A brand new, first-class 4-H building could soon be constructed at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. The Delaware Planning Commission reviewed and approved a combined preliminary and final development plan at Wednesday’s meeting, sending the proposal to Delaware City Council for final approval.
Under the proposal, the existing 9,600-square-foot Junior Fair Building would be demolished to make way for an approximately 24,080-square-foot building that would be located on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue and stretch roughly from Berne Street to Euclid Avenue. The new facility would stand at 40.5-feet tall.
Purposes for the new build would include an assembly area, museum, and office space that would accommodate the fair office moving into the building. Thirty parking spaces would also be added to the area.
Delaware Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland said of the new building: “When we last talked about the architecture of the building and our thoughts, I never envisioned it would come out at this high of a quality. It really is amazing. It’s going to make an amazing transformation to our community and the fairgrounds, and, hopefully, it will be the first of many improvements on the fairgrounds as we move forward.”
“It’s quite an upgrade, and it’s certainly a feather in the cap of the fair, the Pennsylvania Avenue community, as well as the entire city and county,” said Tony Eyerman, an architect of the new 4-H building.
Pat Paykoff, a member of the Delaware County Agricultural Society Board of Directors and part of the development team, said they look at the building, which will be able to seat over 500 people, as an economic driver for the city, able to host events that may otherwise be held outside of the city currently.
Developers were unable to offer a timeframe for when the building would be completed. Efland asked if perhaps the winter or spring of 2020 could be a possibility, to which Paykoff responded by saying they hope to be more aggressive in construction to present a sooner opening.
The proposed plan will be presented to Delaware City Council at its next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are held in the council chambers at City Hall, located at 1 S. Sandusky St.
