The Summit County Council may vote on rezoning and redeveloping the Junction Commons Wednesday after months of talks with representatives from the outlet mall.
The council will also discuss and could vote on a mixed-use project in Silver Creek Estates.
“Silver Creek is probably a little simpler,” Community Development Director Peter Barnes said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Sept. 1. “In my mind, there's no reason why the council cannot approve both of these projects [Wednesday]. I'm not sure if they would. I think over the number of times the outlets have been discussed, hopefully all the questions have been asked and answered.”
The proposal from outlets owner Singerman Real Estate has shrunk from 510 to 340 total units of housing because of the council’s traffic concerns. Of that, 220 units would be affordable.
The upper loop of stores would be demolished to make room for a more residential neighborhood and two parking structures. Apartments would fill in the lower parking lot, with new ground-floor businesses too.
The Crossroads at Silver Creek project is smaller by comparison.
Columbus Pacific Development hopes to build 90 housing units; a 4,000-square-foot nonprofit building; and 32,000 square feet of other commercial space at the intersection of Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 40.
Like the outlets project, the Silver Creek proposal requires a rezone, which is why the county council has the final say.
“The applicant has all fingers and toes crossed again in the hope they'll get some kind of positive recommendation on the rezone. After that, there will be a sequence of other approvals necessary,” Barnes said. “There's a subdivision approval that needs to be done, and all the details and construction documents need to be created at that point.”
Click here to view the council agenda and access a link to attend online.
Summit County and Columbus Pacific Development are financial supporters of KPCW.
