A wastewater treatment plant may not seem like the ideal place for a community park, but leave it to the city with a pioneering waterfront trail to innovate.

On Wednesday, Aug, 25, the City of Euclid will engage its residents in helping envision “Top of the Tank”—a two-acre public park with an adjacent half-acre space available for commercial or mixed-use development. The park will sit atop a 15-million-gallon underground equalization tank upon the late 2021 completion of the city’s wastewater treatment plant (a project seven years in the making).

“This park will be in an incredible location within Euclid’s downtown and has a real ability to provide a new space for recreation,” says Allison Lukacsy-Love, director of planning and development for the City of Euclid. “We want to put the best minds in the room—which includes everyone in the community—to help us envision a true 21^st-century park.”

According to Lukacsy-Love, that could include anything from a rock climbing wall to an amphitheater to outdoor bocce courts—depending on community input and the recommendations of Environmental Design Group.

As for the commercial opportunities, Lukacsy-Love says the city potentially envisions a concept similar to Lakewood Truck Park, but the possibilities are still wide open. “The park space will help inform the commercial space, and vice versa,” she says.

Before the wastewater treatment project began in 2014, the space housed a small public park with a gazebo, as well as a gas station and a restaurant, but the installation of the tank (which runs 60 feet deep) has since necessitated very specific uses for the land.

“By virtue of structural considerations and the need for the city to have continuous access [to the tank], a park space is truly the only option,” says Lukacsy-Love.

To kick off the community visioning process, the City of Euclid will host a block party event for all ages on Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the future park site located at Bliss Lane and Lakeshore Boulevard. Free ice cream from East Coast Custard will be provided, and participants will share their input with city leaders and stakeholders about Top of the Tank.

“We want to be intentional rather than just going straight into design and development—this park will be around for generations and decades to come, so we want to do it right,” says Lukacsy-Love. “This park space has the ability to be our version of Public Square, a gathering space for everyone in the center of downtown and the heart of our community.”