continued to deteriorate, we would’ve had an incredible problem.”

Developer Pat Kelley of Kelley Cos. saw potential in the sheer acreage of the site, as well as its proximity to the Town Center.

“It’s all about walkability and connectivity,” Kelley says. “The Town Center being literally adjacent to Beulah Park just made it ideal. … You can live, play, work. [There are] walking trails, health care, shops, restaurants, all within a 15-minute walk of anywhere you’re at in Beulah Park.”

Construction at Beulah Park began in 2019, and the first residents moved in the following year. It’s been an overwhelming success, Kelley says.

“The first thing is, you have the emerging population,” Stage says. “But we also have our existing citizens

who want to be able to upgrade their available housing.” The development was also engineered to appeal to young families with children, as well as older families whose parents might want to live closer to them.

“By having that diverse housing, we’re capturing all of those different scenarios of what’s happening in the marketplace,” Stage says.

Despite the rich mix, the sprawling nature of the Beulah Park site ensures that no one community overwhelms another.

“Our overall density is just over four units to an acre,” Kelley says. “You can’t buy land and afford to do that kind of density. We were able to do it and create a dynamic central park that the city is improving. … It’s surrounded by single-loaded streets, so you have great venues into that park.”

For Martin and her husband, the nearness of Town Center gave Beulah Park a unique appeal when compared to other suburban developments built far from their cities’ core.

“Being able to be walking distance to a downtown, and have a brand-new home, is absolutely the best of both worlds,” Martin says.

Beulah Park will also soon be home to a new, 15,000-square-foot retail center near a new OhioHealth medical facility.

“It’ll have four-sided architecture, so it’s not your traditional ‘front of the center and an ugly back,’ ” says Kelley, who adds that tenants will include a restaurant, bakery, boutique, hair salon and others. The center may be completed as early as the end of summer. An additional 9-acre section may also be used for commercial purposes.

It all adds up to a vibrant rebirth of what is perhaps Grove City’s most famous site.

“So much of Grove City’s economic base revolved around that racetrack,” Kelley says. “We’re amazed at all the people who come to us and tell us stories about either going to the track with their grandparents, or they had somebody who worked at the track.” Now Beulah Park is again a driver for the city’s economy—in a different way.

“If you look at the spillover effect it’s already had, to the older section of homes to the south, to everything going on in the Town Center …. it’s a home run for Grove City,” Kelley says. “It’s transformational.”

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