CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — The Mill Street roundabout near Yoctangee Park is expected to open to traffic before the start of the school year, the city said, as construction crews push forward on multiple fronts of the park’s ongoing $35 million renovation.
The city posted a timelapse video this week showing progress across the park, including a new parking lot that has been paved and lined and new light poles that have been installed. At the park’s main pavilion, the doors are in, exterior siding is complete, and interior fans and lighting have been installed, according to the city.
Work also continues on the park’s new amphitheater, where crews have finished the stage foundation and are now raising the shell structure above it. At Diamond One, one of the park’s baseball fields, the dugouts and press box are nearing completion.
Inside the historic Chillicothe Armory, workers are running new lighting, laying flooring, painting and installing windows as part of a full restoration of the building, the city said.
The projects are being funded through Ohio’s Appalachian Community Grant Program, which awarded the city $35 million in 2024 for renovations and new construction in and around Yoctangee Park. The grant, drawn from federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars distributed through the Governor’s Office of Appalachia and the Ohio Department of Development, is also paying for the amphitheater, the Armory restoration, a permanent home for the Chillicothe Farmers Market and upgrades to streets and gateways surrounding the park.
Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney has called the grant a “once in a generation opportunity” for the community, saying it completes the vision for the park laid out in the Yoctangee Park master plan and the city’s Choose Chillicothe comprehensive plan.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the City of Chillicothe.
