Park District Office Building to be Demolished

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum Valley Park District office building located on Euclid Avenue is crumbling from the ground up.

Muskingum Valley Park District Executive Director Russell Edgington talked about the history of the structure, future of the property and relocating to a different facility.

“The park district actually renovated and moved into this building somewhere around 17-years-ago,” Edgington said. “And recently we began as early as 4-years-ago there were cracks forming in the walls and the ceilings. 3-years-ago we decided to consult a structural engineer. And they came in and they determined that there were severe structural issues with the building.”

The structural problems stemmed from the foundation and basement walls shifting to create an unlevel platform, which led to uneven floors and tilted doorways. Safety conditions deteriorated more rapidly than expected, forcing the building to be vacated much faster than was anticipated.

“We were fortunate enough to have another building over on Hunter Street at the main entrance. So we went through the process of having it approved as a public building and we finally got a chance to relocate there about a month ago,” Edgington said.

The park district received demolition funding from the county and the Euclid Avenue structure is planned to be razed by the end of summer. The site will be converted into a public greenspace. Muskingum Valley Park District’s new office is located at 415 Hunter Avenue in Zanesville.