POWELL — It’s back to the drawing board for a proposed shopping center at 120 E. Olentangy St., in front of the Harpers Pointe neighborhood.
The Powell Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted Tuesday not to recommend the final development plan for Powell Gateway to city council for approval.
Their denial came after hearing almost 20 public comments from residents, all opposing the project for various reasons.
“What I’m hearing is that people just don’t like the way it looks,” said commission member Ross Irvine. “There is such an outcry from neighbors and the neighboring public, and additionally from the architectural advisor, that I do think that that needs to be considered.”
Commission Member David Lester agreed that the design needed more work and encouraged the developers to return with revised plans.
Commission Member Shaun Simpson raised a more fundamental concern, questioning whether a retail center was the right use for a prominent entrance into Powell.
“To me, the entry point into the city should not be a retail center,” he said.
The final development plan showed a 21,600 square-foot, single-story commercial building which would have contained seven storefronts for a mix of businesses, including both daytime and evening uses.
The commission previously tabled their approval of the final development plan at their May 13 meeting, asking for several changes.
Applicant Equity Development submitted another final plan in response, which separated the building to create a breezeway in the center and relocated the dumpsters to the far northwest corner of the site.
Despite those changes, city planning staff and architectural advisor Steven Reynolds still raised several concerns regarding the development plan, including:
- The building’s massing, or its overall shape, size and bulk.
- Whether the design adequately reflects the site’s location at a prominent entrance to Powell — the reason the project is called “Powell Gateway.”
- Whether the building’s design fits the character of downtown Powell.
- What Reynolds described as a “copy and paste” appearance, saying the design too closely resembled examples he had provided as inspiration for making the building feel more distinctive to Powell.
- Whether single-story commercial development is appropriate along the prominent corridor when city staff recommends mixed-use development.
Equity addressed staff concerns
After city staff outlined its concerns and recommended against approval, representatives from Equity presented their response to the issues raised.
Equity President Patrick Wathen said the company inherited plans for the undeveloped parcel when it acquired the neighboring retail center about a year ago.
Those plans called for a multistory building with apartments above commercial space, but Wathen said Equity determined the project was not financially feasible.
“We also felt that the level of density might not be fitting with the character of the existing surrounding retail to the west, as well as the strip center and the existing tenants behind it,” Wathen said.
Applicant Sarah Freiheit also noted she spoke with neighbors of the site and they clearly supported a one-story building over a multi-story building.
City staff favored a multistory, mixed-use development, arguing it would bring more daytime activity to the area. A 2025 market study identified a lack of daytime activity as one of the area’s weaknesses, according to a staff report provided to the commission.
“The City’s strategic vision is to boost the local economy by leveraging tourism opportunities with the right mix of businesses and shifting away from a single-style model of development,” staff wrote in the report.
Freiheit shared there are already businesses with a “strong interest” in the site, including dining establishments and a fitness center.
She also said Equity reduced the proposed patio size in response to noise concerns, increased landscaping on all sides of the development and revised the architectural style to better align with city staff’s recommendations.
“We had a meeting on Monday to further get neighborhood comments. So I’ve really worked that into the project, and I believe that we’ve addressed most of the large concerns to the best of our ability,” Freiheit said.
However residents in the audience did not agree with Freiheit.
Residents worry about traffic, architecture, privacy
Nearby residents of the 120 E. Olentangy St. property crowded the meeting chambers to voice their opposition to the project.
“I’ve seen a ton of additional strip malls added and a ton of rollover in the strip malls, and to me, that continuous rollover suggests that those businesses in those spaces aren’t sustainable and we have enough strip-mall based businesses,” resident Carol Stillman said.
“So, I guess I would like to see other options pursued in that area where maybe there actually is not enough of that in the region.”
Stillman also raised concerns about on-site stormwater retention and drainage.
Kevin Jamieson, who lives in the Harpers Pointe neighborhood, was mainly concerned about traffic, noting he and his fellow neighbors largely use the Beech Ridge Drive and East Olentangy Street intersection to enter and exit the neighborhood.
Resident Denise Wible suggested directing traffic away from Susan Lane and toward the existing shopping center entrance.
“Take all of that traffic and have it exit out to the west, to the current entrance to the strip mall that’s there,” Wible said. “I do think that that’s a good idea. Instead of having the ability for cars to go up towards Susan Lane, just take them to the west, take them toward Grace Drive.”
The final development plan included three entrances/exits: one preexisting entryway on Grace Drive that connects to the current strip mall, one on Olentangy Street and one that was initially on Beech Ridge Drive that was shifted to Susan Lane.
Wible also sympathized with Harpers Pointe residents, saying the development should include stone walls and greenscaping to help buffer noise and the sight of headlights into their residences.
Catharine Gray said the building does not look like it belongs in Powell.
“It needs to look like it belongs to us. And if this is going to be the entry coming into Powell, shouldn’t it look like something? Isn’t that important?” Gray said. “I understand that they can build whatever they want, but shouldn’t it inspire people to be in Powell?”
Resident Heather Luke said the proposed building felt too large for the site.
“It just looks so big and looming for that small space,” Luke said. “It’s just a little piece of grass, it’s not even two acres … It just feels very in-your-face.”
John Bretz also didn’t think the building fit the space.
“It’s not massive changes required; if done right, I think you could get there,” he said. “I’m not an architect, but I’ll know it when I see it, and that reminds me of not a gateway location.”
Colinda Stailey suggested the architecture resemble the older look of other Powell buildings to better blend in.
“I think that’s what we’re missing here,” Stailey said. “That’s what people love about Powell: that old-fashioned community with a lot of new technology, restaurants, places that you could go.
“And I think instead of trying to look like something new, make it blend in to what’s already here, what’s already comfortable, what’s already old.”
Debbie Russo echoed Stailey’s claims.
“I think if this is going to look like it is now, it has nothing to do with the quaintness of Powell,” she said.
For now, it’s back to the drawing board. Equity can return to the Planning Commission with revised plans for the site.
