Emilia Sykes

FAIRLAWN, Ohio – Construction is underway to turn a 66-acre portion of the former Rosemont Country Club into a passive-use nature preserve with trails, boardwalks, overlooks and art installations.

But the Rosemont Preserve project is about more than adding another green space for community members to recreate and come together. The project seeks to tackle stormwater issues that have plagued the Montrose area since development took off there in the 1980s and 1990s, according to Ernie Staten, Fairlawn’s service director.

“Right at the interchange of Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 18, during the time of all of that development, stormwater was not something that was really regulated. So, all that asphalt that was put in those parking lots, obviously the water had to go someplace, and it just started to inundate the hand-dug ditch. So, we experienced quite a bit of flooding,” Staten told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

The sale of the golf course to a private developer in 2020 gave the city the opportunity to take action.

“When the golf course closed, we worked with the developer that bought the property with the idea that we wanted to improve that stormwater situation, both the storage of the storm water and the quality of the water. So that’s really the basis of the preserve,” Staten said.

The city started work on the preserve last year in partnership with Cavanaugh Building Corporation, according to Staten. So far, stormwater retention work that has been completed has lowered the flood elevation by 8.6 feet, he said.

“We’ll be able to help out not only our residents, but downstream residents, like the Barberton and Copley areas that flood. We’re not going to fix all of it, but this is going to help a lot of it,” Staten said.

Recently, Rep. Emilia Sykes was able to help secure $1.2 million in federal funding for the project.

Rep. Sykes’ office worked with the city to help them with the community project funding application process.

“We were very pleased to see that this project was included because, like a lot of communities in Summit County, there is flooding, especially after significant rain events or a lot of snow melting, and it is really problematic for homeowners,” Sykes said. “And so, it was important for us to do this for not only the developments, but for the environment and for the safety and security of residents. If you ever had to deal with flooding in your basement, you understand how big of a deal this is. Fairlawn is a fantastic community, and this will further allow them to attract more talent, more residents and more businesses.”

The two-year project is estimated to cost approximately $7.2 million, half of which will be funded by grants, which includes the recent $1.2 million. The city financed the rest of the project, according to Staten.

Beautification plans

In addition to flood control, plans for the preserve call for aquatic enhancements, vegetative improvements and land improvements such as a visitor center, solid-surface trails, boardwalks, overlooks and art installations. The goal is to create a passive-use area for nature walks and educational opportunities, enhancing the community’s connection to the environment, according to Staten.

“We’re going to bring a lot of the feel of maybe going to Alaska or some of the national parks. There will also be a lot of boardwalks made of plastic lumber, so they won’t need a lot of maintenance,” Staten said.

The adjacent Bicentennial Park will continue to serve as the city’s concert venue, and it will double as a trailhead for the new preserve. A small parking lot will be added on South Cleveland Massillon Road.

The preserve will also use FairlawnGig fiber-optic internet service to stream videos of nature and animals at the preserve to the preserve’s visitor center and to viewers at home.

“We’re going to have fish cams and eagle cams,” Staten said. We’re also going to have devices in the streams that monitor water quality so we can see how well we’re doing with it.”

The project is estimated to be completed by December of 2027, according to Staten.