POWELL — Tucked south of West Olentangy Street and west of South Liberty Street is Village Green Park: home to city council chambers, the Powell Police Department, amphitheater and acres of green space.
But in the coming years, the 12-acre parcel will look entirely different after city officials wrap up the three-year downtown Powell and Village Green Master Plan process.
That process began in 2023 with phase one, which focused on understanding the current conditions of downtown by gathering community feedback and technical analysis to inform future development concepts, wrapping up in September 2025.
The city is now in phase two of the plan, which incorporates community feedback received from 658 survey responses and other avenues, to explore potential development concepts for Village Green.
Pizzuti Solutions, who the city hired to lead the planning process, presented its two potential redevelopment concepts for the space for the first time on Monday at an open house.
Both concepts incorporate retail and mixed-use space, residential and mixed-use space and residential space in different ways. Both concepts also seek to add a market hall, a grocery store and more parking, including transforming the existing 47 Hall St. parking lot into a multi-level parking garage.
The primary difference between the Village Square and Market Street concepts lies in their spatial organization and how they connect the public to the downtown core.
Both plans aim to revitalize Powell’s Village Green by introducing mixed-use retail, residential units, a “Market Hall” and a multi-level parking garage. But they offer two distinct visions for the community’s layout and social flow.
Neither option is entirely rigid. The open house was intended to garner further community input to see what elements residents like in both options before a final concept is developed.
This PDF shows the graphics on display at the open house, depicting the Market Street and Village Square framework studies, renderings and potential architecture styles, provided by Planning Director Logan Stang.
The Village Square option
The first redevelopment concept was dubbed the Village Square, which seeks to create a central public square connecting to the heart of downtown Powell.
It is designed to be a semi-traditional town square that acts as a wide, open gathering point for large events and community meetings.
The design includes a large green space, water feature and grand gateway connecting to South Liberty Street.
Parcels are designed to be organized around and behind the central square, so that residents and visitors can see the space.
Visit Powell Executive Director Andi Moore said she preferred this option because she felt the green space would draw in more activity because of its visual appeal.
“For me, it just feels more welcoming, more open and connects into our already existing downtown. Versus the other one — it’s gorgeous — but it secludes everything back behind it,” Moore said.
She also said the Village Square supports resident’s and city leaders’ desire for more walkability and connectivity.
Market Street option
The Market Street option proposes a different look and feel to the green space, utilizing an urban linear design. Instead of one big square, the public space is stretched out into a denser, more linear corridor framed by retail and entertainment.
This plan prioritizes connectivity to Hall Street, where the city hall and large public parking lot sits, and requires a dedicated pedestrian connector to enhance the downtown’s flow and invite visitors into the space.
By the middle of the session, there were not any sticky notes favoring the Market Street option.
What comes next
Powell residents can still provide input about the options at the next two open houses. The next open house is April 29 at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club, in the Cork Room, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. And the final open house will be May 7 at the Liberty Branch of the Delaware County District Library, in Community Room A, from 10 a.m. to noon.
After the open houses, Pizzuti Solutions will finalize one development plan, along with any necessary infrastructure changes to accommodate for development, and present it to council, around September.
Then it’s time for phase three, which will involve a 10-month financial analysis to understand project costs and other costs related to development.
“Beyond year three, that’s when you’re actually going to see shovels in the ground and that type of investment, that type of commitment. All of this is just making sure that when we get to that point, we have a really good understanding of what we’re getting into, and we have a lot of the support of the community to do that,” Stang said.
Stang said some residents are concerned about what will happen to Powell Fest and events that use the amphitheater. Stang said that will all be addressed, but he pointed to Bennett Farm, which will eventually become a downtown park with some open green space.
“There’s a lot more you can include there, versus this site, which one of the challenges has been that it’s behind everything, so a lot of people don’t even know what’s back there because you don’t see it from the road. It’s just tucked back,” Stang said.
City officials will also need to find a new location for city hall and the police department, pending the development plans.
