POWELL — Revised plans for Powell’s Village Green did little to ease the concerns of some residents Thursday night, as a packed City Council chambers erupted in boos and shouts of “You’re not listening!”
The reaction came as Pizzuti Solutions, the consultant hired to lead the city’s Village Green master planning process, unveiled updated development concepts for the roughly 12-acre property.
Powell City Council voted in August to extend the second phase of the Village Green master planning process, giving consultants more time refine development concepts for the site after an abundance of concern from residents.
But Thursday’s presentation made clear that some residents remain dissatisfied with the direction of the project.
As presenter Brian Bernstein reached a slide illustrating how the proposed development would change the appearance of Village Green, the room erupted in sighs, boos, and some residents shaking their heads in disapproval.
Some audience members shouted, “You’re not listening!” and “Stop!”
Bernstein told residents he understands their concerns. They disagreed, some calling him tone deaf.
Bernstein asked the room to please let him finish. One man sitting toward the front of the room said, “I don’t know, I’m struggling with you; you didn’t listen to what was said by us.”
Still, Bernstein’s presentation drew applause from around the room when he finished, although few residents spoke in support of the revised concepts.
The revisions followed extensive public feedback on two initial conceptual designs for Village Green. Residents submitted 381 comments through email and four in-person open houses hosted by Pizzuti Solutions.
A Pizzuti Solutions representative previously said extending the planning process would give the firm more time to address those comments and concerns and reflect them in the new concepts.
What happens next?
Powell Director of Community Engagement Anna Subler, along with council members and other city staff, emphasized the plans remain conceptual, are still evolving and still open for additional feedback.
“What ultimately gets built, when it gets built and how it is implemented may change over time based on funding, city council direction, community input and evolving priorities,” Subler said in an email.
“The plan is intended to serve as a guide, not a commitment to build everything presented.”
City Council is expected to revisit the concepts Dec. 1. If council approves moving the master plan forward, the next step would be a financial analysis — not construction.
That financial analysis phase will draft financial models for future development opportunities and review the financial impact new development could have on the city, according to Pizutti’s presentation.
Subler also said any potential construction is still at least two to three years in the future.
What do the new conceptual designs show?
Pizzuti’s presentation said a market study of Powell revealed a lack of retail and commercial space as well as diversity downtown.
Their goal with a new Village Green is to capture a greater share of the local retail/restaurant market, creating more tourism and new office and housing space to attract more residents in Powell.
While doing so, Pizzuti Representative Sophie Lanza said they sought to add more destination drivers that are family-friendly and still keep the character of Powell’s “quaint” community.
Their conceptual plans would add:
- Up to 75,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, which included floor units with office and/or housing above, and up to 35,000 of that square footage dedicated to a multifunctional “hall” space.
- Up to 200,000 square feet of larger, more flexible office space, with preference for one or two anchor tenants.
- Up to 180 units of townhomes and garden style apartments, targeting the mid-priced condo and mid-to-upper priced rental. There will also be live/work opportunities to reduce traffic impacts.
Previous designs prompted residents to ask what will happen to the current splash pad, amphitheater and green space that exist at Village Green now.
The revised concepts show a new splash pad/water play feature, flexible lawn and a stage tucked next to the old Post Office and near where the current pond are, all the way back to what is now city hall/the Powell Police Department.
However, the water feature and the proposed office/retail buildings to the left of it are shown on where there are now several South Liberty Street businesses, including Zen Hen, Tattoo Saga and Finn & Roe.
In an email to Delaware Source, Subler said city officials have had conversations with property owners as part of the planning process, but “those discussions do not constitute an agreement or authorization to move forward with any development.”
“The city’s focus remains on supporting existing businesses, understanding their needs and working collaboratively with them as the planning process continues,” she said.
Behind the proposed stage, plans show a public parking garage surrounded by residential living. Also to the left of the stage is a market hall, which was proposed in both initial concepts.
To the right of the stage is city hall and the police station, which sits above ground-floor retail space.
Parking and traffic
The plans show both a parking garage and a surface-level parking lot.
Although there are no financial plans to share yet, City Manager Andy White and Vice Mayor Tom Counts have both previously said it would not be financially feasible for the city to construct and pay for a parking garage.
The plans also include several traffic changes and road updates, including a new traffic light at the Hall Street and West Olentangy Street intersection, and a traffic light on Liberty Street that would connect to an extended Hall Street.
The concepts propose extending Hall Street through Village Green and to Liberty Street, near Blair Avenue where the Liberty Green townhomes are.
The plans also show a potential secondary connection that would extend Depot Street all the way around Village Green, with two side streets depositing out onto Liberty Street.
Plans also show several shared-use paths connecting to several entry points of Village Green.
During the comment period, one woman said she felt the road plans will just disperse traffic more, not improve the flow. Lanza told her the changes should help residents get through downtown quicker.
More comments and questions from residents
After the presentation, Pizzuti representatives and Powell officials took questions and comments from residents.
An older woman spoke first, saying most people in cities want green space, gardens and trees. Her comments were met with applause.
Councilman David Lester later pointed out the city recently purchased Bennett Farm with plans to turn it into a future park, keeping the land away from private developers.
Another man said Powell is only a short drive from Polaris and Bridge Park in Dublin, so he thought the city should prioritize uplifting the already-existing small businesses who he said are already struggling with market saturation.
“What are we gonna look like? Bridge Park? Gross,” he said. “And those businesses struggle too, because they’re dealing with saturation issues, too.”
An older gentleman sitting in the front row asked, why does Powell need this development?
White answered that Powell is approaching 17,000 residents and continues to see rapid growth that needs response.
He also said there are 2 million cars that travel on State Route 750 to get to the Columbus Zoo, and Powell could be capitalizing on those visitors with more establishments attracting them to downtown.
“This is a proposal that imagines a different way to collect revenue without having to go back to the constituents that are already paying taxes everywhere else to raise quality of life,” White said.
Mayor Heather Karr also noted she continues to hear complaints from residents about a lack of walkability to downtown, and a lack of entertainment options.
One man asked why Village Green for development, when there are other undeveloped or underdeveloped parcels just bordering downtown on Grace Drive, Liberty Road and Seldom Seen Road.
A woman said many people told Pizzuti they don’t want apartments downtown and this plan ignores that.
Karr responded by saying she doesn’t know if apartments ever actually will be on the site, emphasizing again that the plans are concepts.
“So none of this will look exactly or anything like this,” she said.
The room erupted again, with residents asking, “Why are we here?” Others asked why the city is showing concepts of something that may never materialize.
One woman seemed to show some support for the plans, noting the small businesses in town need more people here to support them.
Counts closed out the remarks by saying the residents in the room only represent 1% of the population of Powell, and there are more opinions out there.
“When I moved here 30 years ago, there was nothing to do in the downtown. What I’ve experienced in those 30 years, unfortunately — and I hate to say this — there’s still nothing in the downtown for me to do,” Counts said.
His remarks were met with an uproar of disagreement.
Counts continued by saying more businesses will bring more synergy to downtown, not competition, and more diverse housing will allow people who can’t afford to buy a house the opportunity to live in Powell.
