The City of Oberlin’s public works department held an open house Wednesday, Aug. 20, in order to discuss the future of the Oberlin Enrichment and Activities Center. The OEAC previously served as Prospect Elementary School. The open house ran from 5–8 p.m. and included tours of the space, as well as focus groups for attendees to discuss their ideas.
The open house comes as the City tries to choose a permanent use for the facility, which they are planning to renovate. Currently, the building serves as office space for numerous municipal offices and as a space for programming for seniors.
“The current City Council made it very clear that before we start putting taxpayer dollars into this building any more than we have already, we need to have a vision, and that vision needs to be based on what the community needs and wants,” Councilmember Jessa New said.
A postcard mailer announcing the open house and community survey went out to all Oberlin utility customers. The information was also dispersed through physical posters as well as via the City’s website and social media pages. About 180 responses from the community have been gathered so far, although Public Works is working to get more input from younger demographics.
The online survey was originally intended to close Sept. 8, but it is still open as of today. Baumann said he hopes the extended period will allow for more responses from younger community members.
“We’ve asked the School District to help with publicity and even to assign it to high school students, since many of them would have attended Prospect School as third, fourth and fifth graders,” Jeff Baumann, public works director, wrote in an email to the Review. “So far, though, we don’t seem to be getting much traction.”
Almost 40 percent of the survey respondents were over the age of 65. Only five of the respondents were under the age of 24.
The survey mainly focused on which new spaces within the building residents would most like to see, with the most popular responses being suggestions for an indoor gym and a playground space, a maker space for creative and educational activities, event spaces, and conference rooms for communal use. Responses also indicated that the majority of respondents would use the space on a weekly basis and would prefer for it to be open to the public in the evenings. Accessibility was a priority for users, and some respondents were worried about the cost of renovations and possible financial strain this would put on the City.
The open house itself was structured to provide different stations for each of the user demographics, as well as a station for outdoor spaces. Event organizers arranged poster boards with images of possible uses for the space in order to gather feedback; some suggestions included a game room, a maker space, a reading room, and a sculpture garden. At each station, attendees could give feedback either in writing or speak with City staff and representatives from the GPD Group, an architectural consultant firm with whom the city is working to facilitate the renovation. Both self-guided and guided tours of the space were offered. Baumann said turnout for the event was between 40 and 50 people.
The building was retired from its original use in 2021, when the Oberlin School District retired both the Prospect and Eastwood public school campuses in favor of building a new school building at the north end of North Park Street. Recreation Director Ian Yarber and Recreation Coordinator Dave Whitworth were relocated to the Prospect School property in June 2022. In the months since, the former school has served as a site for multiple community programs. In November 2022, it began to serve as a polling location for the Lorain County Board of Elections as well as an activity space for the nonprofit Oberlin Kids. Offices for both the City’s IT Manager, Mike Wargo, and Sustainability Coordinator Linda Arbogast have been moved to the building as well. Oberlin senior citizens currently use three rooms for social events, exercise, and sewing.
Since the start of 2022, Public Works Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Jason Kelter and his staff have been assisting Yarber and Whitworth with a number of projects to improve and maintain the space, as more community groups seek to use the building for activities. Oberlin’s City Council officially renamed the Prospect School the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center in April 2023.
In a memo to the Oberlin City Council last May, Public Works Director Jeff Baumann described the need to enter a contract with GPD Group in order to complete a planning study and feasibility assessment of the OEAC. This study would help determine further renovations and upkeep of the center. The recommended budget for the assessment is $150,000, with another $175,000 being designated for design of the space in 2026. A further renovation budget would be determined at a later date and would likely be financed by the City of Oberlin.
For the past few months, efforts have been focused on determining the Oberlin community’s vision for the space through outreach to community members and stakeholders. Stakeholders include city staff who work within the building, Council’s advisory commissions, and Oberlin Kids. Other local agencies that took part in the planning process include the Oberlin Public Library and Oberlin Community Services.
“I think the plan is not necessarily to push it as quickly as possible,” New said. “It’s to get as much insight as possible so that we can start to really see the possibilities. And part of that is going to be the consideration of doing this in phases.”
Public Works is tentatively planning to make a joint presentation with GPD on the project’s status at the City Council meeting scheduled Oct. 6.
