First Responders' Park

Hilliard, Ohio

Following the creation of a streetscape restoration plan for Hilliard’s historic Main Street, Bird Houk Collaborative began working with the City to find ways to attract people to the downtown. As a result, an urban park linking the historic downtown with a regional bike trail located three blocks away is being developed as a first phase of a master plan to bring people back into “Old Hilliard”. The park is being designed by BHC to memorialize the dedicated men and women of the City of Hilliard’s First Responders’ Unit, who assisted the citizens of New York City to recover from the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

Three design concepts for “First Responders’ Park” were presented to the Fire Chief, Police Chief and Mayor. The chosen design blends private contemplative space with open public events space. The focus is a large polished platform at the corner of the plaza, featuring a sculpture designed by a local artist. Included in the concept is the redesign of an adjacent city parking lot to allow for added public events space and a weekly downtown farmers market.

First Responders’ Park project is part of a multi-phased downtown revitalization effort to create connectivity, destinations, and economic sustainability within the commercial core of Hilliard.