By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
Groveport City Council’s vote on a proposal by the Pizzuti Companies to build two warehouses on South Hamilton Road has been postponed until June 24.
Council also plans to discuss the project further with the developer at council’s June 17 committee of the whole meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the municipal building located at 655 Blacklick St.
Concerns about the potential for increased traffic on South Hamilton Road generated by the project prompted council to postpone the vote on the final development plan for the two warehouses. Also, some council members expressed concern that the city’s residents do not want more warehouses in that area.
The postponement allows Pizzuti Companies officials and city staff to further review the traffic issues and explore options.
The Pizzuti Companies wants to build two warehouses on 44.4 acres at 4500 S. Hamilton Road. One warehouse would be 324,000 square feet and the other would be 252,000 square feet. Groveport Development Director Jeff Green said the property has a 15 year property tax abatement.
Phil Rasey, vice president of development for the Pizzuti Companies, said the buildings would be “last mile” distribution centers with multiple tenants.
If the two warehouses are built, traffic going in and out of the development would use the traffic signal at South Hamilton Road (State Route 317) and Higgins Boulevard/Director’s Boulevard. A traffic study was done and the plan calls for improvements to and modernization of the intersection.
Green said existing zoning allows for warehouses to be built on the site and that the buildings fit with the city’s Gateway Corridor Plan. He said if retail businesses were built there it would create continuous traffic all day on South Hamilton Road.
The city’s Gateway Corridor Plan addresses redevelopment along two of the main roadway corridors into town: the South Hamilton Road corridor between U.S. 33 and Bixby Road; and the Groveport Road corridor from State Route 317 west to Swisher Road.
The Gateway Corridor Plan cites potential uses that include an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of building space on the 44.4 acre 4500 S. Hamilton Road site.
When asked how The Pizzuti Companies’ proposal fits in with the city’s vision for the Gateway Corridor Plan in the Hamilton Road corridor, Green said, “The developers are taking great pains with landscaping, buffers and other site features to create a more attractive and less industrial appearance. Given the fact that these buildings will be situated between other similar structures, it will be compatible.”
