It’s impossible to ignore the rapid transformation of Upper Arlington. Construction sites have become a constant presence with high-rises and giant parking garages filling our peripheral vision as we drive down the street. It seems like every day a new structure emerges—one that wasn’t there just 24 hours before.
Tremont Center is more vibrant than ever, with the addition of Littleton’s and long-standing Upper Arlington staples receiving modern facelifts. The long-anticipated community center is taking shape. The Coventry, along with its towering companion—the parking garage—is fully operational. Lane Lofts now occupy office spaces that were previously abandoned. These developments are only a glimpse of what’s to come, signaling a clear trend: Upper Arlington is growing. With that, you can’t help but ask, what is it about this city that continues to attract new residents?
Upper Arlington has always been known for its top-ranked schools and strong sense of community. Upper Arlington Schools is one of just six school districts in the state of Ohio to have earned five star ratings in all categories — achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation and early literacy — for three years in a row. The city’s appeal extends beyond just its school system. The recent wave of development suggests a shift—one that is making Upper Arlington a more desirable place for new families and empty nesters. The addition of high-end apartments and new stores reflects a growing demand for urban convenience without sacrificing the suburban charm that has long defined the community.
EXPANSION
Upper Arlington is landlocked, which means the city cannot expand past its pre-existing boundaries. The only choice for expansion is to build upward. However, some residents fear that the input of these living spaces will cause major traffic issues. Nic Fortkamp, Upper Arlington alum and current Education Foundation board member, gave his input.
“Central Ohio is exploding with population, and there’s no way around it, and how UA fits their puzzle piece into the larger picture, I think that’s going to be a big kind of lift in the next five years. So the conversation about how do we grow in density in a way that keeps our sense of Upper Arlington.” Fortkamp said.
As Central Ohio continues to expand, Upper Arlington has become an increasingly attractive destination for new residents. With this growth, housing plays a crucial role in shaping the city’s future. As demand for residential space rises, city leaders and developers are focusing on key areas for potential expansion and redevelopment. One such area is Henderson Road, where significant plans are already in motion to accommodate the evolving needs of the community.
“Housing and what that looks like in the future is big, especially around Henderson Road, which is already having all their plans,” Fortkamp said.
Similar to the expansion projects on West Lane Avenue and at Kingsdale, Upper Arlington has started to work on a new site, West Henderson road. In2022, The City of Upper Arlington finalized the zoning process of West Henderson Road to become a part of the city. The project “Envision Henderson” will expand Upper Arlington’s boundaries by 12.5 acres. This is not done often as Upper Arlington is landlocked and does not expand its boundaries. Recently, the City of Upper Arlington announced a study running from Stonehaven Drive/Chevy Chase Court on the west to Reed Road on the east to gather community input on the project. According to upperarlingtonoh, for much of 2024, the City is focusing on its northern edge as it works to develop its “Envision Henderson” plan. Envision Henderson will allow Upper Arlington to maximize economic development opportunities, and build additional housing.
HISTORY OF UPPER ARLINGTON
Upper Arlington has expanded, and some of the “old” is being replaced with the “new.” New additions to Upper Arlington have created more condensed neighborhoods and areas. For this reason, the Upper Arlington Historical Society works to preserve what Upper Arlington traditions have served for many families.
The historical society ensures that a sense of community will always remain no matter how populated Upper Arlington becomes. It has kept the heritage and traditions of Upper Arlington strong.
Brendan King spoke on the Upper Arlington Historical Society. He was a part of the city council for eight years before his term came to an end. The last three years of his term he was president of the city council, otherwise known as the mayor of Upper Arlington. Currently, he is a member of the Upper Arlington Historical Society and president of the board.
“I went to Upper Arlington and liked the history teachers I had along with the subject matter,” King said. “Being involved in the historical society allows me to continue to learn and enjoy learning.”
The Upper Arlington Historical Society’s is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 and collects archives, shares historical information, promotes historic preservation and serves as a community resource according to the Upper Arlington Historical Society website. Its mission is to discover, preserve and celebrate heritage, both within the Upper Arlington community and beyond.
On the Upper Arlington Historical Society website, there is a repeated phrase of a “Cherished past and a golden future.” King spoke to this phrase and what it means to his job on the Historical Society.
“I think we take our past very seriously. I can tell you that when I was your age, I hoped and thought that I would want to live back here. Upper Arlington is super proud of our history and what Upper Arlington is, what it was, and hopefully what it will be,” King said.
King graduated in 1995 and has remained a prevalent community leader. He has raised his family in Upper Arlington and had a close relationship with the community.
“We have a great sense of community. There are a number of reasons for that, but one of them is having the school district and city that have the same boundaries. Grandview and Bexley are the only other two school districts that have the same boundaries as the city in central Ohio. When you think about the Olentangy’s and the Dublin’s and Worthington, Hilliard and Westerville, they all have school districts that are much larger than the city itself,” King said. “That is one of our big unifying things, and it always will be.”
King also mentioned that another factor to the strong sense of community is having a singular high school. Upper Arlington High School students unify freshman year after Jones Middle School and Hastings Middle School classes are combined. After four years of being together, the relationships formed in high school are what bring many back to Upper Arlington.
“However, Upper Arlington is maybe not for all [alumni]. It’s sort of a unique place full of smart, high-achieving, aspirational people that want the best services, the best schools and the best community in central Ohio,” King said.
A majority of Upper Arlington’s great qualities come from its rich history and consistently strong legacy. The desire for being knowledgeable and aware of history has recently been increasing in the community.
“From the perspective of the Historical Society, we are busier than ever [with building the relationship of community and history]. We do more presentations and have more people reaching out to us than ever before. That just grows every year,” King said. “We are finding that people have an increased desire to learn about history, and hopefully we are helping them.”
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Beyond its history and infrastructure, Upper Arlington’s community spirit is what makes it unique. The city’s affluence has influenced student perspectives, as noted by Lis McNealey Davies, financial advisor and president of The Arlington Group Investment Consulting.
“I think that regardless of where parents are financially, students are able to see that there’s a lot of opportunities out there in the world, being surrounded by the various levels of wealth that are here in Arlington versus some other communities,” she said.
Davies’ main focus is on estate planning and developing long-term financial security for families.
“We focus a lot on getting involved [in the community]. Just giving back. And what that means is we can sponsor events, which we do, [we] sponsor sports programs within the high school, music arts, but then also being there so that if maybe someone calls and has a question, you can still help them, even though they may not have the need for you to manage their assets, but you can help them with their goals. So even sort of giving back pro bono, we do that as well,” Davies said.
She acknowledged that sponsoring, whether high school activities or in the community, is a big aspect of the culture in well-off communities, and a way for people to connect with the community.
“I think that’s specific to affluent neighborhoods. There’s a lot of people who donate, but then I think there’s people who donate who like to have their names on things and there are people who donate who would prefer to be anonymous. I do think within affluent neighborhoods, there’s both,” she said.
Regardless of the reason behind the donations, the support offered in Upper Arlington affects many different aspects of the community and high school. Current middle school girls lacrosse coach and former high school girls lacrosse coach Wendy Pinta has seen the impact on her programs.
Pinta started as a coach for Upper Arlington as a head JV lacrosse coach in the early ’90s and hasn’t slowed down since.
In the early days of Pinta’s career with the girls’ lacrosse program, she was focused on expanding the program and improving the equipment and facilities for the girls she coached. When she needed help getting things off the ground, she looked no further than parents and fellow community members.
“There were a lot of [people] who were just looking for somebody to do the dirty work of getting the programs going. They were just so receptive and so helpful in terms of wanting to start both [programs], you know, middle school and also the youth,” she said. “There was a huge groundswell of community support in Upper Arlington for the [lacrosse] programs. So it, in many ways, made my job easy.” She said.
Support was always readily available, Pinta explained.
“I was never told no, never, not once. It was always ‘OK, what can we do to help you?’ You know, ‘what do you see that you need for your program? And how can we be helpful in helping you to attain that?’” she said.
The community support found in Upper Arlington is something that makes the city unique and something Pinta doesn’t forget.
“UA has a strong community core. There’s a strong family feeling here. There’s great support for the coaches. Many of my colleagues in other districts have not felt that same way,” she explained. “I don’t think you can have a successful program without having people like your cheerleaders, you know, having strong supporters that are working hard behind the scenes to help you be successful.”
LACROSSE LEGACY
Lacrosse is more than just a sport in Upper Arlington– it’s a tradition. Upper Arlington offers many opportunities for youth to grow academically, socially and athletically in a safe and friendly environment. Upper Arlington’s lacrosse program is a way children of all ages can engage in hard work and dedication with their best friends.
Brett Diehl began his lacrosse career in seventh grade at Jones Middle School. Diehl went on to graduate from Upper Arlington in 1985 and walked on the Ohio State lacrosse team for two years. After deciding to come back to Upper Arlington to coach, he bounced around a couple teams before ultimately going back to his middle school roots and became head coach of the Jones boys team in 1989. He is now entering his 36th season there.
During his coaching career, Diehl and his colleagues wanted to expand the lacrosse program for K-6. In 2000, he helped form the Upper Arlington Lacrosse Association (UALA), an intramural league designed to develop passion for lacrosse in kids and keep them committed to playing in Upper Arlington.
“Our kids were going elsewhere to play, and so we just decided to meet everybody here, start our own league,” Diehl said.
This was a building block for a strong foundation for one of Upper Arlington’s strongest sports programs. The men’s team has 17 state championships and the women’s team has 10 according to OHSAA.
When asked about the goals of the program, Diehl finds that the most important successes are found in achieving goals and being part of a supportive team.
“I think it’s great for kids to get out there and be part of something, you know, work for common goals. We try to provide an environment for these kids to try something new and find something that they really love to do,” Diehl said. “I think we’ve been successful with providing that. We see kids that want to come back and coach, whether it’s with our youth or with me at the middle school level.”
Diehl highlights a high retention rate as players want to stay in the program to coach, similar to how Diehl’s career went. This process keeps coaching strong for years to come.
“There’s always new things to learn, so I can pass that on to my coaches, being open-minded, talking to other coaches, just making sure that we’re innovative and relevant,” Diehl said.
A big part of middle school coaching is to prepare players for the high school level. Some of which go straight to varsity as freshmen. Diehl said he works closely with the high school staff to make sure everything is in place once they’re handed over to them.
“We call it the nest, just to develop those young kids so they know what the expectation is going forward so they can be successful at the high school level,” Diehl said.
Upper Arlington lacrosse members consider themselves a “family.” Deihl believes it stemmed from a great athletic experience and the advances of maturity in young men.
“I think a lot of that’s due to tradition and the success that we’ve had. But, you know, that just breeds enthusiasm in everybody coming together and trying to provide our kids with the best opportunity to be successful on and off the field,” Diehl said.
The development in all-around success of their players is a common objective for the program. Diehl’s goals for the future are to continue the strong foundation he started in 1989.
“[The goal is] to continue to provide great opportunities for our young men to grow and become productive citizens,” Diehl said.
With a good supply of coaches ready to continue to build on Upper Arlington lacrosse, many might wonder about their willingness to pour so much of their lives into youth sports. Diehl has loved the game and spending time with young players who have the same love he once had playing lacrosse.
“I love the sport. I love hanging out with the guys, working with our coaches, just being a part of it,” Diehl said. “I’m blessed to be able to coach in this community and have the support and opportunity to work with these great players and great guys.”
Coach Diehl, a well-appreciated coach, is one of the many reasons kids want to rush to sign up for Upper Arlington lacrosse and be a part of a community that fosters every aspect of creativity, athletic development and tradition.
TRADITION
With top-ranked schools, safe neighborhoods and a thriving local economy, Upper Arlington offers the perfect balance between suburban tranquility and modern convenience. What has truly set Upper Arlington apart in recent years is its evolving sense of community and engagement, brightening the future ahead.
“I would say it’s exciting [living in Upper Arlington], and I wouldn’t have said that two or three years ago. I think our community has gone through some kind of growing pains.
The recent transparency and collaboration among city leaders, residents and community organizations has created a more inclusive and engaged environment, making Upper Arlington a desirable home for new families. As the city continues to grow, leaders prioritize making a commitment to listen to and support the community as much as possible.
“A lot of the legwork has been done to hear what the community is wanting,” Fortkamp said.
Growth is the path to a thriving and sustainable future for Upper Arlingtons community. No matter how much the city expands, its foundation remains: a place where people don’t just live, but belong in the community.
