The oldest public park in Cincinnati could see more than $7 million in redevelopment. But some local groups who use the space to distribute free food, clothing and other necessities have questions about how that will happen.
The Cincinnati Parks Boardvoted April 16 to approve a plan that gives the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation a lease on Piatt Park in Downtown. The park extends along Eighth Street (called Garfield Place as it passes through the park) from Elm Street to Vine Street.
Piatt became the city's first public park in 1817. Cincinnati Parks Director Jason Barron told the Parks' board Piatt hasn't received a major renovation since the late 1980s or early 1990s.
During a presentation before the vote, 3CDC Executive Vice President of Development Katie Westbrook explained work was necessary at Piatt Park because it had experienced "challenges" in recent years.
"I think that the misuse of the park has really been enabled because of the vacancy around the area," she said. "The loss of office workers and the transformation of those buildings to residential that is taking several years. There's a lot of drug use; just generally unwanted behavior."
One detail of the presentation caught the eyes of some observers, however: a slide that showed a photo of what appeared to be a food distribution event at Piatt with a caption that read, "persistent misuse of the park."
'It should be a place for community'
That spawned angry social media posts and even a petition asking the city to pause the lease to 3CDC.
On the Saturday after the park board vote, dozens gathered at Piatt for distribution of free food put on by the Cincinnati Practical Education Coalition. The group, mostly made up of service workers, does volunteer work and mutual aid projects.
The group stepped in to offer a monthly Saturday hot food service after another group had to cease doing it. Several organizations have done the weekly events for a number of years. The nonprofit Triiibe Foundation has been organizing them for almost a decade. In 2018, that group successfully advocated for a policy change from Cincinnati Parks eliminating fees for groups providing free community services after Triiibe was assessed a $450 special use fee for its monthly "Potluck for the People" event.
Now, several groups cover one weekend every month to maintain consistent food distributions at Piatt.
Downtown resident June DeCinti is a member of CPEC. She says the events are a vital way for people to get the things they need.
"Routinely, 150 to 200 people come through here requesting access to food, hygiene resources, clothing," she said.
A man who identified himself as Sheldon is a regular at the weekend events. He shrugged off safety concerns about the park and said the food distribution events provide a positive atmosphere.
"It's not just for people who are homeless, but for people who just need a little encouragement and something to keep them going," he said. "There are different personalities down here, sure, but people down here mostly try to respect one another. They should keep this. Everyone could use a little encouragement."
Duncan Maier is another CPEC member who volunteers giving out food at Piatt Park. He said he had concerns about how much public oversight 3CDC is subject to and questioned whether it was appropriate to lease a public park to a private nonprofit.
"It takes away the spirit of what a public park is," he said. "It should be a place for community."
3CDC's plans for Piatt Park
3CDC says the lease is necessary as part of a $128 million plan to remake the area around the park, including the vacant hotel Garfield Suites, which the nonprofit developer purchased this month for $3.75 million. 3CDC is looking in the next month to apply for Transformational Mixed Use Development Grants offered by the state of Ohio. To do so, however, it needs to have control of the properties it will use the money to improve.
Other parts of the plan would include a 70-unit residential building with retail on land that is currently a parking lot at 704 Vine St., renovation of the nearby Garfield Garage and the vacant JR Table restaurant property just south of the park on Vine Street.
According to the plan, 3CDC will lease the park back to the city and no immediate changes will be made to its operation. The city can terminate the lease if 3CDC doesn't win grant funding or doesn't start redevelopment in 12 months.
Westbrook presented two preliminary possibilities for a remake of the park, including one that removed the southern lane of Eighth Street and repurposed it as park land. The renderings also showed a dog park and potential removal of two fountains designed by Cincinnati sculptor Stuart Fink in favor of kiosks for park programming.
WVXU asked 3CDC about the removal of the fountains as well as its view on the appropriateness of the free food distribution events and whether the organization would seek to cease them should it move forward with redevelopment plans for the park. 3CDC sent the following statement:
"3CDC has entered into a short-term lease agreement with the City of Cincinnati to begin exploration of a redevelopment and funding plan for Piatt Park and surrounding areas. At this time, 3CDC's only role at Piatt Park will be a continuation of our existing commitment to the area through GeneroCity 513 outreach and the Clean and Safe operations teams.
"This lease is a first step in the redevelopment process; in the interim, nothing is changing at Piatt Park. The City of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Parks remain in full control of the park. Any future improvements or expansion of the park will require their approval and would include community input and engagement."
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