New county park design revealed

Will be named for architect

ROME TOWNSHIP — Leaders in Lawrence County gathered on Friday for the reveal of the name of the county’s newest park, located on Irene Road, between Proctorville and Rome Township.

The space, purchased by the county from the Dillon family, will be home to Todd DeGarmo Park, named for the architect, a Rome Township native, whose firm, STUDIOS Architecture, along with faculty and students from the University of Cincinnati, assisted the county in developing its new recreation master plan.

Marty Conley, with the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, said the plan is to build the park on the 50-acre site in phases over several years.

DeAnna Holliday, president of the county commission, said a date for construction has not been set, but a groundbreaking is expected soon.

She described the planned park as “a beautiful place for families to gather, children to play and memories to be made.”

Dr. Bill Dingus, president of the Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation, said the park will make the county more attractive to businesses, as it will promote a better “quality of life” for residents here.

He said LEDC projects are expected to need 1,000 workers in the near future and this park could also be a boost in drawing qualified applicants to the county.

“We are desperate for workers,” he said.

Shilpa Mehta, professor in planning and urban studies at the University of Cincinnati, said a group of about 30 students worked on the project, coming up with recommendations, such as extending the Ohio River Way, a National Water Trail, beyond Ironton to Marietta.

She said her students were excited to work in Lawrence County and “could not stop talking” about their visit here.

Conley said the last few days “have been exciting,” seeing what the students came up with, for both the park and the county’s plan.

“It has been amazing to see,” he said.

He said for the county’s master recreation plan, they are looking at multiple recreation corridors, with things such as a wildlife reserve, an iron furnace trail and improvements at the Ironton riverfront.

For Todd DeGarmo Park, features will include an observation tower, a splash pad and a farmers market pavilion.

DeGarmo is based in New York. His award-winning work has included clients such as community gardens in New York City, the Pentagon and the Kingman Island Environmental Education Center in Washington, D.C.

He said the space for the park is one he remembered riding a bike past as a child.

“Lawrence County is a special place,” he said, adding that he encouraged leaders to “think bigger” when it came to the recreation plan for the county.

DeGarmo said he was moved at having the park named after him.

“This is a great honor,” he said. “It’s a great privilege and it’s hard to process it right now.”

The first phase of the park is expected to be the market pavilion, with hoped to open next year.