The city is submitting the projects to the region’s Priority Development and Advocacy Committee process (PDAC), which is overseen by the Dayton Development Coalition. That panel establishes a list of priority projects to seek state and federal funding for — projects that benefit the economic development, health, education or quality of life in the region, according to the DDC.
The Uptown plan is a multi-year phased project to improve access, parking, business growth, green space and entertainment in the center of town.
The city is in the process of revising the $11.4 million Uptown plan’s Phase I, which the PDAC application will target.
Phase I’s “assessment is ongoing and we hope to have a recommendation before the end of this year,” Centerville Development Director Michael Norton-Smith said last week.
Officials want Uptown’s initial work to put greater focus on parking and traffic while lessening the day-to-day impact on existing businesses, he said.
The city does not yet have any firm amounts of the funds sought for each project, officials said.
Centerville applied for $850,000 in PDAC funds for Stubbs Park and was awarded $800,000 late last year for work on part of its $3.6 million master plan. The state money will fund upgrades that include the 60-acre park’s amphitheater, restrooms and parking.
But the awarding of that Stubbs funding is not a common timeline for the process, said Norton-Smith.
“We were fortunate with the Stubbs project,” he said. “But on an annual basis there is no guarantee that a project ... would receive any funding.”
Priority projects would obtain funding when it is available through the state capital or federal budgets, Norton-Smith added.
The city is assessing specific improvements for Benham’s Grove, said Kate Bostdorff, Centerville communications director.
“Any time you’re dealing with a structure that is historic like that, you want to be very diligent about preservation, but also make investments that make sense,” Bostdorff said.
The city last week approved a measure to contract with LWC Inc. of Dayton for $87,335 for a Benham’s Grove master plan.
The city acquired the land in 1991 and renovated its facilities, which opened the following year as a community gathering place for events ranging from weddings to art shows.
Among its features are the Gerber House, cottage, barn and gazebo, according to its website.
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