CHILLICOTHE — The City of Chillicothe will celebrate the completion of the Yoctangee Park improvements with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, at the Yoctangee Park Amphitheater, city officials announced Friday. The free celebration is open to residents, families and visitors.
The work transforms the city’s central park. It includes a new outdoor amphitheater and a multipurpose pavilion that will be anchored on Saturdays by the Chillicothe Farmers Market, a complete renovation of the historic Armory, a new Diamond One baseball field, a new skatepark, new pickleball courts, a complete renovation of the tennis courts, renovations to the 40 & 8 fish stand, and new sidewalks and greenspaces throughout the park.
The project was funded through the Appalachian Community Grant Program, administered by the Ohio Department of Development and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia. Chillicothe was awarded $35 million for the Yoctangee Park improvements, the award was announced in May 2024, and city staff, Ross County partners and project teams have worked since then to complete the improvements ahead of the program’s end-of-2026 deadline. Earlier pieces of the project, including the skatepark and the pickleball and tennis courts, have already opened with their own celebrations this fall.
The changes reach beyond the park’s lawns. Infrastructure upgrades include a new roundabout at Mill Street and Yoctangee Parkway, updates to the surrounding road network, a complete rebuild of Mulberry Street, a rebuild of the intersection of Riverside and Mulberry streets, and utility upgrades throughout the park — work aimed at making the park easier to reach and easier to use on its busiest days.
“These improvements represent an incredible investment in our community and the future of Chillicothe,” Mayor Luke Feeney said in the announcement. Feeney said the park has long been a gathering place for the community and that the project creates more opportunities for families to gather, enjoy recreational activities and take part in events throughout the year.
After the Nov. 6 ceremony, attendees are invited to tour the new facilities and experience the improvements firsthand, the city said. Activities continue through the afternoon Friday and into Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Chillicothe Farmers Market celebrates its first day in the new pavilion — a first test of the park’s new role as a year-round Saturday anchor downtown.
For residents, Nov. 6 is the moment a multi-year construction story becomes a finished park: a new stage for concerts and community events, a permanent Saturday home for the farmers market, a renovated Armory, and refreshed courts and fields, all in the park that has hosted Chillicothe gatherings for generations. Additional information is available at chillicotheoh.gov and on the City of Chillicothe’s social media pages, the city said.