Posted: 7:36 p.m.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Delays slow proposed gas station project in
Middletown
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/ed-richter/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Plans
to build a http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/new-gas-station-eatery-and-store-planned-for-i-75-/njBMC/" rel="nofollow - Middletown’s
Renaissance District have faced delays.
Lenny
Robinson, property agent and president of Robinson Commercial Real Estate, said
in a statement that the $2.4 million project has been a year in the making.
However, getting Duke Energy power poles and lines relocated has delayed
movement on the project, he said.
Robinson
said in addition to waiting for power poles to be moved, he’s also waiting on
other construction and underground tank designs and plans. Despite the delays,
Robinson expects to have the plans and other materials needed to present to the
Middletown Planning Commission at their August meeting to clear the next step.
Lee
Freedman, a Duke Energy spokesman said via email Friday that company
representatives recently met with the project developer and Middletown officials to discuss how to best
relocate the power poles and lines to accommodate this development while still
meeting local ordinances for utilities.
Freedman
said Duke representatives left that meeting with orders to relocate a small
portion of the utility infrastructure from overhead to underground lines. He
said two business days later, Duke provided a revised cost estimate to the
developer to relocate the Duke Energy equipment on the site.
“At
this point, we’re still waiting to hear back from the developer about who is
responsible for paying to relocate the lines, wires and equipment that are
connected to our power poles, yet owned by other utilities. Once we receive
this information, we’ll contact the other utilities so they can provide the
developer or responsible party with cost estimates,” Freedman said via email.
“Once all of the cost estimates are approved, we can begin working with the
other utilities on coordinating the work and completing the project.”
Robinson
said the 6,000-square-foot facility located at the former putt-putt golf course
at the intersection of Commerce
Drive and Ohio
122 will feature an upscale design and could employ up to 30 people.
The
city’s economic development and engineering departments have been working with
Robinson’s client, MNR LLC, on a number of land issues such as facilitating
curb cuts, and adjusting rights of way. MNR will also acquire one acre of land
from Commerce Center LLC, a local investment group that owns several acres of
land on Commerce Drive,
Robinson previously said.
Mo
Patel, of MNR LLC, told the Journal-News earlier this year the Middletown
interchange was an ideal location because it was the only one of nine between Cincinnati and Dayton
that did not have a gas station.
MNR,
led by Mo and Nick Patel, currently owns and operates multiple gas stations
throughout the Dayton
area.
The
closest gas stations at this time are at the Kroger Marketplace and the Meijer
stores on Towne Boulevard,
at Roosevelt and Breiel boulevards and one in the Warren County
community of Hunter.
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