Purpose: The City of Gahanna is seeking a contract with a professional services team for the
planning and design of improvements at Academy Park.
Project Contact: Jim Turner, PE - Project Manager
The City invites proposals from professional consulting firms with experience in the planning
and design of improvements at Academy Park. The specific improvements to be addressed
through this project are as follows:
o Replacement of an existing parking lot (approximately 110,000 sft total area),
o Replacement of existing playground equipment,
o Installation of a new trail head to serve trail and park users,
o Replacement of existing Park shelter (concept-level planning only, this improvement will
not be advanced to final design through this project)
The scope of services for this project will include site survey / geotechnical investigations,
concept planning, detailed design, permitting and construction-phase services. This Request for
Proposals (RFP) is intended to provide the information needed for interested consulting firms to
prepare a complete proposal. The City of Gahanna is a community of roughly 36,000 residents and is proud to own over 800
acres of park land. The acreage is made up of developed parks designed for active recreational
use including 2 aquatic facilities, a senior center, dog park, 3 athletic complexes, 9 hole golf
course as well as over 20 miles of multi-purpose trails and over 200 acres of preservation and
conservation properties. The Gahanna Parks and Recreation Department (GPRD) is charged
with the stewardship and programming of these resources.
Academy Park (1201 Cherry Bottom Rd, Gahanna, OH 43230) is Gahanna's largest park having
a total area of 107 acres. The park property includes seven (7) baseball diamonds, two (2)
basketball courts, one (1) athletic field and other amenities (playground, multi-use paths). The
existing shelter structure has a total area of approximately 2,800 sft and includes a concession
stand, public restrooms and storage. Academy Park is an access point for the Big Walnut Trail
multi-use path. The Academy Park property encroaches into the regulatory floodplain / floodway
of Big Walnut Creek. The improvements of this project are anticipated to require construction
within Zone AE and Zone X flood hazard areas; no construction is anticipated within the
regulatory floodway.
The Academy Park parking lot pavement is in poor condition and warrants replacement. The
parking lot was designed with minimal stormwater infrastructure (inlets and storm sewer piping).
While parking demands for Academy Park can be high at times, the existing use of the park
limits expansion options. The only feasible parking expansion opportunity is anticipated to be a
potential relocation of the existing basketball court. The Academy Park parking area also
includes an 8-ft wide multi-use path that is in poor condition. The existing playground equipment
is in marginal condition and warrants replacement. A trail head serving users of the existing bike
path system along with users of a proposed mountain bike trail (construction planned for 2024)
will be a new feature for the park and should be designed to complement existing park uses.
The City's construction budget for this project is as follows:
Parking Lot / Multi-Use Path $700,000
Playground Equipment $400,000
Trail Head $150,000
Total Construction $1,250,000
The project improvements will primarily be funded with the City's capital improvement funds.
The trail head improvements will also be supported with ODNR NatureWorks funding
($95,746).
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