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Columbus approves $900,000 design contract for Linden Green Line with WXY Studio
Summary
Council approved a $900,000 contract with WXY Architecture and Urban Design for preliminary design and engineering of the Linden Green Line linear park, with local firms expected to perform more than 60% of the work and construction funding already secured through federal and other grants.
Columbus City Council voted to award a $900,000 contract to WXY Architecture and Urban Design to lead preliminary design and engineering for the Linden Green Line, a planned 0.77-mile, 48-acre linear park intended to convert an abandoned rail corridor into a multiuse greenway connecting Douglas Community Center to Cooper Park.
The contract funds design concepts, ecological restoration planning, access and connectivity strategies, permitting strategies, preliminary cost estimates and a community engagement program that will include public workshops, tabling, guided quarter walks and both physical and digital outreach. Recreation and Parks staff said the design phase will establish the project vision and priorities to guide construction.
Brad Westall, speaking for Recreation and Parks, said the selection team prioritized local participation: “A little over 60% of the work will be done by local firms,” and that percentage is expected to rise as the project moves from preliminary design to engineering. Westall said the unanimous selection panel included staff from Public Service, Neighborhoods and Development.
Councilmember Bernita DeCauer moved for passage. Council documents presented at the meeting show construction funding already in place: a $12 million federal Reimagining AccesS (RAISE) grant awarded earlier in 2024 and $50 million in other LinkUS funding cited by the department, with total construction funding presented to council as approximately $27 million. Recreation and Parks said the city acquired the corridor for $5 million in 2023–24.
Speakers emphasized the project’s equity goals: staff described the greenway as serving roughly 131,000 residents and connecting three thousand businesses, 19 schools, four community centers and 10 parks along the corridor. Councilmembers said the project responds to decades of disinvestment, citing redlining and limited pedestrian and bicycle facilities in Linden and Northland.
The ordinance authorizing the contract passed on a roll call that recorded Bankston, Beatty, DeCauer, Dorrance, (the clerk read) Ramey, Weiss and President Harden as voting yes.
Design work is expected to move forward with a community engagement component to inform final amenity and access decisions. The project team and city staff said additional local and national partners will be involved as the design and permitting advance.
