“Beautification of the areas immediately adjacent to and surrounding WPAFB are a priority for Fairborn and the Dayton region,” Anderson said. “We wanted to put our best foot forward when people are entering and exiting the property.”
The property is currently vacant but used to contain a used car lot and other auto-oriented businesses, he said.
Main Gate Park will be a long, thin park with paths and trees, according to renderings provided by the city.
“Even those that land is in Bath Twp., most people think it is Fairborn, so we wanted to create a better appearance for anyone coming to the base and wanted their first impression of Fairborn to be positive,” Anderson said.
However, he said Bath Twp. is not involved in the project. There are no current plans to annex that land into Fairborn.
The project budget is $450,000. The city received a State Capital Budget allocation of $350,000, Anderson said. The remaining $100,000 comes from city funds.
Fairborn bought the land for about $205,000. City council approved land purchases for the park in March 2021 and last August.
During the meeting acquiring the land in March, Mike Gebhart, economic development director for the city, noted there is a cell phone tower located right next to the property. The city did not plan to purchase that tract of land and the tower will remain.
Councilman Clint Allen called the park “a great win for the city.”
“As a person who drove through that gate for many years, it was just unsightly to see,” Allen said.
Mayor Paul Keller said many people are looking forward to getting that land fixed up.
“We talked about – previously – folks sitting at that red light, waiting to exit, looking across the road and thinking, wow, how junky Fairborn looks,” he said. “And it really wasn’t Fairborn, but now that we own the property we can make a nice welcome to Fairborn.”
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