Gahanna is replacing the playground at Ashburnham Park with a new facility twice its size, a $237,000 project that breaks ground Monday, Sept. 28.
The playground area at 1245 Ashburnham Drive will be closed through the end of October while crews build the new equipment, according to a city announcement. The city called the project an investment in the children, families and residents of the Villages of Gahanna neighborhood. The park also includes a walking trail.
The project grew out of a neighborhood survey earlier this year. The city mailed postcards to 304 households in the Villages of Gahanna asking what playground features families wanted to see. The Department of Parks & Recreation reviewed those responses alongside standards from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), then partnered with Pataskala-based Midstates Recreation to develop the final design.
Resident feedback shaped the outcome, the city said. The new playground will blend traditional equipment with more challenging features that encourage imaginative play. Its colors and layout draw on the park's natural surroundings, fitting the wooded setting along Ashburnham Drive.
The finished playground will be double the size of the current one. The city has not specified which individual pieces of equipment will be installed, but said the goal is to keep children engaged across a wider range of ages and abilities.
Zac Guthrie, Gahanna's parks manager, is the city's point of contact for questions about the project. He can be reached at (614) 342-4268 or [email protected].
The department oversees more than 750 acres of parkland across Gahanna, including athletic fields, two aquatics centers, bike trails and the Gahanna Municipal Golf Course. The Ashburnham project is one of the city's targeted investments in neighborhood-level park facilities.
Completion depends on weather, with the end of October as the target. The city has not announced a ribbon-cutting or reopening date.
Upcoming
- Monday, Sept. 28: Ashburnham Park playground construction begins; playground area closed through October. Questions: (614) 342-4268.
