The Dayton Plan Board approved the company’s development plan earlier this month, and the city commission will vote on it in coming weeks.
City officials said the project returns a highly-visible piece of land to productive use and it should be a high-end storage business.
“The design is much, much nicer than what you think of when you think of a store-and-lock,” said Aaron Sorrell, Dayton’s director of planning and community development.
In 2010, CMG Ohio consolidated its headquarters and local broadcast media holdings to its Media Center on South Main Street in Dayton.
In December 2012, demolition began on the WHIO television and radio building on Wilmington Avenue, though part of the historic broadcast tower was turned over to Dayton History.
Demolition was necessary to create new opportunities for redevelopment of the site, CMG Ohio officials said.
Ashford Construction wants to redevelop the property by building nine structures with about 87,000 square feet of storage, including 36,000 square feet of climate-controlled space, said Sorrell.
Wilmington Pike Storage Inns of America — the proposed name of the business — will be a high-caliber product, and the development will blend into the neighborhood, Sorrell said.
The property is bordered by residential housing, and the site plan calls for screening, including vegetation and fencing.
The development plan is for 4.6 acres of land located in Dayton. But about 0.2 acres of the parcel was located in Kettering.
However, earlier this week Kettering city council approved moving the city’s boundary line to place that strip of land in Dayton. The city of Dayton also has supported revising the boundary line.
The 1414 Wilmington property is not currently zoned for storage facilities.
But the plan board voted to recommend the city permit the land use. Commissioners are expected to vote on the board’s recommendation in late July, early August.
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