WHAT: Miami Twp.-Dayton Mall JEDD board meeting;
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. today
WHERE: Miami Twp. Government Center, 2700 Lyons Road.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE PLAN
See highlights of the proposal or view the entire Dayton Mall area master plan online at MyDaytonDailyNews.com.
The group overseeing a plan to that could spur as much as $205 million in long-term investment in the Dayton Mall area is expected to spend at least $100,000 next year in implementing it.
The Miami Twp.-Dayton Mall Joint Economic Development District, which is expected to approve the master plan today, will likely allocate that much – and possibly more, depending on funding — in the initial phases the plan, said Tracy Williams, chairman of the JEDD board overseen by Miami Twp. and Miamisburg.
The 2.2-square mile district could support 1,200 multifamily residential units, more than 350 new jobs, 80,000 square feet of new retail and 30,000 square feet of office space, according to the plan’s final draft.
While the 145-page plan targets an area just south of the mall for “catalyst redevelopment,” much of the work will be “behind the scenes” in engineering, developing wayfinding signage and branding outlined in the plan, as well creating shared development standards near the mall area, city and township officials said.
“At this point,” said Williams, “it’s a matter of adopting it and beginning to move forward with plans to implement it by getting the regulations in place that are needed and also beginning to generate the developers to come in to help it move forward.”
As 2016 begins, “we’re really going to be working through what projects we can implement relatively quickly,” said Miami Twp. Community Development Director Chris Snyder, a JEDD board member.
Miamisburg Development Director Chris Fine agreed.
“We’ve talked about the need for common zoning regulations out there so the city and the township have very similar zoning regulations that will achieve the same type of development in both jurisdictions,” said Fine, also a member of the JEDD board. “And ultimately that’s how you’re going to achieve this sense of community out there without recognizing the jurisdictional boundaries.
“Our sign regulations are different. Our zoning regulations are different,” he added. “… Let’s see what we want to be and what we want that area to look like, and make sure our zoning regulations match that and work together.”
The 45-year-old mall accounts for more than $200 million in annual sales, and the master plan area employs more than 8,000 workers. The area has also been the target of criticism because of traffic congestion, lack of pedestrian access and its limited access for the disabled, among other issues.
The JEDD wants to zero in on particular areas, Snyder said.
“Our intention is to do some engineering analysis up in specific segments of the mall area next year to really look at how would we fit some of these improvements in the existing roadways up there – particularly along Kingsridge Drive for example,” he said. “We really need to see what the specific impact is going to be on (certain) properties to try to get sidewalk improvements and things like that in.”
The area directly south of the mall along Lyons Ridge Drive is one of three areas marked for catalytic sites. Miami Twp. “is already actively seeking developers who might be in a mixed use development in that location,” said master plan Project Manager Steve Kearney of Stantec’s Urban Places Group.
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