College of Wooster plans campus greenway project

The College of Wooster will make way for a college greenway through a project removing several small, college-owned houses south of University Street and east of Beall Avenue beginning May 18. While still in its earliest stages of imagining, the college greenway will stretch southeast of the stadium and Lowry Student Center, providing open green and outdoor recreational areas that bring together the College and broader Wooster communities.

The vision for the planned greenway across the southeast corner of campus includes a space with distinct areas that invite people to learn and enjoy the outdoors. Students, faculty, staff and community members will share ideas as plans move forward through a cross-functional steering group in partnership with philanthropic investment. While this vision is in the early stages, ideas such as interactive art, water features, pollinator gardens, research areas, recreational spaces and other designs for activity, beauty and vibrancy have been suggested.

The plan includes the removal of 16 small houses on Stibbs, Spink and University streets, selected based on location and an assessment of overall condition, uses, historical value, energy efficiency and potential for financially responsible rehabilitation. After the close of Wooster’s spring semester, removal of the structures begins May 18 and is expected to be completed before the new academic year in mid-August, dependent upon weather conditions.

The planned completion of the project over the summer allowed new places on campus to be selected for student living and programming previously in the facilities, and preparations included the documentation of house interiors and exteriors for historical purposes. Furniture and fixtures have been offered to Habitat for Humanity to benefit the organization’s work in the community.

The College will save more than $6 million in deferred maintenance costs associated with basic repairs and approximately $75,000 in upkeep and annual operating costs after the completion of the project. Following the removal of the houses, the sites will be restored to grass through seeding as the vision for various areas of the greenway takes shape.