New Park May Be Coming to Bacon Street

The site plan will be discussed at Hillsdale's Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday

The Rotary Club and the City of Hillsdale are collaborating for the creation of a park at 155 E. Bacon Street, currently a grass field at the northwest intersection of Carleton and Bacon.

The park would reportedly include a “‘ninja’ style fitness system,” a pavilion, soccer fields, and pickleball courts.

According to the packet for its Wednesday, 19 March meeting, the City of Hillsdale’s Planning Commission will review the site plan for the park at its meeting on 19 March at 5:30 at City Hall. The site plan can be viewed in the appendix below.

“The plan seems nice, and I'm thankful that Rotary is doing it, but I hope to ask a few questions,” Planning Commissioner Matthew Kniffin told the Hillsdalian. “I would like to be sure that the equipment will not deteriorate, and that the park won't become a place for vagrants to mill about. I’d like to know what this park will look like in 15 years.”

Heather Tritchka, a Rotary Club co-chair of the project told the Hillsdalian that the project was meant to begin sooner, but the attempts to retitle the property were met with delays.

“We had to split the property, retitle it, give it all to the community center, and then have it gifted to the city,” she said. “So right now it’s all owned by the city with the intent that Rotary will develop it.”

According to Tritchka, Rotary is set to fund the project if the site plan is approved. The club has some of the funding in place but, will need to initiate an “ambitious fundraising and grant writing campaign” to secure the full amount.

The construction of the park would be broken into four phases.

Phases one and two would include the acquisition of the land, and the laying of the foundation for the courts, pavilions, and fields, in addition to “fit core extreme equipment” and a bike station.

Phases three and four would round out playground equipment for younger children, the creation of a new parking lot, and the addition of walkways.

The park would be the third in the immediate vicinity, near both Kekoose Park and Mrs. Stock’s Park.

Jacob Bruns

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