"By coordinating public infrastructure improvements with private redevelopment, we can work toward a downtown that offers more public space, improved infrastructure and reflects the community's goals." Powell City Manager Andy White said that about a property deal on North Liberty Street, which the City announced on Oct. 30, 13 days before residents get their next look at the plan for Village Green.
That timing tells you how downtown Powell is changing right now. The Village Green Master Plan gets most of the attention. Meanwhile, a restaurant building is going up on West Olentangy Street. A taproom has a new applicant. A street extension comes with a public plaza and payments tied to landing a tenant. Each of these is being steered toward the same thing residents asked for at Village Green: places to eat, gather and spend an evening downtown.
What the Village Green draft has to answer
The updated concepts go before the public on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Powell City Hall, 47 Hall St. The City's announcement says the revisions pay "particular attention to green space, family-friendly amenities, gathering places and the small-town character that helps define Powell." It also says, in plain terms, that "no development or construction decisions have been made as part of this planning process."
The site is a 12-acre parcel south of West Olentangy Street and west of South Liberty Street. It holds council chambers, the Powell Police Department, the amphitheater and open lawn, as Delaware Source described it in April. That month, consultant Pizzuti Solutions showed two concepts, "Village Square" and "Market Street." Both included retail and mixed-use space, residential space, a market hall, a grocery store and a multilevel parking garage on the 47 Hall St. lot. The first phase of the plan drew 658 survey responses.
The spring open houses produced a clear set of preferences. Across four sessions, more than 220 people attended and left 381 comments. According to the City's engagement summary, residents preferred Village Square, wanted to keep the amphitheater and splash pad, and asked for more green space and family amenities. They suggested picnics, food-truck events and a seasonal ice rink. They also raised concerns about traffic and about the height and density of apartments.
After Nov. 12, the process moves to City Council. The September City Manager Report says Council extended Phase II through the end of 2026 and that a presentation to Council is expected in December.
That is the slow track. The blocks around the Green are moving faster.
Four addresses already moving
You can read this fall's downtown activity as a short walk past four addresses. Every one is a dining, drinking or gathering use, or infrastructure built to serve one.
- 147 W. Olentangy St. A two-story restaurant and event building of about 4,500 square feet is under construction. The September City Manager Report says the Powell Development Corporation "is actively working with the owner for a high-end restaurant user."
- 170 W. Olentangy St., Suite J. Cocco Kay Bites opened here in June. Columbus Underground described it as a multinational restaurant, and the City's economic development report lists it among this summer's openings.
- 41 Depot St. This was Nocterra Brewing's Powell taproom from 2019 until it closed in August. In October, Land-Grant Brewing applied for a liquor license at the address, Columbus Underground reported. It would be the Franklinton brewery's first stand-alone location outside its home neighborhood. Nocterra's owners called the closure temporary, and Nocterra applied in late September to renew its Powell license.
- 28 and 36 N. Liberty St. These are the subject of the Cohiba Properties agreement in White's quote, covered in the next section.
The address at 41 Depot shows how much the downtown market wants destinations. When the taproom closed, building owner Dan McClurg told Delaware Source he wanted a "good restaurant" or a "well-established brewery, not a start-up" for the space. Within weeks, an established Columbus brewery had filed for the license.
The Liberty Street deal pays out when a tenant arrives
The Cohiba agreement shows the City's priorities most clearly. Council is considering legislation that would let Powell acquire land at 28 and 36 N. Liberty St. for the Scioto Street Extension. That project would carry Scioto Street east to Grace Drive and add public parking, a public plaza, pedestrian facilities and regional stormwater drainage.
The payment structure is the part to watch. The City's summary describes seven installments of $50,000, paid as Cohiba hits milestones: plan approvals, the start of construction, completion of required work, and securing "a qualifying restaurant, retail, or entertainment tenant." Some of the money for the land depends on who ends up occupying the building.
The plaza works the same way. The City would convey some of its own land to Cohiba, which would expand the planned plaza just north of the property. Cohiba would grant a public access easement over the part of the plaza on its land. A separate agreement would cover the plaza's design and construction.
"This is an important step toward advancing the Scioto Street Extension while creating opportunities for private investment that benefit the broader community." Andy White, Powell City Manager
The agreement is a framework. Council still has to act on it, and more agreements and development approvals would follow before any work starts.
What fits downtown is being defined case by case
Not every downtown proposal is moving forward easily, and one that stalled shows the standard being applied. Equity Development proposed Powell Gateway at 120 E. Olentangy St.: a 21,600-square-foot, one-story building with seven storefronts. Delaware Source reported that the company had considered apartments over retail but found that version financially infeasible. In September, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously not to recommend the final plan. Commissioners raised concerns about building massing, gateway identity, fit with downtown, and whether single-story commercial suited the site.
The commission sent its recommendation of disapproval to City Council, which makes the final decision.
The Gateway recommendation and the Village Green feedback point the same way. Apartment density drew pushback at the Green. A single-story retail strip drew pushback at the eastern entrance to downtown. Projects with a restaurant, a taproom or a plaza at the center are the ones moving ahead.
Parking is being added to support those uses. Council approved a four-year lease for about 50 more public spaces at 59 E. Olentangy St., after the property owner made upgrades, according to the City.
The Green gets a trial run on Dec. 5
Whatever the master plan proposes, Village Green Park hosts its annual tree lighting about three weeks after the workshop. Holidays in Powell runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. The City's event page lists:
- an iceless ice rink
- a bonfire with free s'mores
- photos with Santa, with pre-registration required
- performances and roaming entertainment
- the annual tree lighting at 6 p.m.
Parking is in the City Hall lot beside the park, the same lot both spring concepts would turn into a garage, and in other downtown lots. Sponsors include The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Newman Roofing and the Powell Development Corporation. The PDC is also the group recruiting a restaurant for 147 W. Olentangy.
A rink on the Green on Dec. 5 also shows, on a small scale, one of the ideas residents put on the spring comment boards.
Before Nov. 12
The concepts shown on Nov. 12 will sit on a downtown that has changed since spring. A restaurant building is going up on West Olentangy Street. A taproom space has a new applicant. Council is weighing a land deal that pays out partly on landing a tenant, and a single-story retail plan received an unfavorable recommendation. The City's Village Green Master Plan page has the spring concepts and feedback for anyone who wants to compare them with the updated draft.
At Cece Miller, we follow downtown Powell closely because what gets built around Village Green affects daily life for Wedgewood households and the rest of the city. If you'd like to talk through how these downtown projects may affect your plans, Request a Private Market Consultation.
