Existing for more than two decades as Heritage Center Park, supported by Mount Vernon’s Rotary Club, this small green space included trees, benches, and a lawn. The sale of the adjacent car wash to the Mount Vernon Development Company, which gifted the property to the City of Mount Vernon, and the concurrent redevelopment of four other downtown parking lots, created an opportunity to enhance this space. It was redeveloped in support of Mount Vernon’s Downtown Plan through partnerships between The Ariel Foundation, the city’s engineering office, and the Shade Tree Commission.

Renamed Riverview Park, this public-private space is a welcome addition to the downtown corridor, framing a picturesque view from the Kokosing River’s northern bank. The site provides free parking, consistent branding/wayfinding signage, additional green space, and bicycle and pedestrian access. It features:

• Colonial brick columns and black wrought iron fencing, consistent with the other renovated properties
• Bicycle racks as artistic sculptures, consistent throughout the downtown area
• A tiered amphitheater-style seating area overlooking the river, facing a city walkway under the historic viaduct bridge plus a foot bridge lit with colorful LEDs in the evening hours

Ariel-Foundation Park Conservancy assists the city to maintain the property. It has enhanced the public’s connection to the Ohio to Erie Trail system, local trails systems, the downtown, and Ariel-Foundation Park. This project demonstrates that riverfront redevelopment is possible in communities of all sizes.

Over several years, The Ariel Foundation has supported aesthetic and corridor improvements to the public-facing areas surrounding Heartland Commerce Park (HCP). The industrial park was once the site of energy systems manufacturing plants. Located at the confluence of the Sandusky and West High Street corridors, HCP now has parking for nearly 700 vehicles, an employee/public plaza on the grass lot at Sandusky and Chestnut streets, and aesthetic enhancements, helping to transform a large vacant site into a revitalized, productive hub for manufacturing, retail, and office space.

In 2020 the Knox County Land Bank acquired the former Mount Vernon News building on the corner of Vine and Gay streets in downtown Mount Vernon. Six years later, a vibrant multi-use facility is a hive of activity.

The busiest area of the building is Founders Food Hall, opened in mid-2026, offering diverse dining with seven kitchens, a full-service bar, duckpin bowling, and a four-season room with open-air seating.

The lower level is occupied by Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s engineering and computer science programs. The HW Hub, named in memory of Ariel Corporation’s former president, Hunter Wright, opened in 2025 with well-equipped labs and offices, funded by The Ariel Foundation.

Likewise, The Ariel Foundation provided support to the Knox County Land Bank to transform the building façade, including large windows, new brick, and cornices to better align with the historic downtown.