Powell allots $550,000 for possible downtown park redevelopment

POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) -- Powell is taking the first steps to redevelop a 12-acre park as part of a larger project to redesign the city's downtown.

The city is spending about $550,000 to research how Village Green Park at 47 Hall St. could be overhauled to best serve as a nucleus to a revitalized downtown, according to a resolution passed by city council on Aug. 20. Officials will collaborate with Pizzuti Solutions to the gather the information and collect feedback from various groups in the community.

"This is a plan to set the table for potential redevelopment," said Andy White, the city manager of Powell. "We're going to take an inventory of the Village Green and come up with concepts that will help us make better informed decision that will strengthen the downtown core."

This initial research phase will be a 10-month process that will provide city council with responses from community surveys, an analysis of Powell's existing conditions and a summary report with essential data. City council can then use these new tools when deciding where and how much to invest in traffic, infrastructure, facilities and more for the area.

White argued Powell's population growth during the last decade requires the city to address transportation improvements, parking, amenities and other economic drivers. He said this resolution is the city's "green light to begin a conversation with the community about the most important exercise in this community's history."

"If we want the downtown area to be enhanced, it's up to us to plan and fund it," echoed Tom Counts, the mayor of Powell. "We've seen too many opportunities pass because we didn't have the ability to make a difference. The opportunity is here now, and I don't take that lightly."

Columbus-based co-working business COhatch has also been recruited to transform a section of Powell's downtown district. Plans call for COhatch to demolition of a former office building at 50 E. Olentangy St., a 0.63-acre site where they will construct a 13,900-square-foot location. The three-story building will be home to a rooftop bar, private offices, meeting rooms, an event space and more.

A Powell resident, COhatch CEO Matt Davis said the opportunity allows him to collaborate with local businesses to find solutions for decades-old complaints. Davis caught the attention of Powell officials after COhatch unveiled plans to transform 2.85 acres along North Riverview Street near the Scioto River in Dublin.

"I hope to work with all the small businesses and help them make their jobs easier, help them thrive as well as we do this," Davis said during a meeting with Powell's planning commission earlier this year. "This city's been unbelievably gracious in working with solutions with some of the landowners."