By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
The city of Groveport is looking west and north for redevelopment along two of the main roadway corridors into the town.
On June 25, Groveport City Council unanimously approved the acceptance of the Gateway Corridor Plan.
“This allows us to start making changes in our city codes,” said Groveport City Administrator Marsha Hall.
“It got to be done,” said Councilwoman Jean Ann Hilbert.
The plan arose following a study conducted by consultant James Hartzler at a cost of $8,800 to conduct a study of the Hamilton Road corridor between U.S. 33 and Bixby Road; and the Groveport Road corridor from State Route 317 west to Swisher Road.
Groveport Finance Director/Assistant Administrator Jeff Green said the Groveport Community Improvement Corporation market study of the city being conducted this summer will also take the Hamilton Road and Groveport Road corridors into consideration.
The Hamilton Road corridor is currently a mix of schools, warehouses, offices, township government, and other general commercial uses.
The west Groveport Road corridor is a mix of warehouses, small businesses, and residences.
Green previously stated the Gateway Corridor Plan will help the city to address: recommended land use, appropriate zoning, the overall aesthetic, what types of commercial development would best complement the existing industrial development, and what the best uses are for the vacant land on Hamilton Road and Groveport/Saltzgaber Roads.
The plan’s recommendations
Hamilton Road corridor:
•Adaptive reuse of existing industrial buildings.
•Establish a link between Homer Ohio Lane and Higgins Boulevard and extend Firehouse Lane.
•Potential uses for the 40 acre AEP site: school use, AEP expansion, or flex space office/industrial (with flexible interior layouts and configurations). It is estimated around 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of building space – most likely in several structures – could fit on the site.
•Repurpose the former K-Mart warehouse to multi-tenant flex space or as a last mile delivery distribution site.
•Plan for traffic signals at the Hamilton Road/Homer Ohio/Venture Place intersection.
•Consider small scale service uses such as casual eating, banks, and offices.
•Discourage open outside storage.
•Create a prominent landscaped entry feature for the northern entry to the corridor at Williams Road.
Groveport Road corridor:
This corridor features two areas for redevelopment: Groveport Road from Swisher Road to State Route 317; and Saltzgaber Road from Groveport Road south to Toy Road. The 30 acre tract on the east side of Saltzgaber Road at Groveport Road is “one of the few remaining vacant parcels in the immediate area,” according to the Gateway Corridor Plan.
•Focus the redevelopment of the Groveport Road corridor and set the stage for future Saltzgaber Road development once accessibility issues are resolved.
•Require all new industrial and commercial projects to include improvements to all streets within and adjacent to the district to address access issues.
•Establish an annexation plan and provide for extension of utilities along the full length of the Groveport Road corridor after annexation.
•Commercial development along Groveport Road west of Greenpointe Drive.
•Create a new overlay zoning district for properties abutting Groveport Road with special requirements for setbacks, buffering, access, entry point spacing, and landscaping.
•Review and expand the uses allowed for the area adjacent to the State Route 317/Groveport Road intersection to include commercial uses that complement the adjacent warehouse development as accessory or conditional uses.
Green said the city is considering commercial development that would be compatible with existing industrial and other existing commercial development. This could include restaurants, gas stations, possibly last-mile logistics providers and possibly mixed-use flex space.
“It’s really just a blending of existing development with compatible new development,” said Green.
