SUNBURY — A proposed 63-acre development could bring up to 640 housing units, a big-box retailer, medical offices and other commercial spaces to Sunbury.
Sunbury City Council held a public hearing Wednesday for an ordinance that would rezone the property along South Galena Road, near Sunbury Parkway and Interstate 71, into a planned commercial district (PCD).
Developer Wills Creek calls the project the Sunbury Gateway District.
Wills Creek founder and President Jim Schrim said the development team has spent about a year getting the project to this point.
Sunbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission previously approved the rezoning proposal on Aug. 24 with a few revisions, sending it to council for approval.
PCD would complement future OhioHealth campus
About a year and a half ago, Wills Creek sold roughly 30 acres immediately east of the PCD to OhioHealth.
The OhioHealth lot sits one parcel south of Tanger Outlets, bordering I-71 to the west and the future Sunbury Parkway to the south.
Schrim said the idea for the Sunbury Gateway District was to have uses in the PCD that complement “a healthcare system or a major campus there someday.”
He said the development plans emphasize health care-related businesses, even if they are not affiliated with OhioHealth, along with multifamily housing.
“We wanted to set the standard for Sunbury Parkway moving from I-71 all the way along Sunbury Parkway for the next five to 10 years as we hopefully connect Sunbury Parkway, U.S. Route 36, State Route 37 and Cherry Street.”
Schrim also shared a new development for the project that recently came to fruition.
“In trying to pursue our leveraging of the OhioHealth [land], I can publicly announce that earlier this week we entered into contract with Foundations Health for a skilled nursing facility that’ll be complementary to OhioHealth’s facility,” he said.
“That use would be somewhere in the $7-9 million [range] of payroll to the city. Even though this product still has to go through the process … it’s starting to be realized.”
Council did not take action on Wills Creek’s rezoning application on Wednesday, nor did council finalize what businesses or buildings the PCD will contain.
The following plans are conceptual at this point in time until further approval comes from council.
Diving deeper into the PCD’s retail contents
Plans for the nearly 63-acre Sunbury Gateway District divide the development into two areas: Subarea A, covering approximately 30 acres on the western side, and Subarea B, covering approximately 28 acres to the east, near Galena Road.
Subarea A would allow a convenience store, gas station or a combination of the two in one section, with space for a potential big-box retailer in another. Those uses are not listed for Subarea B.
Most retail buildings and individual retail businesses throughout the development would be limited to 75,000 square feet. However, Subarea A would permit one retail building or business of up to 180,000 square feet.
For comparison, the average Walmart Supercenter takes up approximately 182,000 square feet, according to Capital One Shopping research.
The following are prohibited uses in all subareas, according to public documents:
- Adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters and adult-only entertainment clubs;
- Billboards and off-premise graphics;
- Crematory;
- Cannabis dispensary;
- Dwelling — single-family detached;
- Industrial;
- Manufacturing;
- Used car sales not associated with a dealership;
- Outdoor storage yards except when connected to a retail building;
- Self-storage, except as accessory to residential uses and offered for exclusive use by residents of such;
- Outdoor boarding of animals;
- Storage of hazardous waste materials;
- And warehousing.
More on permitted residential uses
Subarea A is capped at 400 total residential dwellings, and Subarea B is capped at 240.
Both subareas’ dwellings could be: multi-family, congregate care, developmental disability, independent living, nursing home, senior living, rehabilitation services and/or residential care facilities.
Additionally, all dwellings are not permitted to be above retail, commercial or office buildings.
Of the 400 total dwellings in Subarea A, a maximum of 280 units can be apartment or townhome buildings. For Subarea B, a maximum of 120 units can be apartment or townhome buildings.
16 zoning variances, summarized
Wills Creek sought 16 variances from Sunbury’s zoning code in their rezoning application, including one for building height.
A zoning code variance is when a property owner requests a site-specific alteration from a local government’s zoning code.
Other notable variances Wills Creek applied for include standalone apartments and reduced unit sizes, perimeter setbacks from roadways, and open space and regional basins.
Sunbury City Council introduced another ordinance on Wednesday that would bring in urban design firm MKSK to help update the city’s zoning code. Council did not take action on this item Wednesday night.
To read about each of Wills Creek’s 16 variances and more on the developer’s entire rezoning application, check out the file below:
Utility constraints, estimated timelines
There are a number of infrastructure and utility projects that crews must complete before phases of the Sunbury Gateway District move further.
The Delaware County Regional Sewer District confirmed that public sanitary sewer service is available near the PCD, but developers will need to extend existing sewer lines from the northwestern corner of the site.
Sewer capacity is also something that is not immediately available.
“Capacity for this development will not be available until the East Alum Creek Pump Station upgrade is constructed and accepted for public use, estimated for early 2027,” Staff Engineer Kelly Thiel wrote.
Thiel added that capacity could also depend on completion of the Central Alum Creek water reclamation facility.
Del-Co Water has indicated it could provide water service to the property, subject to plan approval, required fees and additional information from Wills Creek.
However, Del-Co Water engineer Cris Valenzuela said the utility has not received enough information about the development’s anticipated water demand or fire protection needs to determine whether the existing system can adequately serve the project.
A 16-inch water main along South Wilson Road could potentially provide service, but further evaluation is required.
Electrical service details also remain unresolved.
AEP Ohio (now known as Ohio Power Company) confirmed the property is within its service territory but said the specific infrastructure needs and associated costs have not yet been determined.
According to a letter from senior manager Liberty Boyd, projects with distribution service costs exceeding $1 million or requesting more than 10 megawatts of power would require a formal agreement with the utility.
“Sanitary sewer, water lines, telecommunications, electric & gas utilities were not included in the Phase A interchange scope of work or funded by ODOT or the county and remain to be completed. Funding sources for the completion of Sunbury Parkway between Wilson Road and Galena Road are not yet identified and are not controlled by the landowner, developer or city. General note: The above schedule is conceptual and dependent on multiple factors such as city legislation, local and state funding of public infrastructure, the timing of private and public development agreement execution and market conditions.“
