Officials want a new entertainment district on this site off I-75 with a major demolition planned

West Carrollton officials are aiming to demolish Carrollton Plaza this fall with the goal of redeveloping the site just off Interstate 75 as a cornerstone for a multi-million dollar entertainment district.

The city has hired an engineering firm to oversee the tearing down of structures, including the former Roberds site, on the 13.75 acres the city bought last year as part of a $3.2 million project near the Great Miami River.

Patriot Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. will develop bid specifications for the demolition of the three buildings at 1100 to 1192 E. Dixie Drive, according to West Carrollton Economic Development Director Michael Lucking.

RELATED: City plans to purchase Carrollton Plaza as part of $3.2 million deal

The city expects demolition to occur no later than Nov. 1, he said.

“I think we all realize this is one of our larger demolitions,” Lucking said. “It’s going to be high-profile. We want to make sure that it’s done right and we have a good end product.”

Carrollton Plaza is one of several demolition projects — most on city-owned land — that have occurred or are planned along Dixie to redevelop the business corridor. Others have included two former car washes, one of which is on Montgomery County land where Kettering Health Network has announced plans to build a medical office building.

RELATED: Demolition paves way for Kettering Health Network

Carrollton Plaza sits on the southwest quadrant of the I-75’s Exit 47, where Lucking said 90,000 vehicles cross daily and which West Carrollton Mayor Jeff Sanner has called an “integral part” of the city’s Miami Bend Community Entertainment District.

In 2012, a 600-acre, $110 million entertainment district was proposed in West Carrollton. Two years later, the city received state approval for a Community Entertainment District for the area along East Dixie, and a market study evaluating the impact of what is now projected to be a 5,200-seat event center was completed.

Since May 2017, the city has operated Carrollton Plaza as a retail center. But at the end of this month, its leases with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts expire, allowing West Carrollton to start the demolition process, according to city records.

RELATED: West Carrollton looks to demolish another site on East Dixie

“The city administration recognizes that the Carrollton Plaza demolition is a potentially complex, and highly-visible demolition project,” according to a memo from Lucking. “In order to accomplish the demolition in a cost effective and efficient manner, staff determined that the city’s best options is to engage the services of a civil engineering firm.”

The city has agreed to pay Patriot, an Indianapolis-based company, no more than $30,000 “to manage the demolition of the Carrollton Plaza properties,” Lucking said.

Patriot Engineering will develop and coordinate the procurement process for the selection of a demolition contractor.

The Patriot contract will be modified in the future to include compensation for “on-site demolition oversight,” according to Lucking.

The city will later award the demolition contract, a deal which is expected to be done by early October, he said.

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