After Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther upset some Southwest Side residents by promising the city’s McCoy Park as a training facility for a professional women’s soccer team, Ginther is launching a new revitalization initiative in the neighborhood.
Ginther announced on June 8 that part of the Southwest Side immediately around McCoy Park will become the fourth city neighborhood to get a community plan tailor-made by the Columbus Department of Neighborhoods. The plan will focus on Census Tract 51, which includes McCoy Park and part of South Franklinton, and has the lowest life expectancy of any Census tract in the state at just 60 years.
“This community has experienced loss and neglect for far too long,” Ginther said. “We’re not here today to tell Southwest Columbus what its future should look like. We’re here to listen to what matters most to them.”
Ginther’s administration has previously launched plans for Linden, the Hilltop and Eastland in the past eight years. In each, the city has gathered community input and then made targeted investments in things like infrastructure, affordable housing and food security. Between the city and private partners’ investment, Ginther attributes $764 million in investment to these neighborhood plans.
It will take ten months to a year to complete the plan, but Ginther said the city won’t wait to begin investing in the community.
Ginther made the announcement at a press conference at the Sullivant Gardens Community Center in front of a small group of silent protesters in attendance. With their signs and homemade T-shirts, the two adults and two children accused Ginther of stealing a public park from their community.
“This event is a hollow PR stunt meant to distract from the outright theft of McCoy Park,” said Jennifer Crayton “We were promised a vibrant, multi-use community space along Harmon Avenue. Instead, the city gave our public land away to billionaires, completely locking out the families who live here. We will not be used as a backdrop for a photo-op, and we will not accept the erasure of our greenspace.”
To the protesters, Ginther said the city will work to earn their trust.
Speaking during the press conference, Southwest Area Commissioner Leah Young called for Ginther to make sure this plan doesn’t sit on the shelf but delivers.
“I believe this administration has an opportunity to set a new standard and to rebuild our trust, not simply by planning for historically underserved neighborhoods but by demonstrating the political will to invest in them,” Young said.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ginther aims to rebuild trust with Southwest Side plan after backlash
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
