Homestead Metro Park Just Got Much Bigger. Most of It Isn't Open Yet.

"In the Metro Parks world, in the conservation world, this is huge," Metro Parks Executive Director Tim Moloney told 10TV after Hilliard announced it would hand over 333 acres to expand Homestead Metro Park. On Sept. 28, Hilliard City Council unanimously approved the ordinance that makes the transfer official. According to the Hilliard Beacon, it passed without discussion. Metro Parks' Homestead page now lists a 376-acre park.

On paper, a park that 10TV described as about 44 acres of pavilions, playgrounds, a pond and walking paths is now roughly eight times that size. On the ground, the park you can drive to on Cosgray Road this November is the same park as last spring. The new acres won't arrive as more playground or more pavilions. They're restoration ground, and the first part of the expansion residents will notice is the trails.

The New Acres Came From Subdivisions, Not a Single Purchase

Metro Parks didn't buy a farm. Hilliard pieced the 333 acres together over several years, one development agreement at a time. In 2023, City Council adopted a policy requiring 70% of the land in new developments to stay open space. That's above the 50% standard used in other Big Darby Accord communities. The city's announcement credits the conserved land to four developments:

• Hill Farm and Hill Farm II, built by M/I Homes
• Clover Meadows, built by Fischer Homes
• Tarlton Meadows, built by Pulte Homes and Rockford Homes

10TV reported that the housing developers had to set the land aside as greenspace under those agreements, and that Metro Parks is taking it at no cost. The packet for the Sept. 28 council meeting lists the measure as Ordinance 26-22. It covers the parcel transfers, amendments to the Hill Farm development agreements, and a memorandum of understanding with Metro Parks on trails.

Because the land came from open-space set-asides around new neighborhoods, it doesn't sit in one block like a typical park. It's a greenbelt. The city ties the transfer to the greenbelt idea in its 2023 Community Plan, and the pieces are linked by shared-use paths rather than one large lawn.

What Metro Parks Plans to Do With It

The new land lies west of the existing active park. Per 10TV, it will be "more natural and quiet." Moloney described the plan as mostly restoration: "You're going to see some prairies developed, probably some reforestation, probably redevelopment of wetlands that were there long before the farmers came in."

The city expects the new area to focus on conservation and quieter ways to experience nature, possibly including boardwalks and natural-surface trails. The existing park will keep the recreation it already offers. Then there's the timeline. Moloney told 10TV that restoration of the prairies, wetlands and forest would begin this fall and take a couple of years to finish. Metro Parks' own post promises new trails, a future prairie, wetland areas and "a bigger and better park," all described as coming soon, without a date.

Restoration is slow work. Farm fields don't turn into prairie in one season, and nobody has published an opening date for the western acres. For at least the next couple of years, "Homestead" in everyday Hilliard use will still mean the original park.

The Park That's Open This November

That original park is at 4675 Cosgray Road. From Oct. 1 through March 31 it's open 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., two hours shorter than the 10 p.m. summer closing. Here's what Metro Parks lists there now:

• A covered bridge, a train-station replica and two barns
• A 2.5-acre fishing pond
• A paved, ADA-accessible multiuse trail of 0.8 miles that connects to the 6.1-mile Heritage Trail
• Lakeside Pavilion, which can be reserved, and Pine Pavilion, which is first-come, first-served
• Picnic areas, two play areas, a basketball court and sand-volleyball courts

Dogs are allowed on the Multiuse Loop Trail, picnic areas, parking lots and roadways. Metro Parks requires a leash no longer than six feet. Metro Parks gives the loop as 0.8 miles in one section of its page and 0.75 miles in another, so call it about three-quarters of a mile. If you're walking a dog, that short paved loop plus the Heritage Trail connection is the whole route for now. The prairie paths aren't open yet.

The First Thing That Actually Changes Is Who Runs the Trails

Residents will see one part of Ordinance 26-22 well before any boardwalk. Under the memorandum of understanding in the council packet, Metro Parks will operate, maintain and patrol designated trails in the area, including sections it doesn't own. The city compares the arrangement to Metro Parks' agreements with other cities on the Olentangy Trail. The agreement names three segments:

1. The Heritage Trail south of Hayden Run Road
2. The trail from Homestead Metro Park to the Tarlton Meadows subdivision
3. The extension through the Hill Farm development to Scioto Darby Creek Road

According to the staff memo, Metro Parks takes on the long-term cost of maintaining and patrolling both the transferred land and those trail sections. For someone starting a walk from Tarlton Meadows or Hill Farm, that's the real change this fall. The path out of the neighborhood now runs under the same park system as the destination at the end of it. The restored prairie will eventually fill in the land between those trails.

November on the Homestead Calendar

All of Homestead's November programs take place in the original park. Each one listed on Metro Parks' Homestead activity page is free, open to all ages and needs no registration.

Metro Parks notes that program end times are approximate and sends questions to the Homestead Naturalists at 614-971-5211. The Beaver Moon Hike is the latest-starting program on the list, and it falls just before Thanksgiving. The Litter Clean Up is the most direct way to put hands on the park in the same season its restoration begins. The activity listing shows no Homestead programs yet for early December.

Up Cosgray Road on Nov. 11

The same road has a second fall change this month. This year Hilliard replaces its Veterans Day Parade, traditionally held on a Sunday afternoon, with the city's first Veterans Day Luncheon. It will be at The Well, 3993 Cosgray Road, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, starting at 11:30 a.m. According to the city's announcement, winter weather made past parades hard on participating veterans. The new format puts the event indoors and on Veterans Day itself.

The city is co-hosting with The American Legion's William R. Schnug Memorial Post 614 and the CPT Nicholas J. Rozanski Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4931. Guests gather in Alton Hall for a lunch provided by local businesses. A ceremony follows with these speakers:

• Master Sgt. Sean Clifton, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and Purple Heart recipient
• Al Burzynski, a veterans advocate and Team Rubicon volunteer
• Amber Hudson, executive director of M.A.S.H. Pantry
• Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst, U.S. Army, retired, a Hilliard resident and former director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services

The event is free, and the whole community is invited. After that, the city calendar moves downtown. The Tree Lighting is set for Sunday, Dec. 6, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Hilliard's Station Park, 4021 Main St., with activities in Downtown Hilliard and Weaver Park.

If you live along one of the new Metro Parks trail corridors, from Tarlton Meadows to Hill Farm, and want to know how buyers are likely to see a home next to protected greenbelt, Debbie Parris can walk you through the comparable sales and what they show. Request your free home valuation, and we'll start with your own street.