Scott was among a dozen people, including Beavercreek’s city planners, business owners and residents, who worked on the Dayton-Xenia Corridor Revitalization Plan.
The city is now taking citizen input on the 56-page preliminary draft which can be found at http://ci.beavercreek.oh.us. An open house to discuss it will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
There are about 135 businesses within the corridor study area.
The area extends Dayton-Xenia from the city limits to the west and to its intersection with Hanes Road to the east. From Grange Hall Road the area goes south to the Creekside Trail and the North Fairfield Business District from Lantz Road to U.S. 35. In addition, it includes businesses on Brooklyn and Mapleview drives.
Beavercreek Associate City Planner Sandra C. Pereira estimates that eight buildings are completely vacant and 16 buildings have some space for lease. She said the city will work closely with property owners to resolve the section’s handful of blight issues. The planning department sent out notice earlier this week that the site of a former automotive company at the corner of Dayton-Xenia and Grange Hall will be auctioned Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Pereira said creative solutions to issues will be sought.
“We don’t really have a lot of funding for projects,” she said. “We are really going to have to rely on finding grants.”
She said many of the plan’s recommendations don’t require financial allocations.
Among other things, it calls for new design criteria for new development, free preliminary engineering help from city staff, some waived fees, enhanced code enforcement sweeps, paths for pedestrians and cyclists, new sign regulations, and streetscaping, including trees, hanging baskets, benches, trash receptacles, light posts, banners and decorative street signs.
The Dayton-Xenia and Grange Hall Road intersection would also be enhanced with landscaping, lighting and pavers.
The plan also discusses a half dozen proposed widening and other thoroughfare improvement projects to be completed during the next 15 years.
The Dayton-Xenia Road widening project from Woods Drive to Wallaby Drive is scheduled to begin next year, Beavercreek
City Engineer Jeff Moorman said.
About $2.6 million for the project will come from a federal grant secured through the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. The city’s match is $1.1 million for the project that will attach to prior improvements on the road and include wider than normal street lanes and sidewalks to accommodate cyclists.
Pereira said the plan aims rejuvenate the corridor’s three sections.
“We tried to be practical. We know we are never going to have a typical downtown,” Pereira said. “The downtowns you see that are quaint have been there for a hundred years.”
Instead of the ‘old downtown’ one might imagine, Pereira say the plan supports a vision of small local shops, restaurants and offices. She said the corridor can be attractive and business, bike and pedestrian-friendly.
“It is the heart of Beavercreek. Really it is where most of the local businesses are focused,” Pereira said.
Scott said his business remains vital — attracting a loyal customer base — but others on the road struggle due to decreased traffic on what was one of Greene County’s first established roads and remains a gateway into the city.
“We really want to attract new businesses,” Scott said.
Bill Dye, owner of Dye’s Auto Care at 3851 Dayton-Xenia Road, said he hopes that goal is reached, but predicted that lack of funding will block most proposed road improvements for years.
Facing funding cuts from the state and the loss of once reliable revenue streams, Beavercreek is considering asking voters to approve the city’s first earnings tax next May. The city has said the money raised would be used to support current services and tackle nearly $250 million in infrastructure issues.
Dye attended a few meetings about the revitalization plan. He liked some of the ideas discussed but said others sounded “goofy” and didn’t seem to mesh with life in Beavercreek.
Still he said there is much room for improvement.
“Some of the properties need an upgrade,” he said. “Some are in a bad state of disrepair.”
The section has long been a concern.
The first Dayton-Xenia Road Corridor Strategy was approved in 1995 and eventually included streetscape improvements along Dayton-Xenia and North Fairfield Road. The clock tower at the intersection of North Fairfield and Dayton Xenia was installed for the city’s 25th anniversary in 2005.
About the Author
