Eric and Ina Medici, owners of the former Farmers National Bank building pictured at right, used the rendering from the Plain City Uptown Master Plan to illustrate their vision for Bicentennial Park. The village is currently applying for grant funding to extend the flatiron and close Gay Street to vehicle traffic – a project that the Medicis are calling the perfect opportunity for a public-private partnership, since they own about half of the area.
(Graphic submitted)
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Plain City officials are hoping to work alongside a local business owner to revitalize the Bicentennial Park area.
“When you talk about public-private partnerships, this, I think, is the poster child,” Eric Medici said.
Medici and his wife, Ina, who together own a number of Uptown buildings, spoke with council during its work session Wednesday about how they feel their work on the former bank building fit into plans to create an outdoor plaza Uptown.
Village Administrator Haley Lupton explained that Plain City is applying for grant funding to move forward with engineering that would close Gay Street to vehicle traffic and construct a plaza in its place, essentially extending the flatiron located adjacent to South Chillicothe Street.
Medici said the plaza’s creation is an ideal partnership, as the ownership of the area’s square footage is nearly a 50/50 split between himself and the village.
As the Medicis work to revive the exterior of their building, Ina Medici said they focused on Plain City’s planning documents to get a feel for the future vision of the area as a whole.
“How can we integrate some of the things we’re looking to do with what the village is looking to do?” Ina Medici said.
She added that the pair especially liked the look of “vignettes” from the Uptown Master Plan and 2018 Comprehensive Plan.
Illustrations included in those documents depict Bicentennial Park as an outdoor gathering area complete with open air seating, mature trees and lower, yellow-toned lighting.
Ina Medici said she feels their work on the former Farmers National Bank building complements the village’s goals.
Although the plaza will create a new amenity, the Medicis emphasized their efforts to honor the history of the area.
The couple is adorning the area with 1929 art deco-style street lamps that reflect the fact that the building was constructed before electricity ran through the area.
The drive-thru entry is also lined with sandstone blocks from the Plain City railroad bridge abutment, Ina Medici said.
The couple also specifically touted the herringbone brick laid in the back patio area, which they intend to use down the east side of the bank’s sidewalk as well.
Eric Medici explained that the individual who purchased the brick pavers from Gay Street when it was resurfaced in 2020 intended to ground them and sell the product as red gravel. Medici instead purchased the pavers – more than 10,000 of them – for the cost at which they would have been sold.
Together the pair has cleaned and restored the pavers, which were lined with mortar, in order to be reused on their property.
“It keeps some of the history of Plain City where it belongs,” Ina Medici said.
Council member Jim Eudaily said he thinks the variety of shades of red and brown are coming together very well in the areas where the Medicis have already laid brick.
“The back alley looks fantastic,” he said.
Lupton said the village intends to create a similar brick look on the portion of Gay Street that would be closed.
Council President Michael Terry emphasized the fact that village officials are still early in the process.
However, he said he encouraged the Medicis to speak with council so both parties can continue communicating and working together as the project progresses.
Ina Medici added that the contractor they are using to lay the bricks is scheduling a year out, so they wanted to make sure they are operating on the same timeline as village officials.
In an interview Friday, Lupton said construction of the plaza likely will not occur until 2025 or 2026.
She said the village is applying for a grant to fund the project’s engineering through the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO), which identified the area as a “dangerous intersection”
Plain City Police Chief Dale McKee said there were efforts within the police department to close that portion of Gay Street about 20 years ago because of the high number of crashes.
Eric Medici said he still sees semi-trucks struggle to make the angle when turning, causing them to drive over portions of the flatiron.
Lupton said, after engineering is completed, it would probably be at least spring 2025 before the project goes out to bid.
Still, village officials said they are looking forward to working with the Medicis to make the plaza a reality.
“It really makes Plain City a destination,” Ina Medici said.