TAKE A LOOK AT THE PLAN
See highlights of the proposal or view the entire Dayton Mall area master plan online at MyDaytonDailyNews.com.
A 16-acre village center that includes housing, retail and a public park is a highlight of a plan to revitalize the Dayton Mall area.
The village is part of an "ambitious" proposal outlined in a plan that details the potential to spur more than $200 million in new investment — including 1,200 housing units and up to 350 jobs — to the area around the intersection of Ohio 725 and Ohio 741.
In the final draft of the Dayton Mall area master plan, the village is part of a proposal between Lyons Road and the mall that includes 400 residential units, 35,000 square feet of retail space and a 95,000-square-foot park.
“It’s a fairly substantial new open space, green space,” said master plan Project Manager Steve Kearney of Stantec’s Urban Places Group. “And it is — from our perspective — what we think would be the most exciting and the biggest impact in terms of creating this town center, which was a major goal.
“All of these developments will require the willing partnership of these multiple property owners,” he added. “What we developed were scenarios in which there would be interest by the property owners in partnering to create this development, meaning the value of the property would increase in this development scenario.”
The final draft is set to be presented Tuesday to the Dayton Mall-Joint Economic Development District Board. The panel overseen by Miami Twp. and Miamisburg hired Stantec 14 months ago to develop a strategy to keep the area around the 44-year-old mall vibrant with short- and long-term projects.
Surrounded by Miamisburg, Washington Twp. and West Carrollton, the Miami Twp. complex accounts for more than $200 million in annual sales, and the 2.2-square-mile master plan area employs more than 8,000 workers.
Yet the area has never been the subject of a long-term plan, said Miami Twp. Community Development Director Chris Snyder, a member of the JEDD board. The area has also been the target of criticism because of traffic congestion and its limited access for the disabled, among other issues.
While much of the plan will be driven by the market, Snyder said, he noted it was a “viable” approach.
“Time will tell,” he said. “But we definitely have the framework set to make a lot of good things happen out there.”
The 145-page final draft follows multiple public sessions and extensive interviews with surrounding business operators, officials said.
“I think it’s a good plan,” said Miamisburg Development Director Chris Fine, a member of the JEDD board. “I think it’s somewhat ambitious. But I think you have to set your sights high … and show people the possibilities of what a redeveloped Dayton Mall area can look like and get people excited about that.”
The Lyons Ridge Drive area is one of three catalytic sites outlined in the plan. It is thought to be the first of those areas where redevelopment can more easily occur because the township owns about 3 acres there, documents show.
The others include Mad River Station at the intersection of Mad River Road and Mall Ring Road; and Prestige Summit, a combination of the area along Prestige Plaza Drive south of Ohio 725 and Mall Woods Drive north of Ohio 725.
The village center proposal is one of two redevelopment concepts for the Lyons Ridge area. It is the “preferred scenario by the community” based on public feedback, but is “more expensive with a higher level of risk to a developer,” Kearney said.
It would include splitting Lyons Ridge just north of Lyons Road and creating a park across a wide boulevard. The park’s north border would be Mall Ring Road, just south of the Dayton Mall.
A scaled down version of the village center includes about 9 acres on the north side of Lyons Ridge with no split in the road, according to the plan.
It would include 200 residential units, 31,000 square feet of retail space, an 18,000 square foot park and – Kearney said – a higher return on investment for the developer.
“It highlights the strength of the market here, which is one of the pieces of information that we uncovered that again drove a lot of the decisions,” he said. “But also shows the promise of redeveloping this area.”
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