Junction Neighborhood Master Plan

Despite years of discouragement, Junction, one of Toledo’s oldest neighborhoods, remains vibrant with optimism for the future.

Key Findings & Challenges

The Junction neighborhood, sitting within the heart of the greater Toledo area, originally grew as an industrial hub that fueled Toledo’s working class. As Toledo’s numbers decreased, industries that bordered the neighborhood started to leave pushing people that could afford to leave to do so. As with many distressed neighborhoods, Junction has experienced a continued cycle of redlining and disinvestment that can be immediately felt when driving over I-75 which was constructed in the 70s and used as an urban renewal project that divided the Junction neighborhood from the core of downtown Toledo.

Vacant land continues to increase in acreage as an additional 250 homes within the neighborhood were slated for demolition in 2018. This only adds to the 60% vacant land currently existing within Junction, and the environmental contamination from abandoned manufacturing sites and the lead-contaminated soils that exist in the residential areas of Junction. With no real-time solution in sight, or resources to implement solutions, one of the most distressed neighborhoods Toledo has, until recently, grabbed up any project that comes its way instead of looking towards a comprehensive plan that would provide a more sustainable future. Consequently, Junction as an overall neighborhood has little to show for the money and effort that has been put into the neighborhood.

Solutions

A huge positive for Junction is that there are 27 community-identified strong anchors that already exist within the neighborhood. By building on these anchors and strong networks, Junction will be able to stabilize existing deterrents and build on five actionable goals identified by the Junction Coalition. These five strategic goals include: enhance the organizational capacity of the Junction Coalition, expand business development and employment opportunities, renovate existing housing and develop new housing, enhance open space and recreation, and enhance public transportation throughout the neighborhood.