In its 70-plus years of existence, the BIA Parade of Homes has featured a huge variety of different home types and living styles. But 2023 might mark the first time it’s featured an honest-to-God Metro Park.
That would be Quarry Trails Metro Park, the newest addition to Franklin County Metro Parks’ line-up. And although the park itself isn’t an official tour stop, it’s likely to get plenty of traffic when Parade visitors stop by the attached Quarry Trails community.
The official tour stops at a freestanding home, part of just the first phase of an ambitious partnership between the county and developer Thrive Companies. Its mission: to transform an area previously occupied by a quarry and an unsightly landfill into an impressive park and a – pardon the pun – thriving neighborhood.
Courtesy of Media Machine
Courtesy of Media Machine
The former is filled with attractions not commonly seen in the county’s other Metro Parks, including a mountain biking trail, a boat launch for canoes and kayaks, a via ferrata for rock climbing, a dog park, and a waterfall that can get to be downright gargantuan under the right weather conditions. The latter has, in addition to the types of freestanding homes that will be part of the Parade, apartments, townhomes, retail space and a variety of its own community amenities – and, really, it’s just getting started.
“The Metro Park is our biggest sales pitch,” says Steve Bollinger, principal and executive vice president of development for Thrive.
Those who choose to build in Quarry Trails have an expansive array of options and products available to them, says Bollinger. That includes hardwood flooring on the first floor and granite as the base material for countertops and suchlike spaces. Homeowners can have as many as five bedrooms on some sites, with a total of 11 floor plans available, as well as a sizable package of finishes and exterior palettes. Square footage ranges from 1,900 to 3,500.
“The architecture is different from what you mostly see in Columbus,” Bollinger says. “It’s kind of urban farmhouse meets the west.”
Highlights of the tour home, as well as Quarry Trails freestanding homes in general, include:
- Long kitchen islands
- Ten-foot, vaulted first-floor ceilings
- Built-in backyard grill stations
- Accordion doors
- En suite bathrooms and closets in the owner’s suites
- Attached garages
The large porches and positioning of the houses, which face each other, are intended to create a neighborly feel and encourage interaction, says Rudy Wesolek, partner and senior vice president of realty for Thrive.
Courtesy of Media Machine
Courtesy of Media Machine
“Here, you’re basically face to face with your neighbors,” Wesolek says.
The urban patio homes in the neighborhood at large have smaller backyards that pack in a lot, Bollinger says. Because homeowners are not responsible for landscape maintenance, Thrive expects the homes to be popular among empty-nesters as well as families. The density of the housing also sets the community apart in the Columbus area, Wesolek says.
“I can’t think of a development in Columbus, outside of the urban part of Columbus, that fits that many units in an area but still provides pretty luxurious living,” he says.
Though the tour home is freestanding, Quarry Trails also incorporates one-story condominiums at Harris Flats and three-story attached condominiums at Perry Townhomes.
All that, of course, is in addition to the neighborhood’s proximity to the park – an unusual amenity in central Ohio, to be sure. Of the 220 developed acres in Quarry Trails, 180 are Metro Park, which means plenty of green space that homeowners don’t need to take care of.
“Some of the models that we’re going to have on display are basically in the park,” Wesolek says. “(The neighborhood) is almost encapsulated within the Metro Park.”
Just as Thrive benefits from the neighborhood’s proximity to the park, Metro Parks benefits from Thrive’s involvement. The utilities and infrastructure installed by the company have made it possible for the county to put in such features as the boat launch and via ferrata, Bollinger says – spending its money on those features rather than, say, bathrooms, which Thrive is already handling.
“You can already see there are hundreds of people down there over the weekend,” Wesolek says.
Then there’s the retail space, which includes:
- A 10,000-square-foot spa;
- The Athletic, a gym that’s open to the public;
- Bada Bean Bada Booze – coffee shop in the morning, bar and gathering space in the evening, cleverly named 24 hours a day; and
- Playa Bowls, a soon-to-open space for acai bowls and smoothies.
The Athletic and Bada Bean Bada Booze are both operated by Thrive rather than by a third party, so they can be used for community events, as can the community space and pool that are available to both renters and homeowners.
The neighborhood is centrally located with easy access to Interstate 270 and U.S. Route 33, making it appealing for those who live in farther-flung suburbs but want to downsize to a space closer to the action. Thrive expects the city of Columbus to connect the park’s bike paths all the way through to Downtown, which will further deepen residents’ connections to the city as a whole.
“The connectivity is strong,” Bollinger says. “(You’ll have) the ability to have the park at your fingertips.”
Thrive is building the community’s second phase now, and Parade visitors will be able to see the progress made there. The third phase breaks ground in summer 2024. The company also expects the park to be built out more, with an amphitheater and additional playground being considered.
In addition to the four freestanding homes, a unit in the Harris Flats – which offers one-story condominiums with extensive natural light, chef’s kitchens and balconies wired for TVs and ceiling-mounted heaters – is expected to be open for the Parade’s opening party.
Garth Bishop is a contributing editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
