A new green space on Elyria's south side is set to officially open this month, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Southside Pocket Park scheduled for Friday, November 20, at 4:30 p.m. The event will be held at 1504 West Avenue.
The ceremony will mark the park's grand opening and celebrate the new green space for the community.
A Years-Long Path From Donated Lot to Finished Park
The site has a longer history than the ribbon cutting alone suggests. According to The Chronicle-Telegram, a 7,000-square-foot plot at 1504 West Avenue was donated to the city by the Elyria Improvement Corporation back in 2021 for use as a small city park. That gap between the donation and this month's opening reflects how long pocket-park style projects can take to move from land transfer to construction.
City project specifications from January 2025 placed the park at the corner of West Avenue and 15th Street and described plans for a roughly 6,800-square-foot space. Later bid documents filed with the city detailed a build featuring landscaping, pervious pavers, a concrete walkway, an arch sign, decorative lighting, a hydration station and a small covered pavilion.
Funding Sources — and a Discrepancy in the Numbers
The city's project specifications say the park has relied on Community Development Block Grant funding. Separately, a state grant has also been tied to the project. The Chronicle-Telegram reported that the city was pursuing a $69,817 NatureWorks grant, with a City Council committee supporting the effort, while an announcement from the Ohio House of Representatives credited to state Representative Gayle Manning put the award at exactly $69,817.00 through the ODNR NatureWorks Grant Program.
Original Bid and Re-Bid Documents
The project had an original bid document and a later re-bid document.
With the ribbon cutting now set for November 20, south Elyria residents will get their first organized look at the finished pocket park the city has been planning since the 2021 land donation. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. at the West Avenue site.
