The opening of Glass City Metropark’s second phase achieved a longstanding goal of the community–to transform a riverfront brownfield between Front Street and the Maumee River into a premier waterfront park.
On June 9, Metroparks Toledo celebrated the completion of this phase and the first section of Glass City Riverwalk, which will eventually extend five miles on both sides of the river.
“I think it was obvious to all of us that this great river, which was so important to our history, could be equally important to our future,” Chrys Peterson said at the dedication. “And the voters in November 2020 overwhelming agreed,” she added, referring to a successful levy campaign that she chaired to raise public funding to pay for about half the cost of the Riverwalk project.
The second portion of the project includes the bulk of the park’s unique features, which include:
•The Ribbon, a 1,000-footlong ice skating and roller skating trail
•The first restaurant in a Metropark, the Garden by Poco Piatti
•Market Hall, a 9,500square-foot building that houses the restaurant, skate rental, restrooms and changing rooms
•Three nature-themed play areas, including a water playground and a 40-foot-tall play structure Three miles of trail in Glass City connect with an existing trail at International Park via a bike and pedestrian bridge over Main Street. The trail system also connects with the Riverwalk multi-use trail, the first portions of which are now under construction.
Art is sprinkled throughout the park, including a 50-foot tower called The Beacon that represents the smokestacks of the property’s past.
Slag Ladles is an art installation made from industrial objects found onsite, and Rain Towers doubles as a splash pad.
Field of Histories, a sprawling sculpture made of glass spheres, will be installed in October. Artists are just completing a mural on the abutments to the bridge over Main Street, which pays tribute to nature and East Toledo history.
Glass City is open daily at 7 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Market Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, and the Garden restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner.
“This wasn’t the first plan unveiled for this property–many ideas came and went over the last 30 years– but this is the first one to become a reality,” said Dave Zenk, Metroparks executive director. He credited park commissioners for the “vision, confidence, passion and courage to embark on something this big.”
SmithGroup designed the park and Lathrop Company was the general contractor.
Phase 1 of Glass City Metropark, including the 5,000-square-foot pavilion event facility, event lawn, sledding hill, adventure boardwalk and a kayak cove, opened in late 2020. Continental’s developments also were completed that year.
Glass City’s Origins
Metroparks, ProMedica and Continental Real Estate Companies of Columbus announced in April 2017 plans for a combination retail, residential and park development on the East Toledo riverfront adjacent to downtown. Metroparks purchased nearly 53 acres from ProMedica over three years, and later acquired an additional 17 acres.
“This park helps fulfill the downtown Toledo master plan, which called for additional greenspace,” Mr. Zenk said. “When Riverwalk is completed in a few years, there will be a 300-acre greenbelt, which is the master plan’s goal for creating a city center where people want to live, work and play. That will help to retain and attract talent, and encourage private investment.”
Glass City will be the primary hub of activity for Glass City Riverwalk. The first phases of Riverwalk are under construction now from the Martin Luther King Bridge to the Docks restaurant complex in International Park, and from the bridge to Fort Industry Square on the downtown side of the river. The work is expected to be completed in spring 2025. Kokosing Construction Company is the general contractor.
Plans for the remainder of International Park and the stretch of Riverwalk from the MLK Bridge to the Craig Memorial Bridge are currently in design.
They call for a community center called the Glass City Enrichment Center on Front Street, to be completed this summer. A campground on the east side of the river near the Craig Bridge, will be built in the future.
“It is gratifying to watch our region rally around a vision that includes today’s official launching of the Glass City Metropark,” said Scott Savage, president of the park board of commissioners.
“We look forward to completion of the Glass City Riverwalk, which will help make Toledo the city with the best riverfront in the country,” he added.
