The Well is Rising
New Fly-Through and Videos from Ruscilli Construction
Construction so far is on track and on schedule for Hilliard’s Recreation and Wellness campus, just west of Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park.
“We are excited about where we are in the progress (and) what’s to come,” Hilliard Recreation and Parks Director Ed Merritt said in advance of a tour of the construction site June 18.
Ruscilli Construction Company led a tour of the site for Hilliard officials and the media to provide an up-close look at the progress of the project since construction began late last summer.
The 105,000 square-foot facility is rising on the south side of Scioto Darby Road, just east of Alton Darby Creek Road.
It will open in mid-2025 just west of Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park and will include other amenities such as 20 natural-grass fields and two synthetic-turf fields that can be used for soccer, lacrosse, and a variety of field-games, and a 25,000-square-foot Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
OSU is leasing the site within in The Well and is to reimburse the city $5.7 million for its construction that is included in the $106.3 million overall project, according to David Ball, community relations director for Hilliard.
The medical center is to offer wellness, education, and clinical services including physical therapy, urgent care, orthopedic and sports-medicine providers, arthritis care, behavioral care, osteopathic manipulative therapy, nutrition counseling, and lifestyle medicine, Ball said.
“The integration of medical services and educational programming within The Well reinforces our commitment to fostering a holistic approach to health and wellness for our residents. This facility will provide convenient access to high quality care right here in Hilliard,” City Manager Michelle Crandall said.
The Phyllis A. Ernst Senior Center, adjacent to the Hilliard Family Aquatic Center and within Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park, will relocate to the campus.
Opened in the 1970s, it has not yet been determined how the existing senior center will be repurposed but it is expected to remain city-owned property, said Anastasia Bradley, facilities manager.
A fourth Norwich Township Fire Station will be built on the 150 acres within the campus.
While on track since construction of the campus began, its start was later than anticipated and comes at a higher-than-expected cost, owing to general disturbances in the construction market connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, problems with the availability of raw materials, inflation, and environmental concerns.
A second video provided by Ruscilli Construction
Nearly three years ago, the project was originally budgeted at about $68 million but Don McCarthy, president of McCarthy Consulting and who oversees the project on behalf of city, indicated from the outset that elevated water tables and other factors in the environmentally sensitive area, coupled with inflationary and post-pandemic factors, was likely to cause the project to exceed that amount.
The project includes the extension of Cosgray Road from its current terminus at Scioto Darby Road through the campus via several roundabouts where it will meet Alton Darby Creek Road.
The project also includes restoration to the Clover Groff Run, a Big Darby Creek tributary to be widened to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.
Alton Darby Road is scheduled to close just south of Scioto Darby Road on July 8, according to city officials, and at some later point access on Cosgray Road just north of Scioto Darby Road will be affected to allow for construction of the roundabout entry into the campus.
Voted no on this project and will never utilize the services. Would have rather seen the land continued to be farmed but I guess a better use than a housing development or worse yet apartments.