A wooded hillside bordering Clifton's Mount Storm Park could soon become part of the park itself. The Cincinnati Parks Foundation holds a letter of intent to purchase 27 acres of green space adjacent to the century-old park, land that officials say would preserve a wildlife corridor connecting Mount Storm to other natural areas nearby.
A Long-Running Push To Protect The Hillside
The 27 acres sit along green space bordered by Lafayette Avenue to the south and Interstate 75 to the north, according to the seed facts behind the Cincinnati Enquirer's report on the potential expansion. Gerald Checco, a retired Cincinnati Parks executive, co-chaired a committee that raised money specifically to buy the acreage for Mount Storm Park, per those same seed facts. The land would add to green space that already provides, in the words of the reporting, a corridor for wildlife travel through and around the park.
Just how much the park stands to grow depends on who's doing the math. The Enquirer's own headline puts the increase at “30%-plus,” while the Cincinnati Parks Foundation describes the same 27-acre purchase as expanding the park by more than 50%. The sources provide different estimates, and both come from sources close to the project.
Fundraising Deadlines Already Passed
The foundation's Mt. Storm Greenspace Campaign required donors to submit pledges by September 1, according to the foundation's own campaign page. Those who pledged can fulfill their commitments over as long as five years, with final payments due by December 31, 2031, the foundation notes. Any gifts and pledges collected are held in a restricted fund dedicated exclusively to the Mt. Storm Greenspace project, meaning the money cannot be diverted to other park needs.
The foundation also says three acres near the park have already been preserved in recent years, a smaller-scale precursor to the current 27-acre push. Once acquired, the land would fall under Cincinnati Parks' ownership, per the seed facts, and the agency plans to clear invasive plant growth on the property and will consider laying a trail across it.
A Park Shaped By 19th-Century Design
Mount Storm has drawn Clifton residents since the early 1900s, its rolling grounds credited to landscape designer Adolph Strauch, who also designed Spring Grove Cemetery. The park sits near Cincinnati Parks' Edgewood Grove and Rawson Woods properties, part of a broader network of green space across the city's hillsides.
The park's landmarks trace back even further. The Temple of Love, a popular wedding venue within the park, was constructed between 1845 and 1852. City officials decided in 1917 to raze the mansion once occupied by merchant Robert Bonner Bowler and his family to make way for the park, and the shelter that eventually replaced it was erected in 1935.
Whether the hillside purchase closes, and which growth estimate turns out to be accurate, remains to be seen. For now, the letter of intent and the restricted fund represent the clearest signs yet that one of Clifton's signature green spaces could look markedly different in the years ahead.
