The City Council Housing and Community Development Committee heard Oct. 30 that a proposed Lakewoods campus improvement project in South Toledo would combine safer, wider walking loops with affordable senior housing and a new Margaret Hunt senior center, Justin Moore, president and CEO of the Area Office on Aging, said.

Moore told the committee that the campus "is a very unique, neighborhood and and campus" with a history as the former Maumee Valley Hospital site and now serves residents and veterans: "This campus is home to 400 older adults and veterans," he said. He described safety problems for people with mobility aids, saying the campus "is essentially a 3 quarter mile loop and that 3 quarter mile loop only has 1, crosswalk, 1 marked crosswalk."

The plan presented by Toledo Design Collective (TDC) and design partner Edge focuses on three core goals: improve walkability across the campus; add 52 affordable senior housing units on the second through fourth floors of a new building with a first‑floor Margaret Hunt senior center; and expand programming and social spaces for older adults. Ryan Bunch, studio director at Toledo Design Collective, said TDC documented about 215 stakeholder interactions (174 residents, 41 staff and visitors) and that "accessibility and walkability" were the top priorities that shaped the recommendations.

Design details and phasing described by Tim Bockbitter, landscape architect with Edge, include an outer loop roughly three‑quarters of a mile long, an inner lakeside loop and a series of gathering nodes by Lake Virginia. Edge said it has completed surveys (property lines, utilities, trees) and is pushing for an eight‑foot outer trail to allow wheelchairs and two people to pass comfortably. Bockbitter said the team is aiming to be "shovel ready" within two years for early phases and that the work will be implemented in multiple phases.

Presenters flagged implementation constraints: the campus crosses 16 distinct parcel owners, some pathway connections may require private‑property agreements or easements, and parts of Lake Virginia's shoreline are eroding and may require shoreline stabilization or boardwalks. TDC recommended issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) to find long‑term partners to carry the phased work forward rather than an immediate construction RFP, and to pursue parking and circulation studies, tree‑canopy analysis and a coordinated stewardship agreement among owners.

Funding and partnerships cited in the presentation include a Stranahan Foundation grant to Toledo Design Collective for stakeholder engagement and conceptual design. Moore also told the committee the city provided $1,200,000 "to help with the affordable senior housing development of Evergreen Heights," and presenters said they would continue to pursue city program connections and additional partners. Bunch noted the campus also benefits from two TARTA bus routes that begin and end at the site and provide direct grocery access.

Council members and presenters discussed next steps and possible city programs for trees and right‑of‑way improvements; presenters said they will explore those connections and continue outreach. Moore and the design teams urged residents, property owners and council members to engage as the project moves forward.

The presentation did not include a council vote or formal motion; presenters described procurement steps already completed (an RFQ and interview process that led Area Office on Aging and its selection committee to choose Edge with partner SSOE for implementation work).