Two lush downtown Oil City parks, each a product of a prior demolition project, are now under the auspices of the City of Oil City.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” Mayor Bill Moon said at a city council meeting Thursday.
The property transfer of Town Square in the mid-downtown business district and King Memorial Garden along Main Street is between the city’s Redevelopment Authority and the city.
The buildings were razed in 2013 through efforts led by the Redevelopment Authority.
The park has been a frequent venue for public concerts and other events.
The Joseph C. King and Laura King Memorial Park is adjacent to the Center Street Bridge and along Main Street. It, too, is located on the site where a variety of commercial buildings once stood.
The creekside lot had been vacant since the Gabreski Building was leveled in a May 2004 fire.
The park, named in memory of Joe and Laura King and built by the King family, opened in the fall of 2013. Joe and Laura King died in a traffic accident in 2012.
In a letter to city council, Alan Schiller, chairman of the Redevelopment Authority, said the authority has owned both properties since 2011.
They have been maintained over the years by King’s Landscaping of Oil City as a contribution to the community.
“With the successful use of these properties as public spaces, the Redevelopment Authority has no plans to further develop these properties,” noted Schiller.
City manager Mark Schroyer said the acquisition of the properties falls easily “under the city’s park umbrella.”
