Northwood residents asked to fill out survey on community center

        Northwood residents are being asked by the city to fill out a survey on its website on what programs and activities they would like to see in the new community center that will be constructed at the site of the former Woodville Mall.
        The center will be part of the $7 million Enclave project, a multi-use development comprised of small businesses, a restaurant, senior living facilities, residential subdivisions, and the construction of a Main Street.
        The survey has eight questions.
        The first three questions are about the demographics regarding residents’ gender, age, and total number of persons living in their household. The fourth question asks about the importance of possible indoor facility amenities in the center, including:
        •Indoor banquet/party/meeting facilities;
        •Indoor basketball/volleyball courts;
        •Indoor cultural/learning activities and programs;
        •Indoor fitness and exercise facilities;
        •Indoor gymnastics area;
        •Indoor ice hockey arena;
        •Indoor multi-use athletic fields;
        •Indoor running/walking track
        •Indoor senior activities and programming;
        •Indoor lacrosse/soccer fields.
        Residents are asked how often they would use the community center if it included any of their preferences noted in the survey.
        It also asks about whether there would be any support for a levy to maintain the centers’ operations.
       
Levy
        “One aspect of this community center is ongoing operational and maintenance costs,” states the survey. “If this facility was developed with the programs you desire, would you consider passing a levy to help fund these upkeep costs? Unlike all other communities in Wood County, Northwood currently has no levies or additional taxes except for a 1.5 percent income tax.”
        The final question has to do with how residents prefer to get their information on parks and recreation programs and events.
        The survey can be filled out at https://www.ci.northwood.oh.us/
        Glenn Grisdale, of Reveille, the city’s economic development advisor, said 300 people so far have responded to the survey.
        “Our goal is to use the information in the survey to help our design team frame in the community center,” he said.
         “We have a design team made up of architects, engineers, myself and some other folks. We know where we want this to go on the Enclave footprint. It will be a vital component. We have 18 months to complete the project. We need to get this project done by the end of 2022,” he said.
        Northwood expects to take bids this year to build the center. Five acres of the 120 acre site, off Woodville Road, will be dedicated to its construction.
        The state capital budget last December included a $1 million grant for the center.
        The site has been vacant since the city demolished dilapidated buildings that made up the mall years ago.        
         
Main Street
        The first phase of the project includes the construction of a main road, or Main Street, which will go from the former mall entrance off Woodville Road to East Plaza Drive, which connects to State Route 579,
        Grisdale said bids for the construction of Main Street will be opened on March 8.
        “From there, we will have a dialogue on who the best contractor might be, what the costs are, if everyone is comfortable moving forward. Then we’re going to determine our funding source. It will either be in notes or bonds. We anticipate hiring a contractor to put in the Main Street, all of the public realm amenities. We’ll then have the community center framed in and built on that footprint,” he said.