$250,000 Given To Edgewater Park For New Play Area

CLEVELAND, OH — Upper Edgewater Park will soon be home to a new play area and family gathering space, thanks to a $250,000 donation made to the Cleveland Metroparks. The gift was given by CEO of Everstream Brett Lindsey and his family.

Once it's built, the play area will feature multiple "play zones," the Metroparks said. Those zones will include ADA accessible features, a paved loop trail, climbing towers, and play structures that align with the character of the park. There will also be seating, shade and nature-based play.

The goal is to open the new park by the summer of 2019. The gift from Lindsey represents about half the cost of the proposed playground, the park system said in a press release.

“My fiancé, Teresa, and I are very excited to see the new play area become possible and look forward to seeing our children and thousands of others playing at Edgewater. I’m challenging the community to raise the additional $250,000 needed to get it built,” said Lindsey.

Redeveloping Edgewater Park was a long-term goal of the Metroparks. So far, that project has been a success. The park saw a record number of visitors in 2017, with roughly 1.5 million coming to the area, park system officials said.

The Metroparks invested in developing the Edgewater Beach House, a community connector trail to the Beach House, the Edgewater Nature Shop, the Edgewater Book Box, and more.

We are so thankful for Mr. Lindsey’s gift and the generosity of all of our donors,” said Chief Development Officer Natalie Ronayne. “Because of their philanthropy and shared belief in our mission, we are able to have a greater impact in the areas of conservation, education and recreation across the Park District.”

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Graphic from the Cleveland Metroparks