Gazebo, Garden Proposed for Green Space by Highland Heights City Hall

A gazebo, community garden and playground are some of the things Highland Heights residents would like to see in 3 acres of green space west of City Hall on Highland Road.

The land is the former site of Beautiful Savior Community Church, which was demolished in November. The city owns the property and City Council had a committee meeting to gather community input about potential uses of the property.

Larry Nudelman, secretary of the Highland Heights Lions Club, said the group would like to purchase a gazebo for the property in honor of the Lions' 50th anniversary.

"We (are) thinking of having something that is 15 (feet) by 20 (feet)," he said, estimating the cost at $5,000 to $9,000.

"We would help the city with the funding of it," Nudelman said. "January was our 50th anniversary. Spending the money on something like this would be better for the community than having a party for our 50th anniversary."

He said the gazebo could be used for weddings and performances and suggested a rectangular shape and placement in a back corner of the property rather than the traditional round gazebo in the center of an area.

"We're thinking of doing this like in Legacy Village, which has a rectangle – 90 percent of the people are in front," he said.

Noreen Paradise, vice president of the Highland Heights Garden Club, said the club approached city officials 1 1/2 years ago about putting in a community garden at Highland Heights Community Park. She said the land by city hall would make a good location.

"The garden club is still behind the idea," she told council. "We talked about it amongst ourselves and had a lot of ideas."

In addition to providing space for more traditional gardens, Paradise also envisions an herb garden that would include an educational aspect.

"It's sort of an interesting thing for kids to explore," she said about an herb garden. "We could put in a pizza garden and have basil and oregano."

A pizza restaurant could be invited to participate in related activities, she added.

"It's all tied into community involvement," Paradise said.

Council President Scott Mills said residents came up with some great ideas.

"We still have a budget to go through and see how much we can budget for it," he said.

Councilwoman Cathy Murphy said a landscape architect should be contacted to develop an overall site plan.

"It's important for us to have an overall plan, even if we can't do it all this year," she said.

Councilman Robert Mastrengelo also stressed the importance of taking action soon rather than waiting for the city's budget to be finalized.

"Otherwise, it's going to be September, October and we'll have lost a year," he said.