Work on phase one will begin in the Tipp Plaza area, looking at a plan for redevelopment, Councilman Ryan Liddy told fellow members of Tipp City Council recently. He sits on the CIC board along with Council President Kathryn Huffman. Further work will involve the area west from the Tipp Plaza along West Main Street to County Road 25A.
The city refers to that part of town as the uptown area. Some of the properties along West Main Street west of the interstate are in the township while others are in the county.
“The overall goal is to get a sense of unified development within all of those areas. I don’t think Woodard is going to say anything can be guaranteed,” said Matt Spring, city development director. “I think the idea is to at least reach out to the various property owners beyond the plaza to see if there is a way to get them perhaps involved in overall planning process as it moves forward.”
A unified development plan would replace what has been a “hodge podge” of development in the area in which “if you had the money and the zoning you can build whatever you want there,” Spring said. The results has been a number of banks and gas stations. “The unified development goal could bring entertainment, drinking and eating establishments … more fun things,” he said.
The city in late 2022 hired consultant Joseph Tuss of Dayton to look at the Tipp Plaza area. His recommendations included hiring a firm to help develop a plan.
Council for a number of years has frequently heard complaints about the Tipp Plaza parking lot, vacancies throughout the property and the property’s overall appearance.
As part of its efforts in the uptown area, the city last year purchased the former Tipp Florist property at 1400 W. Main St. The city said the purchase would be in the best interest of the city “to have it developed in a way that benefits the community.”
The property recently was annexed. How the property will be used has not been decided.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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