Land owned by Wayne Carlise to the cities of Fort Thomas and Newport is adjacent to Memorial Parkway. 

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by Robin Gee, city council beat editor

At the October meeting of the Fort Thomas City Council on Monday night, council members and residents got the news that well-known local developer and philanthropist Wayne Carlisle will donate his property along Memorial Parkway to the city for use as a public park.

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The property borders Newport and is located on Memorial near Stardust Point. Carlisle owns about 24 acres.

Chris Manning, an environmental planning consultant to the city, made the announcement. Through his company, Human Nature, he has helped the city through its comprehensive plan implementation and several other development projects. He said he had some exciting news for the city.

“A property that has been on our radar for a long time, and we’ve often said we should try to acquire it. The property owner is donating that property to the city to turn it into a park,” he announced.

Manning acknowledge that there were some geotechnical limitations in terms of access that could affect the various uses of the property that will need to be addressed, but “Right now, it’s a time to celebrate. It’s a big moment in our history,” he said.

Mayor Eric Haas explained how the donation came about. 

“We were discussing pickleball courts and where could we put pickleball courts and where is there flat land in Fort Thomas, and we talked about the property on Memorial Parkway. So I said, well, I know Wayne, I’ll give him a call.”

Haas called Carlisle the next day with the intention to find out if the city might be able to purchase the land, but the conversation led to Carlisle’s decision to donate the property to the city for a park.

The mayor said he and other city leaders want very much to honor the donor by naming the property Carlisle Park.

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He listed out several ideas for uses in the park. Fort Thomas Matters will share more on the project as this story unfolds.