Mixed-use development pitched again for site bordering Dublin cemetery

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- A prominent central Ohio real estate firm is moving forward with plans to build a mixed-use townhome development next to a cemetery near Dublin's Bridge Park.

Dublin-based Crawford Hoying's latest proposal calls for the construction of nine clusters of townhomes across 6.77 acres on both sides of Monterey Drive, to the left of the city cemetery. The development would also feature four commercial buildings totaling about 19,400 square feet of retail space with 2,960 square feet of patio space.

The townhomes would feature 53 units with four clusters to the left of the city cemetery and the remaining five clusters across Monterey Drive. Crawford's proposal notes that a 0.62-acre tract would be dedicated to the city for the expansion of the cemetery.

The firm's previous submittal which was reviewed by the Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission in December called for two mixed-use apartment buildings and seven clusters of 40 townhomes. The new proposal also changes the height of the buildings along West Bridge Street from two to three stories to one-and-a-half stories, eliminating the previously proposed office or multi-family residential uses on the upper floors.

During a July 18 planning meeting, Commissioner Gary Alexander said he's "generally" supportive of the plan and noted he prefers this proposal over the previous one.

"I like the way you've taken the green space and created a buffer to the south," said Alexander. "That's more sensitive to the neighborhood properties."

Commissioners Jamie Chinnock and Rebecca Call, chair of the committee, echoed Alexander and said Crawford's vision is moving in the right direction. Still, Call noted that the proposal needs a lot of tinkering and voiced concern that the commercial aspect of the design should be grander.

"This parcel is setting the stage You are the first element in this area to re-envision what Dublin's gonna look like in 20 years," Call said. "This to me looks a little sleepy for its position. It looks like it belongs in more residential and not along a four-lane roadway."