“We are pleased that Greene County included this demolition project in their overall grant, and look forward to completion,” said Xenia city Development Director Steve Brodsky.
The demolition is part of a $124.8 million plan to turn Xenia Towne Square, located in the heart of the city’s historic downtown, from a largely vacant shopping strip into a plaza with dedicated spots for restaurants, shops, retail, and residential housing. The northern part of the plaza, where the old Fulmer is, will be turned into apartments and townhomes, per city documents.
Part of the plan involves demolishing the rest of the building along Church Street, Brodsky said. However, existing businesses in those storefronts will need to be relocated before additional demolition can happen.
The Xenia Towne Square redevelopment has a goal of re-establishing portions of the historic street grid to improve walkability and connect it to the rest of the downtown area, with on-street parking on West Church Street, safer pedestrian crossings, and lower traffic speeds. The city is also revising its plan to reflect the addition of the Ramada Inn, which the city foreclosed on last month, to the overall redevelopment.
The Fulmer building is part of the original strip mall built after the 1974 tornado devastated Xenia. Shortly after the tornado, the city bought the land Towne Square shopping center sits on. The adjacent site of the former K-Mart was torn down in 2016, and after a brief legal scuffle the city bought the buildings in the Towne Square shopping center for $3.3 million last year.
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