Urban-style mixed-use development could come from building demolition
The vacant former carry-out in downtown Powell is scheduled to be razed in 2023.
City Council approved an agreement last month that would see grant funds from the State of Ohio support the demolition project at 35 N. Liberty St., which is currently owned by builder/developer STZ Ventures, LLC, per the Delaware County Auditor’s website.
City Manager Andrew White said the building has been vacant for about three years and described the structure as “in bad shape.”
White said the building is scheduled for demolition in the spring and summer of next year. City spokesperson Rolanda Castle said that, following demolition, the site would be available for parking temporarily with the intent to add a mixed-use development on the site and several adjacent properties also owned by the developer.
White acknowledged no plan is currently before the city for the site. Zenios Michael Zenios, president and CEO of STZ Ventures, said the company intends to bring a plan to the city in early 2023.
White said the city and developer in partnership were awarded just over $200,000 in grant funds toward the project through the Ohio Department of Development’s (ODD) building demolition and site revitalization corporation, known less formally as the Ohio Land Bank Association.
Delaware County Commissioner Jeff Benton, who sits on the board of the Delaware County Land Bank, explained that county land banks must oversee the administration and awarding of grants, per the state law that made these grants available through the ODD.
"When we learned about a year ago that these funds were going to be made available, we reached out to all local jurisdictions – cities, villages and townships – to let them know," Benton said.
Benton said the funding was given final approval from the ODD in October.
Benton said the Powell project is one of six in the county that is to be supported by this funding.
More about land banks:County Land Reutilization Corporations: Land Banks
Delaware County Treasurer Don Rankey said the project was one of several approved for the county in what is the new program’s first round of grants.
“The idea is to facilitate the demolition of properties that are not providing a lot of property taxes and put them in position for redevelopment,” Rankey said.
White called the public/private partnership effort “economic-development gardening.”
“We’re planting a seed, which is the demolition cost, and ultimately what we’re getting is a clean site that speeds up redevelopment and generates a healthy property-tax stream and employment,” White said.
The property and adjacent parcels held by STZ Ventures are in a “showcase location near the four-corner intersection in downtown,” he said.
ICYMI:$18.8 million in infrastructure upgrades planned in Powell through 2027
Zenios said a development plan has not been finalized, but that the vision is to create a mixed-use area that would include urban-style residential with restaurants and other service businesses.
“Living in town seems to be a thing where people want to be,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for mixed-use (development) that serves the needs of Powell.”
Zenios said the carry-out site has been on his company’s radar for a decade or more, and that the company had made an offer the previous time the site was sold.
STZ was subsequently able to acquire the site in 2019, and then set about “knocking on doors and having conversations” with neighboring property owners.
Zenios, whose company has done work in the city before, said he is excited to work with city staff and elected officials to “do something that enhances and complements what the city is doing and what we have done in the city.”
Rankey said there have been some delays in processing the funds, attributable to the fact that this is the first-ever disbursement of funds in the program’s history.
White said that would not delay the North Liberty Street project, as the city budgeted the funding and is to use the grant funds as reimbursement.
Castle said the city’s police department and Liberty Township Fire Department have been using the structure for training and will continue to do so until and during demolition.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Urban-style mixed-use development could come from building demolition
