Beulah Park has transformed over the past century from a community park to a horse racing track and, finally, to a living development. Throughout its transformation, it has remained a centerpiece for family and community gatherings in Grove City.
Adam G. Grant purchased land west of Harrisburg Pike in 1889 for a residential development, named Grant’s Beulah Park Addition in honor of his daughter. He reserved part of that land as a public green space for his adjoining development. Beulah Park opened as a community park in 1895 and included a half-mile track for racing horses, goats and bikes.
In 1923, the land was converted into Ohio’s first thoroughbred-only racetrack and was established as a social hub for Grove City as thousands of viewers visited from across the country for fast-paced entertainment.
That same year, an advertisement for the horse races encouraged viewers to visit by promising “excellent motor roads” while hundreds of viewers flocked into town via interurban trains. Residents rented out their extra rooms and apartments to the jockeys, trainers and other temporary support staff. As the racetrack grew in popularity, especially after Ohio legalized pari-mutuel betting on horse races in 1933, the town experienced a significant economic boom during the racing season.
On May 15, 1954, the racetrack recorded its highest attendance at 11,772 people. Racing events reached peak popularity from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Horse racing began to fade from popularity in the 1980s, as the public turned to other forms of entertainment.
“The state had passed a law to legalize casinos and the only way casinos could operate was to have an existing place of wager – which was a racetrack. So, the state law changed and really doomed thoroughbred racing,” Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage says.
The license for betting for racetracks was transferrable in the state, and the investment group that
purchased Beulah Park, Penn National, announced the decision to move the license for the track to northeastern Ohio and close the thoroughbred racetrack in Grove City in January 2011. The last day of racing at Beulah Park was Kentucky Derby Day, May 3, 2014.
Beulah’s new phase
Developers soon saw the property’s potential to become an active centerpiece for Grove City living again.
“We were very much aware of the rich history when we transformed the site into a living community,” Pat Kelley, Beulah Park developer, says. “It was a very strong criterion for getting involved.”
In fall 2016, the site was purchased and, in 2019, the project broke ground with Epcon Communities. Beulah Park has been under construction for the past four years as the developers added apartments, houses, living facilities and more. The infrastructure was completed in fall 2022 for a fully operational living community.
The 32-acre Park at Beulah is surrounded by the 212-acre development that is being built on the former racetrack grounds. Developments on the land include The Strand, which features townhomes, The Paddock, which centers on build sites for families, The Grove, which features single-family homes and The Courtyards, which focuses on low-maintenance living options. The development also includes an older adult living community on the west side, complete with independent and assisted living in addition to several memory care units.
Developers are looking to add more homes and other facilities over the course of the next few years in various developments.
Prioritizing the community
Next on the list of priorities is adding The Shops at Beulah, shares Kelley.
“We’ll not only have a restaurant, we’ll have a bakery and some other food (offerings) in that center,” Kelley says.
They are also hoping to add a nail and hair salon, a convenience store, a home goods retailer, and a pet supply store. Key to the planning of the community, the city and developers worked together to extend Columbus Street, which now extends from Broadway, into Beulah Park. This street streamlines access to the Grove City Town Center, facilitating improved walkability and increased social connection, Kelley shares.
“Beulah Park always had a very rich history of being a place where people gathered and felt a strong connection to the space and those they were sharing the space with,” Sarah Backiewicz, Beulah Park director, says. “Beulah Park, by design, is planned to be a community gathering place.”
To encourage a community atmosphere, the developers built the living communities around the Park at Beulah, which features public green space, a pond, shelters and other community
gathering places like a pickleball complex. The city is looking to add a public amphitheater in the future.
Beulah Park
“(The park) adds vibrance to our Town Center,” Mayor Stage says. “It’s a point of prestige given the type of development it is. The public, in general, wants to return to having conveniences that you don’t have to get into your car and drive to. (The development) is driven by the general public and what they’re looking for now in the way of housing and the ambiance of a community.”
Honoring the history
Recognizing the pivotal role Beulah Park has played in Grove City over the last century, the city wanted to honor the history of the park. On Sept. 17, 2021, the park erected a $250,000 quartz and steel sculpture designed by Craig W. Murdick. It depicts six horses and their riders at the starting line. Murdick wanted to create a piece that encapsulates the excitement at the beginning of the race as the riders break free of the starting line, according to Backiewicz.
“When we dedicated (the sculpture), you could really sense from people within Grove City that have such a strong connection to the former racetrack that there was very much a sense of peace and pride that the racetrack wasn’t forgotten,” Backiewicz says.
There are other nods to the racetrack’s history scattered throughout the development as well. The Clubhouse development was designed as a tribute to the park’s racing days with details such as a custom-painted wall depicting a horse race and benches inside the building from the original grandstand. Other communities feature photos from the park’s past and are designed with an equestrian aesthetic. The original racetrack gatehouses are also still at the entrance at Southwest Boulevard.
“Almost all of the homes have some sort of connection to the history,” Backiewicz says. “I think people really enjoy living somewhere where they feel connected to the history.”
Katie Giffin is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
