Columbus Mayor Andy Ginther along with city officials, labor leaders, and Linden stakeholders have signed a Community Benefits Agreement for construction of a new recreation center and park.
Ginther says the agreement resembles one in place for the building of Fire Station 35 on the far east side.
"Every category we've exceeded our goals," Ginther said. "The Columbus workforce goal was 20 percent, our actual was 22 percent. The Franklin County workforce goal was 25 percent, and where we are is 34 percent. Female and minority workforce participation exceeded that goal as well at 22 percent of actual. We're proud of the great work that we're doing on Station 35. That's why we're announcing today that we're bringing it here and to other areas of our city."
Ginther says 30 percent of the workforce on the Linden recreation center and park will come from the city of Columbus. The city will also hire contractors that will make good-faith efforts to hire qualified workers from Linden and hold three area recruiting events. Recreation and Parks Director Tony Collins says construction on the state-of-the-art facility will begin in June.
"It will have 50,000 square feet of neighborhood program space," Collins said. "It will have the first and only regulation full-size high school basketball court in the Columbus recreation and parks system. It will have the first and only mat room for gymnastics, tumbling, and cheer leading. It will have an indoor walking track for all those seniors who want to come inside and have a place to be physically active. It will have a teaching kitchen and the only music studio in our entire system to introduce our kids to the arts."
Park redevelopment features include a new pond, a walking path with exercise equipment, and a playground. Collins says programming at the current Linden rec center will continue during the year-and-a-half construction at the nearby Linmoor Education Center. The park and rec center improvements are estimated to cost $25 million, with funding coming from the Urban Infrastructure Recovery Fund and the Capital Improvement Program. It's all part of a broader revitalization plan Columbus announced for Linden last October.
