A house on Bennett Road was recently demolished to pave the way for a project that will ultimately link the Elek Springs property to another Metroparks property. The demolition of the 1,800+ square-foot house took place the week of March 29. This was the next step towards the development of the Elek Springs property project.
The City of North Royalton is partnering with the Cleveland Metroparks on the project. Elek Springs is located near the area of Royalton and Bennett Roads. Isaac Smith, Conservation Program Manager for the Metroparks, said that the project allows for connectivity of the Brecksville Reservation to North Royalton. The Brecksville Reservation is the largest reservation in the Metroparks, with nearly 4,000 acres, he said.
“The Cleveland Metroparks purchased the approximately 3.1-acre property at 14702 Bennett Road in March 2019 for about $185,000. The property is adjacent to an all-purpose trail that runs along the western side of Bennett Road, south to Akins Road, and an additional future trail to be constructed by the City of North Royalton that would provide a connection from the 14702 Bennett Road property south to Brecksville Reservation and Valley Parkway. The property includes a natural spring and stream,” according to Metroparks official Jeffrey Tolman.
The City purchased the 14.8-acre property, called the “Old A. Elek spring property,” located south of Rt. 82, west of Bennett Road and north of Akins Road in 2008. It was purchased for about $225,000, the money coming from the city’s recreation capital improvement fund, which was partially funded from a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for recreation. The area has a ravine and streams, as well as a natural spring. Two stone buildings, a small house and garage are also located on the property. There once was a pump house where spring water was sold in the mid-1900s. There are also some very old trees on the property. Community Development Director Tom Jordan noted that the property did have an access point on Royalton Road but it was problematic. The purchase of the Bennett Road property gave the park a more natural access point.
Kelly Coffman, Metropark senior strategic park planner, said that the proposed Elec Springs property plan will include a natural foot trail, which would be a couple of feet wide, would loop within the interior of the property, which will loop up to Royalton Road. She said that it would be about one-half mile in length. The trail will be run closer to the middle of the property, in an effort to give those on the path the full experience of being in the woods by not seeing the backs of the abutting houses. It also allows for more privacy for those homeowners.
Hope is to complete the design in 2021 and complete the acquisition to go out to bid. Now that the house is razed, it was originally proposed that a small parking lot, which will accommodate about six cars, will be installed and the trail installed. The exact time line is not known at this time. “I’m glad they got the house down. It’s the first step,” said Jordan.
GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer
