Fairgrounds To Future: A Community-Based Initiative For The Dayton Area

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By: Kaitlin Gawkins – Assistant Online Editor and Liz Kyle – News Editor

The visioning process for the highly anticipated future of the Montgomery County fairgrounds is designed to include input from all members’ of University of Dayton’s community.

The 38-acre site on South Main Street was purchased through a partnership between UD and Premier Health earlier this year. And Friday, UD faculty, students and staff were invited to Kennedy Union ballroom for an interactive brainstorming workshop for the community-minded planning process of the fairgrounds.

Known as “Fairgrounds to Future: Transforming for Tomorrow,” the project is described as a historic opportunity designed to serve the missions of the two institutions, develop the space aligned with downtown renewal and benefit the interests of the Dayton community.

“There’s really no truly secret plan,” President Eric Spina revealed in opening remarks at Friday’s event.

The workshop was hosted by members of planning NEXT, an Ohio-based planning firm working on the fairgrounds project with the two institutions. They shared general planning information to the audience then facilitated group-focused activities for the remainder of the session.

“We are working intensely with the community to gain insight,” Jamie Green, principal of planning NEXT shared with those gathered at the workshop.
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Waves of discussion filled the room as community members participated in group brainstorming sessions, giving everybody an equal opportunity to share their own vision of what the site could be used for in the future. This discussion was framed so that people could think about the “long haul” of the site, or what it could mean to use the site for many years to come.

A universal topic of discussion was implementing Net Zero initiatives in the project by including sustainable and eco-friendly amenities in the structure of future buildings built in the space.

Other ideas included an arts and wellness center, a local independent food store, a senior citizens complex, multigenerational housing, office spaces, outdoor friendly recreational spaces and a medical center that could assist in improving outlook in the area’s opioid crisis.

Each of these ideas have the potential to be integrated into the plan, to be finalized in February of this coming year.

As Spina said in his opening remarks, “We hope the project comes of great value to the city, we hope it’s something that adds value to our institution and adds value to the city.”

To become involved in the Fairgrounds to Future project, attend the public workshop Nov. 2 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Coliseum at the Fairgrounds site (online RSVP requested) or visit the Fairgrounds to Future website.

Photo Courtesy of Christian Cubacub