HUDSON, OH (July 10, 2019) – At last night’s Workshop, City Council reached a consensus to submit a modified Downtown Phase II plan to Planning Commission for review and approval.
Based on input from the community at many public work sessions, comment opportunities, discussions, and direction from City Council, the developer presented two revised plans to City Council that address concerns heard from citizens. After a lengthy discussion, Council selected Option 1 for submittal to Planning Commission.
Key concerns expressed by citizens have been addressed in the revised plan. These concerns include:
- Housing density has been significantly reduced. The new plan includes 101 housing units, down 29% from the previous plan.
- More single-family, detached homes are included in the plan. The new plan includes more single-family, detached houses, with most units accommodating first-floor master bedrooms. This helps respond to the demand from empty nesters for this style of housing.
- Retail services north of Owen Brown Street have been removed. Addressing concerns expressed by Hudson residents, Block C has been revised from first-floor retail services to first-floor office space to provide uses that are quieter on evenings and weekends and make it more compatible with the adjacent commercial site to the west. Maintaining some commercial space in Block C spreads out the office use and reduces the need for a parking deck.
- The office/commercial density was decreased 18%. The square footage of office/commercial space has been reduced from 138,000 sf to 114,000 sf. Commercial uses will be limited to a single building and intended to support businesses in the development, rather than destination retail that would compete with the existing downtown.
- Office building height has been reduced. Block A has been reduced to a two-story building, rather than the original three-story structure which reduces traffic impact and eliminates the need for a parking structure. While Block C still has three stories, it will have lower floor heights than adjacent office buildings.
- The parking structure has been removed. Lowering the commercial building height and reducing the square footage has eliminated the need for a parking structure. Surface parking will be tucked in between the office buildings.
- Plan changes improve traffic impacts. Reducing the office density lowers the number of vehicle trips and spreads the traffic out over a broad timeframe, lessening traffic impacts. Making the railroad underpass a single, alternating lane with a pedestrian lane increases pedestrian use and safety. Citywide signal timing adjustments, along with adding adaptive traffic signals can help reduce existing and future traffic impacts between 15% and 30%.
- More green space and passive walking areas in community areas. The revised plan will include a widened green space on Owen Brown Street and a passive walking area at the northwest corner. This is in addition to the small passive park planned on the northeast corner of Owen Brown and Morse Road. The downtown section of Veterans Trail is proposed for the east side of Morse Road that will connect the downtown to the regional train network, creating a linear greenway along Brandywine Creek.
The plan will be submitted to Planning Commission for its review. This is still a work in progress, as there may be additional adjustments to the plan as the review stage occurs and additional public feedback is sought. After the Planning Commission Review, it will be sent back to City Council. Architectural renderings will be finalized that will go through the Architectural and Historic Board of Review. Throughout the process, there will be opportunities for additional public comment and input. For more information about Downtown Phase II, visit https://www.hudson.oh.us/DowntownPhase2.