Wall restoration underway at future artPARK
COSHOCTON – A small part of the former Park Hotel will make a comeback as a fixture in what will become artPARK, across from the Coshocton County Courthouse on Main Street.
Last month, workers from Lang Masonry and Restoration Contractors, of Waterford, began shoring up what was once an interior wall of the Park Hotel, destroyed by arson in July 2005.
They have begun grinding mortar, repointing and renovating the wall, once believed structurally unsound since the fire.
"We're trying to get the wall structural and sealed off where it won't take on water," said Mike Barbee, project superintendent for Lang Masonry. "It was an interior wall, and now it's going to be an exterior wall."
Barbee and his co-worker, mason Rodney Copley of McConnelsville, expect to complete their work in August, about two months after starting.
The wall abuts the Civic Hall, at 331 Main St., which houses the Upper Room Assembly and Worship Center. In recent years, the upper floors of that building have remained vacant because of concerns over the soundness of the Park Hotel's remaining wall.
Pastor Stan Braxton, of the Upper Room, said he should know by the end of the month how soon he can reopen those upper floors for use. An engineer is scheduled to walk through them Wednesday to determine how successful the restoration has been.
Braxton said he looks forward to the opening of the artPARK.
"I think it's going to be a good asset to the community," he said.
The ongoing restoration work on the wall will delay the completion of the park, which had been scheduled for August, said Anne Cornell, artistic director of the Pomerene Center for the Arts, which is overseeing the project and the park.
Construction of walkways, risers, stages and display stalls must follow the main wall work but will likely be finished this year, Cornell told the Coshocton City Council last month.
"We plan to be planting the ground cover in the spring," she said.
Cornell said she has applied for a grant to pay for planting trees on Make A Difference Day this October and hopes to schedule a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Oct. 24, with the seeding to follow in the spring
When the park is completed, the Pomerene Center will schedule exhibits and programs there.
The construction phase of the project has a $370,000 budget, Cornell said, with $200,000 of that coming from a state arts endowment. An additional $95,000, so far, has been collected from local donors, which include the MFM Building Products Corp., Buckeye Brine, and the Coshocton and Rotary foundations.
Fundraising efforts continue for the $75,000 still needed, she said.
A $50,000 Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a local contribution from Dean's Jewelry paid for the original design work.
Once it is completed, the park will feature picnic tables, ponds, display areas, and a stage for musical performances and cooking demonstrations during farmers markets, Cornell said.
"The intention of this project is not just to give people a beautiful space. It is to energize — i.e., give people a reason to come downtown," Cornell said.
Coshocton Mayor Steve Mercer also had good things to say about the park and its potential.
"I think it's a terrific addition to our downtown" he said. "We have a beautiful courthouse across the street. I think it's being done creatively for people to come sit, enjoy, relax and entertain. Any addition of an art-oriented facility should be a point of inspiration and innovation for the community."
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