If you’ve been following along as Summit Metro Parks transforms the Valley View Area, you might be wondering what’s happening “behind the hedges” that obscure the view of the former golf club. And thanks to grant funding from state, federal and private sources, the answer is: quite a bit!
Summit Metro Parks staff have been working hard to secure funds and complete work necessary to open the park to the public and we are pleased to announce that we expect to welcome visitors to begin exploring the site in fall 2020.
Here’s a look at what’s been accomplished so far:
October 2016: Summit Metro Parks acquires Valley View Golf Club.
This 200-acre property was the “missing piece” that now connects 1,900 acres of protected green space across three Metro Parks (Sand Run, Cascade Valley and Gorge) in the heart of Summit County. The property is so valuable for conservation and recreation that it was identified for future parkland in the park district’s original 1920s master plan. First a dairy farm and later a golf course, it was nearly 100 years before Summit Metro Parks had the opportunity to acquire it.
April 2017: Summit Metro Parks awarded funding from the Ohio Public Works Association for re-vegetation and wetland/stream restoration.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Summit Metro Parks used grant funding to remove invasive and non-native plants, re-vegetate the property with appropriate species and restore long-buried streams and wetlands. This work included an award-winning volunteer nut planting event, during which more than 500 volunteers planted 120,000 tree nuts over a two-day period. This effort made up for a shortfall in project funding and was a rewarding way to engage the local community in building the new park.
The initial round of grant funding also allowed Summit Metro Parks to restore historic streams and wetlands that had been buried to dry out the land to create the golf course. Bringing the site’s water back to the surface not only restored the natural features of the area to benefit wildlife, it also benefits humans by creating a natural filtration system for runoff headed for the Cuyahoga River.
2018: Archaeological digs provide insight into the area’s past.
In 2018, Summit Metro Parks cultural resource staff leveraged grant funds to conduct two archaeological digs to learn more about Valley View’s long and interesting history. In the first, park staff partnered with University of Akron archaeology students and citizen scientists to explore what was one a residential street built in the 1940s and known as Honeywell Drive. Many of the residents of this area were African Americans who had traveled north for jobs in Akron’s booming industrial sector.
Diving even deeper into the past, staff then explored an area rumored to have once housed a War of 1812 boatyard along the Cuyahoga River. For decades, local lore has pointed to the Valley View area as the likely location of a site where cargo boats were constructed for use in the war. Partnering once again with the University of Akron, as well as Stewards of Historic Preservation (SHiP), SMP conducted a thorough geophysical survey of the site that did not turn up any evidence of the long-lost boatyard.
2019: Using a grant from the Knight Foundation, Summit Metro Parks staff began restoration of the property’s historic barn.
The iconic building that sits at the front of the Valley View site — recognizable to many as the former golf course clubhouse — also once served as a barn for Akron’s last surviving dairy farm. Dating back to the 1850s, the structure is being renovated into a facility for public programs and rentable for events and meetings. This work is made possible by a Knight Foundation grant and other private donations and includes consultation with the local immigrant community to ensure their needs are considered as part of the development process. Crews began work in 2019 and expect to open the new building to the public in late 2020.
Fall 2020: River reconstruction and public access!
In 2020, Summit Metro Parks anticipates opening the park to the public via a prototype trail and access to the renovated barn. The trail is expected to be about 1.5 miles long and will feature views of completed stream and wetland restorations, as well as the river construction that likely will be underway.
A grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Great Lakes Commission in 2018 provided for the design of the river work, and construction will proceed as soon as additional funding is secured. River work in this section will include floodplain excavation and instream habitat improvements for fish and aquatic wildlife. In addition, the project will make the river more accessible for water-based recreation such as canoeing, kayaking and shore fishing.
With connections to the Cuyahoga River, Towpath Trail and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Valley View’s recreational potential is unlimited. The park district is committed to continuing to successfully compete for private, state and federal funding to fully develop this new park area for everyone’s enjoyment, and looks forward to welcoming the public to the site in the coming months!
A full list of funders for Valley View development includes:
- Akron Community Foundation
- Bokom Foundation, George & Susan Klein, Trustees
- Burton D. Morgan Foundation
- Great Lakes Commission
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
- Ohio Public Works Commission
- Joel D. Bailey
- Tonya Block
- Dianne Newman
- Herb Newman
- Mark A. Spisak
- Tina Ughrin