What's Next for Plain City's Parks? Pastime Park, the Former RANCO Site and the New Public Square

From 1952 to 2004, the property at the north end of Plain City along US Route 42 made thermostatic controls, automotive parts and HVAC components. Before long, it could hold athletic fields and walking trails. Meanwhile, a block off Main Street, families have been using the new splash pad since August.

Both projects belong to the same effort. For most of its history, Plain City has had one main park on North Chillicothe Street. Now the village has a finished square in Uptown, a large new property at its northern entrance, and a single master plan meant to decide what Pastime Park, the former RANCO site and the connections between them become. Public input on that plan closed in early September. The next phase is about priorities, locations and money, and most of that work happens at Village Council.

The Public Square is finished, and it's already part of a bigger plan

The Public Square at 134 Church Street is the part of the plan you can use today. The Depot at Public Square held its community grand opening on Friday, June 13, 2025, and the village rents it out for events. The splash pad came next, with its grand opening ceremony on Thursday, August 6, 2026.

According to the village's splash pad announcement, the splash pad has:

• 12 interactive fountains with rotating water features
• A painted compass design with a non-slip coating
• An artificial turf area with chairs, a brick seating wall, accessible walkways and new landscaping

It's free, and the village set its hours at 8 AM to 9 PM daily after the opening. The Parks and Amenities page still lists it as open for the season but gives no closing date, so check before you head over on a cool late-October afternoon.

What connects the square to the rest of this story is what happened on opening night. The same evening, the Parks Master Plan Open House ran from 5 to 7 PM at The Depot. People looked at concept boards for Pastime Park and the future community park at the former RANCO property, while the Plain City Farmers Market set up in the lot next door. In practice, the square has become where the village gathers people to talk about its parks.

The square isn't finished growing, either. The Public Square Marketplace is still listed as a future phase. At the July 13, 2026 council meeting, village staff said many existing Uptown buildings aren't suited to modern food and retail businesses because of their layouts and health codes. That's the reasoning behind adding commercial space at the square. At the same meeting, council members talked about shade sails and picnic tables as possible additions. They confirmed the red and white barn next to the square will be torn down after grant-funded assessment work, and they discussed parking options up to and including a parking deck or garage. Staff also said the Heritage Trail could someday end at the Public Square as future connections are built. The village describes that trail as a paved 6.1-mile rail trail running from Hilliard to just southeast of Plain City.

The 66 acres at the village's front door

The former RANCO property adds the most land of anything in the plan. The Marysville Journal-Tribune reported that the village announced the agreement on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Under that agreement, Schneider Electric will transfer about 66 acres to the village for public use, at no cost to taxpayers, and keep a smaller piece of the site for itself. On October 13, 2025, council approved Resolution 48-2025, which accepts the conveyance of the property at 8115 US-42 and authorizes staff to take the steps needed to complete the title transfer.

The location matters as much as the size. The site sits at Plain City's northern entrance, and in the village's announcement, Mayor Jody Carney said it "provides an opportunity to create a new, welcoming gateway to Plain City." Coming in on Route 42, you would see a park first.

The site's history is part of the plan, and the village has laid it out openly. Schneider Electric led the cleanup with the U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA. In October 2024, the Ohio EPA designated the site "Ready for Anticipated Use." An environmental covenant governs how the land can be used, the Ohio EPA continues to oversee it, and Schneider Electric keeps responsibility for environmental monitoring and compliance. The village compares the project to other Central Ohio parks built on former industrial land, including Marysville's Eljer Park and Scioto Audubon Metro Park.

What the park will actually include is still undecided. The village has named athletic fields, walking trails and space for festivals and community events as possible uses. It has also said it plans to pursue state grant funding and work with residents on a master plan for the site. That master plan is the process now underway.

Pastime Park, the baseline everything gets measured against

The new site matters partly because of what it can take off Pastime Park's plate. At 370 North Chillicothe Street, Pastime Park already holds a lot.

The Plain City Aquatic Center, at 160 West Second Street, opened in 2012. It has zero-depth entry, a splash pad, a kiddie play area, a diving board and a tube slide. The pool has also been studied before. A 2024 feasibility study drew more than 358 survey responses, and the village says the resulting preliminary concept builds in more deck space, dedicated lap lanes and additional leisure water. Leading programming requests included heated water, adults-only swim times, toddler swim and resident priority.

Getting around Pastime Park is part of the discussion too. The new North Chillicothe Street crosswalk between Pastime Park and the Run at Hofbauer Preserve was finished, apart from minor gutter repairs, by the September 14 council meeting.

What the plan is deciding this fall

The village's Pastime Park and New Park questionnaire accepted responses through September 4. Ten days later, on September 14, 2026, Doug Boyer of the consulting firm EDGE gave council an update. According to the approved minutes, he covered the history of both properties, the remediation at the RANCO site, the survey results and a set of draft goals built on committee comments, public input and stakeholder interviews.

He described the next steps in this order:

1. Ranking the improvements people asked for
2. Choosing where each improvement and amenity could go
3. Developing the plan further
4. Finding funding sources for the proposed improvements

The council discussion afterward shows which questions are still open. A council member asked whether all options were on the table for the Aquatic Center. Boyer said they were, and added that various factors affect what's feasible. Members also discussed pedestrian safety, traffic patterns, walking connections, especially within Pastime Park, and whether Pastime Park needs more parking. The minutes record no approved improvements. The plan is still a draft.

Here is why the two parks are being planned together. Pastime Park already carries a full set of uses on a fixed footprint, with parking already a topic. The RANCO site brings about 66 acres with nothing yet committed. Each decision about where to put fields, trails or event space affects both properties, so a feature placed at the new park can take pressure off the old one.

Funding is the other open question. In 2026, council authorized applications to ODNR's NatureWorks program in Madison and Union counties, and its July packet lists a Clean Ohio Green Space application. Council materials don't tie either application to Pastime Park or the RANCO site.

Around the parks between now and Halloween

Village staff told council that the Corn Carnival was canceled because of weather, and that several of its activities would move to the Fall Festival. The village scheduled that festival for Pastime Park on Saturday, October 17, from 2 to 6 PM. Village-wide trick-or-treat is next: Saturday, October 31, from 5 to 7 PM, rain or shine. Public Works has finished brush collection for the year and is moving on to leaf collection.

Over the coming months, the parks plan will move through council discussions. Meeting packets and minutes are posted on plaincityohio.gov, and the former RANCO property page is where the village has posted updates on the site so far.

New parks, trail connections and an updated square at the edge of Uptown can change how a home's location fits your daily routine. At The Threshold Collective, Emily Rompage follows these Plain City projects as they move forward. If you'd like to talk through what they could mean for your own plans, Get in Touch Now.