An Ohio park covered just 43 acres; a land transfer involving the city and a homebuilder is adding 333 conservation acres, making the park nearly nine times its former size
Homestead Metro Park in Hilliard, Ohio, is set for a dramatic expansion, with 333 acres of conservation land being added to the 43-acre park, according to the City of Hilliard and Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks. Columbus Business First also reported on the land transfer, which involves the city and homebuilder M/I Homes. Once the new land is incorporated, Homestead will cover about 376 acres, making it roughly 8.7 times its former size. Metro Parks already lists the expanded park at 376 acres, including the additional 333 acres. The land stretches into the Big Darby Creek watershed and is expected to include protected natural areas, wetlands, prairie habitat and trails. Metro Parks said the new acreage will take time to develop, with public access expanding as the landscape is restored and trail connections are completed.
Where the 333 acres are coming from
The expansion is not simply a single parcel changing hands. According to the City of Hilliard, two conservation parcels are already owned by the city and are being transferred to Metro Parks, while additional conservation land within M/I Homes’ Hill Farm and Hill Farm II developments will be transferred directly by the homebuilder.One of the city-owned parcels covers about 46.6 acres along Elliott Road. Another is approximately 23 acres near Barbeau Lane, adjacent to Homestead Metro Park and the Heritage Trail. Hilliard will retain about 2.2 acres of the Barbeau Lane property for the Orangeberry Water Tower and potential future infrastructure.The conservation land was set aside as part of development requirements in the area. The larger transfer also includes land containing the headwaters of Clover Groff Run, adding protected acreage around an important part of the watershed.Hilliard’s approach to development in the Big Darby area requires a substantial portion of residential development to remain open space. The city says its current rules require 70% of residential development in the area to be preserved as open space, compared with the 50% baseline under the regional Big Darby Accord framework.
New trails and natural habitats planned
The expansion is intended to do more than increase the size of the park on a map. Metro Parks plans to create new trail connections while restoring portions of the land to prairie and wetland habitat.The new acreage will connect with existing trails around Homestead, including the Heritage Rail Trail. The plans include extending a trail west through the Hill Farm development toward Scioto Darby Creek Road, creating additional connections through the expanding greenbelt.Metro Parks will also take over management of portions of the Heritage Trail and connecting trails under the agreement with Hilliard. The agency already manages the section of the Heritage Trail north of Hayden Run Road.The expansion comes as Metro Parks reaches another milestone in the region. The agency said the addition will take its protected land in the Darby watershed beyond 10,000 acres.
When will the expanded park open?
The land transfer still requires final municipal approval. Hilliard City Council introduced the authorization on September 14, with a second reading and public hearing scheduled before a final vote. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for September 28.The Barbeau Lane parcel is expected to be transferred by the end of 2026. However, the newly acquired acreage will not immediately function like the existing park. Metro Parks has said the landscape will take several years to develop, restore and connect with trails before the full expansion is available for visitors.For now, the existing Homestead Metro Park at 4675 Cosgray Road continues to offer its established amenities, including a covered bridge, train station replica, two barns, a 2.5-acre fishing pond and a trail connecting with the 6.1-mile Heritage Rail Trail. With the 333-acre addition, however, Homestead is set to become a substantially larger part of Hilliard’s growing network of protected green space, linking conservation land, trails and natural habitat across the Big Darby watershed.
