Park Layne offers a low-key suburban lifestyle just north of Dayton
Park Layne is a small, mostly residential community in west Clark County, located a few miles north of Dayton and west of Springfield. Once made up entirely of open fields, the land was platted for housing in the post-war years to serve Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and manufacturing plants in the Springfield-Dayton corridor. “It feels pretty tucked away when you’re there, but it's close enough to I-70 that you can get wherever you want pretty easily,” says Realtor and lifelong area resident Theresa Jennings of Re/Max Victory. “Not just the base: Huber Heights is just a few highway miles away, and Dayton and Springfield aren’t much further.”
Midcentury ranch-style homes and split-levels
Most of the community’s housing inventory is made up of ranch-style homes built between 1955 and 1975, along with smaller clusters of split-levels. Most properties sell for between $160,000 and $250,000. Although Park Layne is surrounded by farmland, most of its homes are tightly gridded, and yards are relatively modest.
Route 235 is the main retail corridor
Almost all of the restaurants and retail in Park Layne are located along the half-mile commercial strip of state Route 235 on the west side of the community. This includes the small local grocery store, Community Markets, and a selection of locally owned shops and restaurants. The best known of these is the longstanding Mel-O-Dee Restaurant, which offers traditional American food and a close-knit atmosphere. “Everyone knows Mel-O-Dee,” says Jennings. “It’s been around forever. You go in there, and half the people eating have known each other their whole lives. It’s a big part of the town.” Residents looking for additional retail generally head to the shopping centers of north Huber Heights, which are just 6 miles west along Interstate 70. Locals don’t have to go that far for
A collection of well-maintained local parks
The spacious Raynor Park sits in the center of the community, offering a modern playground, basketball courts and athletic fields. It’s complemented by the Medlake Baseball & Softball Association Field and Norris Farms Soccer Park on the south side of Park Layne. Residents looking to spend a little more time outside often head to the nearby Carriage Hill MetroPark, which is known for its horseback riding and historic farm, but also offers hiking trails and fishing. Additional fishing can be found along the Mad River, which runs just south of town.
Tecumseh Public Schools
The local public schools are overseen by the Tecumseh School District, which has a C-plus rating on Niche. Park Layne Elementary School has a B-plus rating, while both Tecumseh Middle School and Tecumseh High have C-pluses. Tecumseh High offers a College Credit Plus program that allows students to take courses at nearby colleges, including Wright State University in Dayton.
Local festivals in nearby Fairborn and New Carlisle
While Park Layne itself doesn’t have much of an event calendar, a number of sizeable annual festivals can be found in surrounding communities. These include New Carlisle’s Heritage of Flight Festival, known for its parade of planes, and the Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival.
Nearby I-70 makes for easy commuting
State Route 235 is Park Layne’s major road. It connects to Interstate 70, which passes just a couple of miles south of the community, as well as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a major local employer about 5 miles away. Park Layne is roughly equidistant from Downtown Dayton and central Springfield: both are roughly 15 miles away by car. It’s about 14 miles to Dayton International Airport, which offers direct flights to 12 locations around the country and hosts the well-known Dayton Air Show every June. There’s no public transportation available in Park Layne, and people generally rely on personal vehicles to get around.
