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West Chester downplays library plans

Township officials cite cost of Union Centre Boulevard land as one drawback

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

September 13, 2006

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Concerns from some residents over plans to build a larger public library off Union Centre Boulevard are premature at best, township leaders cautioned late Tuesday.

 

The proposed project is just that - an idea - at this point, Township Trustee Catherine Stoker said.

 

Though township trustees recently voted to move forward with the plan, they still must work out the size and cost of the facility and purchase land to build it before the deal is final, she added.

 

 

E-mail jedwards@enquirer com

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060913/NEWS01/609130374/1056

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From the 9/21/06 Enquirer:

 

 

$10M traffic plan for West Chester

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. – The commercially exploding Union Centre Boulevard area will see about $10 million in road improvements over the next several years, a traffic engineer said today.

 

Butler County traffic engineer Matt Loeffler held a meeting for business leaders at West Chester Township hall to outline the projects and to seek ideas for smoother traffic flow.

 

 

Source: Butler County Engineer’s Office[/color]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060921/NEWS01/309210017/1056/rss02

 

  • 2 weeks later...

From the 9/28/06 Pulse-Journal:

 

 

Library move to Union Centre still under study

By Cameron Fullam

Staff Writer

Thursday, September 28, 2006

 

One township resident wants trustees to ask residents before backing a proposed move of the West Chester library to a new building on Union Centre.

 

Township trustees and library officials have made the case for years that the current 16,000-square-foot library on Cox Road is too small to serve growing demand and that there is no space left for expansion.

 

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5122 or [email protected].

 

http://www.pulsejournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/09/28/pj092806wcmeeting.html

 

From the 10/5/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Some back library move to former Kroger

By Cameron Fullam

Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Adding to a debate over the future location of a larger local library, some residents are asking if an abandoned Kroger building in Liberty Twp. would be the best option.

 

In a Sept. 28 letter to the editor, Liberty Twp. resident Ken Pinder said he has little doubt a larger library is needed to serve the growing area.

 

 

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or [email protected].

 

http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/10/04/hjn100506library.html

 

  • 4 weeks later...

Residents get peek at W. Chester library

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - An open house at the existing 16,000-square-foot library off Cox Road Wednesday drew dozens of residents who filled out surveys and talked with library officials and committee members.

 

It was the first of two sessions this week so leaders can solicit input as they plan a new, larger facility for this fast-growing community of nearly 60,000 residents.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061102/NEWS01/611020387/1056/COL02

  • 2 weeks later...

From the 10/26/06 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: A board should oversee renovation of The Voice of America building into a museum, West Chester officials say.  Enquirer file

 

Voice of America overseer proposed

Board would guide evolution into museum

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Township officials say it's time to set up a board to oversee renovation of the Voice of America building, which once relayed radio broadcasts across the globe, into a national museum.

 

Such a board would help get corporate donations for the project, said township Trustee George Lang.

 

Turning the building into a museum is expected to cost about $12 million and take more than five years, officials have said.

 

...

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061026/NEWS01/610260381/1056/COL02

 

New W. Chester library headed to Union Centre

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

November 16, 2006

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Residents could see a $10 million library in the Union Centre Boulevard area in about two years - without being taxed for it.

 

Township trustees agreed late Tuesday the project has public support after residents of a newly formed library committee presented findings from two recent meetings to get comment from the community.

 

 

E-mail [email protected]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061116/NEWS01/611160378/1056/COL02

  • 3 weeks later...

From the 11/16/06 Enquirer:

 

 

VOA Park may become much-needed soccer fields

Tournament site envisioned

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Most of the township's 330-acre Voice of America Park likely will be turned over to MetroParks of Butler County next month for development into soccer and other fields.

 

Residents can sound off on the plan at a Dec. 5 joint meeting between West Chester trustees and the MetroParks board.

 

If the deal receives approval from the National Park Service, Butler County's park system would start construction on some of the fields next year.

 

...

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061116/NEWS01/611160377/1056/COL02

 

From the 12/6/06 Enquirer:

 

 

$750K to rehab VOA's building

Grant will fund stopgap repairs

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Efforts to renovate the crumbling Voice of America building will get a $750,000 boost from a state grant that township officials announced late Tuesday.

 

Money from Ohio's capital budget - expected to be approved in the next week - will go to West Chester Township, to be combined with $275,000 in township funds already set aside to launch a $1.2 million repair project. The goal: to stop the deterioration long enough to pursue a $12 million project to convert it into a full-blown museum.

 

"We are very fortunate that we were able to get this through," trustees President George Lang said. "This means the building - which right now is at the mercy of the weather elements - will be in great shape within the next six to nine months."

 

...

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061206/NEWS01/612060354/1056/COL02

 

Just think-- if they tore down the VOA building they could fit in a 19th soccer field! 

I am real glad I don't live in these NIMBY townships/suburbs around Cincy.  I suggested in the discussion about the Freedom Center funding discussion that those who oppose funding museums should also oppose funding libraries and the like....WELL THEY DO?!?!?!?!?!  Absolutely rediculous...I know that some are questioning the location, but others just don't want the money to be spent.  What a bunch of wackos!

 

Press conference today on West Chester library

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

December 21, 2006

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Plans for a $10 million library in West Chester Township - and repercussions of a possible referendum against it - will be discussed at a 10 a.m. news conference today at the current library at 7900 Cox Road.

 

This week, township trustees voted to proceed with building a 50,000-square-foot library in the Union Centre Boulevard area. The location preferred by the trustees is eight acres across from Lakota West High School. Otherwise, township officials say they can't afford to build it.

 

The current 12,000-square-foot Cox Road library was built in 1983, has been expanded several times and has no more room for growth.

 

But resident Jim Hayes said he will start gathering signatures for a referendum this weekend to place the issue on a future ballot.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS01/612210361/1056/COL02

I don't care how much grasscat puts into this website, bumbing this thread must result in an eternal ban!

 

LOL...may I plead my case?

 

If I have to split off a post from one thread to add to a new thread, I have to dig around to find the thread I want to attach it to.  Bumping it brings the thread to the top of the list, making it easy to find.  I usually delete the "bump" post after that's done, but in this case I forgot.

 

 

LOL, I do the same thing.

Referendum could axe library

Wait for W. Chester vote may kill it, supporters say

BY JENNIFER BAKER | [email protected]

December 22, 2006

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A referendum to decide whether the township should build a $10 million library at Union Centre could kill the project, Middletown Public Library officials and some residents cautioned Thursday.

 

"If we are delayed a year, we could lose the site and funding," said Jim Keys, a West Chester resident who serves on a library committee overseeing the project. "This is a golden opportunity for the community. We hate to see it delayed."

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061222/NEWS01/612220361/1056/COL02

  • 2 weeks later...

From the 12/7/06 Enquirer:

 

 

RENDERING: An endowment campaign is being organized for West Chester's planned urban park and town square.  Artist's rendering

 

Envision (your name here) on clock tower

BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - It's hip to be square.

 

That's the proposed slogan for an endowment campaign to start next year. It would raise money for West Chester Township's new gathering place: a $2.5 million town square and urban park with an 80-foot tall clock/bell tower.

 

Construction on the 2-acre park along Union Centre Boulevard just west of Muhlhauser Road is to start in February or March and be complete in July - in time to host the annual Union Centre Boulevard Bash in August.

 

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061207/NEWS01/612070362/1056/COL02

 

From the 12/30/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Convention center to open in early 2007

By Matt Cunningham

Staff Writer

Saturday, December 30, 2006

 

Some time in January, it will be official: West Chester Twp. is getting a convention center.

 

The Savannah at Chappell Crossing, a 42,000-square-foot event facility being built on Beckett Road south of Union Centre Boulevard, will have its official groundbreaking in late January or early February 2007, according to center director Pamela Shrout.

 

 

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or [email protected]

 

http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/12/30/hjn123006savannah.html

 

Does greater Cincinnati/Dayton need another convention center?  I think not.

Why not?  Does Cincinnati need another park on the riverfront?  Ummmm, nope.

Two totally different things 1012.  The park is part of a master plan that has been in the works for a long, long time and is the front door to our region.  The other is adding more space to an already saturated convention market.

Isn't Sharonville Convention Center only a mile or two away from this???

  • 3 weeks later...

West Chester goes for 'wow' factor

'Main Street feel' goal of $50M in projects

Cincinnati Business Courier - January 19, 2007by Laura BavermanStaff Reporter

 

Development plans for a downtown district in West Chester's Union Centre are under way, the result of a community visioning plan approved in 2006.

 

More than $50 million in projects is planned for the area, to be called Town Square. A combination of public and private investment, it includes shops, office, restaurants, a library and a public urban park in a Main Street-like setting.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/01/22/story1.html?b=1169442000^1404933#1

From the photos, this doesn't look very urban.

"A sprawling park, including a bell tower, will help anchor the community"

 

 

-nuff said...

Urban my butt. It will be a nice park (that you drive to) surrounded by strip centers, fast food establishments and large suburban office buildings with a parking lot around them. Add in a blue IKEA box and you have suburban nirvana. When will the madness end? Only when gas is $5.00 dollars a gallon. :shoot:

Come on guys...why soo harsh??  This looks to be a GREAT urban utopia...it even has a clocktower!!!!!

  • 2 weeks later...

that aerial makes me sad.  it is amazing how we squander our national wealth.

West Chester heart emerging

Shops, restaurants, offices in $16 million development

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A new, $16 million office-retail project at Centre Point and Towne Centre drives will be at the heart of the emerging township downtown district north of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

Construction is expected to begin this spring on a three-story, 75,000-square-foot building, the first of three buildings planned by Towne Centre Square Partners LLC at the southwest corner of the intersection. Two more two-story buildings, each 20,000 square feet, are planned later.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070214/BIZ01/702140311/

 

You can view the rendering on their site.

The similarities between that new park and Fountain Square are amazing.  That has to be one of the most urban parks I have ever seen ;) 

 

I wonder what Rob Fischer and the park's designer would consider "urban"?

  • 1 month later...

From the 2/1/07 Enquirer:

 

 

West Chester preparing for events facility

BY MIKE BOYER | [email protected]

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A formal groundbreaking is planned in late February for the township's largest private meeting facility.

 

The Savannah Center at Chappell Crossing is planned as a $10 million, 48,000-square-foot building overlooking a man-made 4-acre lake on Chappell Crossing off Union Centre Boulevard.

 

The facility, which will handle gatherings of up to 1,200 people, is the brainchild of Charlie Chappell, one of the developers behind the growth of the Union Centre area who first outlined the center two years ago. He is one of 10 private investors in the project slated to open in November.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/BIZ01/702010345/1001/BIZ

 

From the 2/4/07 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Growth drives Manpower Inc. to Union Centre

By Matt Cunningham

Staff Writer

Sunday, February 04, 2007

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Manpower Inc., a Milwaukee-based temporary and temp-to-hire service provider that has been in the Cincinnati area for more than 20 years, has relocated its Tri-County branch office to Union Centre Boulevard.

 

The company cited multiple reasons for the move, but chief among them is the township's rapid growth: As more businesses come to the area, that means more potential clients for Manpower.

 

 

Contact this reporter at (533) 755-5127 or [email protected]

 

http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/04/hjn020407manpower.html

 

From the 2/13/07 Enquirer:

 

 

New office-retail project in West Chester

BY MIKE BOYER | [email protected]

 

WEST CHESTER – A new $16 million office-retail project at Centre Point and Towne Centre Drives will be at the heart of the emerging township downtown district, north of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

Construction is expected to begin this spring on a three-story 75,000-square-foot building, the first of three buildings planned by Towne Centre Square Partners LLC, at the southwest corner of the intersection.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/BIZ01/302130030

 

From the 2/28/07 Enquirer:

 

 

Union Centre library approved

BY JESSICA BROWN | [email protected]

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. – A new $13 million library here will be open by January, 2009, on Union Centre Boulevard.

 

Township trustees voted Tuesday night to spend $5 million for land and pre-construction work for the new 50,000-square-foot library across from Lakota West High School. It will be three times larger than the current library on Cox Road and will have room to expand.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070228/NEWS01/302280009/-1/rss

 

From the 3/8/07 Pulse-Journal:

 

 

Public Safety Campus beginning to take shape

Redesign of township's facilities at the corner of Cincinnati-Dayton and West Chester roads is scheduled to break ground in late summer.

By Matt Cunningham

Staff Writer

Thursday, March 08, 2007

 

West Chester Twp. is on schedule for a late 2007 start for the Public Safety Campus, a redesign of the township's facilities at the corner of Cincinnati-Dayton Road and West Chester Road.

 

Project architect Michael Schuster Associates has presented trustees with elevations of the proposed 52,060-square-foot facility. Schumacher Dugan has been hired as the project and construction manager for the project, which is expected to break ground in late summer 2007.

 

 

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5077 or [email protected].

 

http://www.pulsejournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/09/pjw030807campus.html

 

New McDonald's Coming to West Chester

Posted By: Kevin Delaney

 

Construction is underway on the Tri-State's first contemporary McDonald's restaurant.

The restaurant on Allen Road in West Chester is scheduled to open in late June. The upgrade includes high-back booths, flat panel TV's and wi-fi access.

 

The West Chester location is the first new design McDonald's in southwest Ohio.

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=bb1ef616-1d34-460c-a8a3-9ad48061e691

 

Wow!  I think I will drive past the 75 other McDonald's between my house and this one just to go to West Chester.  Oh wait, that is the business plan of every chain store in West Chester LOL.

I saw one of these concepts somewhere here in Michigan, but I can't remember where.  I guess it didn't make that much of an impression on me.

  • 3 weeks later...

West Chester offices filling up

Tight market gets even tighter

BY MIKE BOYER | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

April 14, 2007

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - AK Steel's lease of Duke Realty Corp.'s new 135,000-square-foot Centre Pointe V building off Union Centre Boulevard has further tightened the West Chester Township office market.

 

 

  • 3 months later...

Just to let everyone know, I think the Village at the Streets of West Chester has died. Ryan Homes pulled their sales trailer last year and all the roads are blocked with barriers. Too bad as this would've been better than what is currently being built in the metro.  Also, with IKEA just down the street, I would think another developer would come in.

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm really glad they put square in quotes for the headline...this is as similar to Fountain Square as a detention pond is to Lake Michigan.

 

West Chester's 'Square' underway

BY ELAINE TRUMPEY | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

August 22, 2007

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. – A groundbreaking Wednesday for the Square at Union Centre signaled the beginning of a $2.2 million urban park that will create the West Chester equivalent of Cincinnati’s Fountain Square.

 

A 70-foot-high clock tower built by The Verdin Company will be the focal point of the 2.2-acre green space along Centre Pointe Drive

 

 

Some of the park amenities will depend on donations. First Financial Bancorp kicked off the fund-raising campaign by announcing a $250,000 donation[/size]. The gift will be recognized by a plaque on the clock tower, said township administrator Judi Boyko.

 

Ha.ha ..that must be one heavy chunk of copper :-D

  • 3 months later...

Library of the future

November 29, 2007 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Plans for a new library are moving forward after West Chester Township trustees gave informal approval to the $9.6 million facility.

 

The library is planned as part of the Towne Centre development between Centre Pointe Drive and West Chester Road.

 

The facility will replace the West Chester branch on Cox Road, which is too small to accommodate the growing community.

 

Design plans include a pedestrian bridge linked to a nearby community park, and outdoor reading areas. The new design, a combination of two earlier suggestions, should be finished in 2009.

 

Image Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer

Here is another overly flattering article on the library, with another rendering:

 

Destination path in works

New West Chester library designed to be enticing

BY AMBER ELLIS | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

November 30, 2007

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - The public library of the future will begin rising next year in West Chester Township.

 

The design plans, informally approved this week by township trustees, call for open spaces, a café, self checkout, an outdoor reading garden, a children's storytelling area, and other design features that experts say reflect how newer libraries are trying harder to make visitors feel more at home during their visits.

 

 

Image Credit: Cincinnati Enquirer

  • 2 weeks later...

Office options announced

South Pointe to include hotel, retailers

BY MIKE BOYER | December 15, 2007

 

There's no cooling off the hot office market around Union Centre Boulevard.  Duke Realty Corp. said Friday it plans to construct two 150,000-square-foot office buildings south of the Streets of West Chester retail center along Interstate 75.

 

Those plans are part of a $50 million development, underscoring the growth of the Union Centre interchange.  Duke acquired about half of a 30-acre site along the east side of the interstate between the Streets of West Chester and Allen Road in November for $6.4 million from developer Scott Street Partners.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071215/BIZ01/712150338/1076/BIZ

$5OM project for West Chester

BY LAURA BAVERMAN | December 14, 2007

 

More than $50 million of development is planned for a site south of the Streets of West Chester retail center, to bring Interstate 75's Union Centre exit offices, a hotel and upscale restaurants.  The development, once complete, could add as many as 1,200 jobs.

 

Developer Scott Street Partners purchased the 31-acre property and created a site plan, then spent two years wooing Duke Realty to purchase and develop the office portion of the site, to be called South Pointe at Union Centre. Duke closed on 15 acres in November and committed to developing two 150,000-square-foot office buildings.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/12/17/story2.html

  • 4 months later...

Sounds like that new square may be getting some action this summer.

 

Parties to redefine W. Chester's image?

BY AMBER ELLIS | [email protected]

 

West Chester is trying to ditch its image as an ultra family-oriented suburb by reaching out to young professionals with plans for after-hours concerts and parties this summer.

 

Leaders envision weekly events similar to downtown Cincinnati’s Party in the Park, a place where the more youthful hang out after work. They say they want to create an environment where people primarily aged 25-34 years old would not only work in West Chester, but want to stay, play and maybe even live there too.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/NEWS01/305010030

Looks like what Hamilton has been doing at the downtown Fitton Center for the last 2 years, with some good success. I don't remember the enquirer doing an article on Hamilton's efforts?

Looks like what Hamilton has been doing at the downtown Fitton Center for the last 2 years, with some good success. I don't remember the enquirer doing an article on Hamilton's efforts?

 

Typical enquirer bias - going over the top with do-good stories about west chester and other suburban locations and giving the shaft to cities.

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