The City of Dayton announced it will begin a new development project downtown. The commission approved a $36 million pre-development agreement for what’s called the Water Street Project that will enhance riverfront property in the city.
It’s a first step in what the city says could be a significant development project. The area from Patterson Boulevard to Webster Street sits near the ballpark and the river, and the plan is to create commercial buildings, more parking and 161 apartment units. The development will be a joint venture with Crawford Hoying, an Ohio based firm and Woodard Real Estate Resources, a local company. Nan Whaley is on the Dayton City Commission and says they have been looking at this particular area for many years.
"This is all falls into the Greater Downtown plan that we did around four or five years ago with hundreds of community volunteers coming together," says Whaley. "We recognize that we need to get more housing downtown and that we also had to have new office stock. Also, the river front, riverscape development along with those amenities from the Dragons stadium to Riverscape, this is a natural site and this one of the reasons we’ve talked about this site for so long."
The Water Street Project could also involve improvements to the streets there, and new pedestrian and riverfront landscaping. The developer has until the end of the year to define the vision for the project, get community input and secure funding.