LOVELAND, Ohio — The restrooms at Nisbet Park are open again, and crews are now turning to exterior upgrades on the building as part of a yearslong plan to remake the riverside park in the heart of downtown.
The city announced the reopening in a social media post this week, thanking residents for their patience as work continues toward the Nisbet Park Master Plan. The post did not give a timeline for the exterior work.
The restroom project is one piece of a broader redesign the city’s Recreation Board drew up in 2021 after surveying residents. The plan calls for reorienting the park’s amphitheater to face the full park, creating stronger gateways into the park, establishing a central focal point, improving landscaping and updating benches, tables and other site furnishings, according to the city.
Nisbet Park runs through Loveland’s historic downtown along the Little Miami Scenic Trail and hosts concerts, festivals and other community events throughout the year.
The city has carried out the master plan in phases, largely financed through state and local grants with city matching funds. In March 2023, Loveland installed an ADA-accessible gazebo and the first sections of a new walking path, work supported by a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ NatureWorks program. A $9,775 grant from the Clermont County Park District funded an extension of the walking trail to the park’s southern perimeter, and a $15,000 grant from the Hamilton County Board of Health paid for outdoor dining areas with picnic tables. The city added more seating areas, pathways and landscaping in 2024.
City officials are now working toward the plan’s largest remaining piece: a new amphitheater reoriented to face into the park. The city has secured about $250,000 in grant funding for that project and is seeking additional money to complete it, with demolition of the existing structure planned to begin in 2025 and the project targeted for completion in 2026, according to the city.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Loveland city government.