ProMedica provides updates on Toledo community investment

        ProMedica recently announced two updates regarding its ongoing commitment to investing in the communities it serves.
        The updates involve community projects in Toledo, where ProMedica is headquartered.
        The first update involves a gift ProMedica recently committed to Metroparks Toledo to help support the Glass City Metropark & Riverwalk development. ProMedica has agreed to donate $10 million to the project over the next six years. The gift will help create a well-designed public green space with a range of activities in the city’s core where people can connect, recreate, exercise, relax, discover, learn, and experience the health benefits of nature. The park project is also expected to benefit the community by attracting visitors, creating jobs, driving economic growth, and conserving and preserving its most important natural resources.
        “With the need to socially distance ourselves much of this year, many of us have developed an even greater appreciation for Metroparks Toledo and the role it plays in our community,” said Robin Whitney, Chief Strategic Planning and Real Estate Officer, ProMedica. “ProMedica has long been aware of the health and well-being benefits associated with outdoor activity and being in nature. So, we are excited to join our community in supporting a world-class park project that will bring the positive physical and mental health benefits of being outdoors to our most urban setting. We expect this to be a truly transformative project that revitalizes our waterfront, unites multiple neighborhoods from both sides of the river, and attracts others to our community to create opportunities and support ongoing economic development.”
        “This gift to the community, through the Metroparks Toledo Foundation, will help Metroparks keep its promise to leverage the taxpayers’ investment and transform our waterfront into the showpiece of our region,” said Joe Napoli, president of the Foundation.
        Scott Savage, president of the Board of Park Commissioners, called ProMedica’s commitment to the Metroparks project a significant contribution to making the Toledo region a healthier, more vibrant place to live. “[President and CEO at ProMedica Health System] Randy Oostra's vision and ProMedica's leadership in creating the Downtown Master Plan and their partnership with Metroparks to acquire the Marina District got us to where we are today,” he said.
 
Convention centre redevelopment
        The second project for which there is an update relates to ProMedica’s 2019 announcement about its gift to help with the redevelopment of the SeaGate Convention Centre. As an acknowledgment of ProMedica’s early commitment to the project, the Toledo-Lucas County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau granted ProMedica the exclusive right to name the convention center. The name chosen by ProMedica is the Glass City Convention and Event Center.
        “We chose a name that reflects our community’s unique history, current accomplishments, and hope for an even brighter future, said Whitney. “The ‘Glass City’ moniker is not original, but it emphasizes a major point of pride in our community, with glass having long been part of our industry, art and architecture. As we eventually move beyond the pandemic, we look forward to our community being able to promote a thoughtfully redeveloped convention and event center with a name that evokes pride locally and sparks interest nationally.”
        “We are grateful to ProMedica for being our naming rights partner for the convention center as we begin a new era to attract high-caliber events and attractions to the region. The Glass City Convention and Event Center will play a key role in a reenergized downtown Toledo. We look forward to a continued relationship with ProMedica and we are excited for this new partnership, new direction, and new name,” said Tina Skeldon Wozniak, President of the Board of Lucas County Commissioners.
        “The Commissioners and ProMedica share the same vision for our community in our desire to make Toledo and Lucas County a destination for visitors and to have a healthy, vibrant quality of life for everyone. The Glass City Metropark and the expanded Glass City Convention and Event Center with a dedicated ballroom will be game changers to the local tourism economy and a catalyst for regional growth,” said Commissioner Pete Gerken.
        “During this national public health crisis, we have learned the value that our residents place in the outdoor experience and their appreciation of our Metroparks. The Glass City Metropark and Riverwalk will create new opportunities for our community to improve their health and explore the outdoors - and it truly complements the new ballroom and renovated convention center. We congratulate the ProMedica leadership for making these incredible contributions to our community,” said Lucas County Commissioner Gary L. Byers.