Areas with high concentrations of students such as Mill and Palmer streets have been criticized after riots on Halloween. While the city realizes student neighborhoods are an unchangeable reality, many city officials are concerned with those areas turning into student slums.
The Mill Street revitalization plan aims to partner Ohio University, the city of Athens and the private sector to improve the Mill Street area, which is predominately student housing, said Tom Hodson, who, as a former assistant to OU President Robert Glidden, coordinated the project. Hodson now is the director of E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Since the plan was unveiled in 2002, several property owners and outside developers have expressed interest in improving the Mill Street area. The plan was designed to clean up the Mill Street area and renovate housing, Hodson said.
It was never the university's intention to buy up property in the neighborhood or to put in apartments
he said.
The university owns a small access road near Seigfred Hall, the Intramural fields and the Mill Street Apartments, which are adjacent to Mill Street, said John Kotowski, assistant vice president of facilities planning at OU.
Kotowski added that the university does not directly benefit financially from the revitalizations.
Anything that would revitalize the area would benefit the university but not in a dollar and cents way necessarily
he said.
But, the plan and partnership now is on hold for several reasons, Hodson said. Before to the unveiling the plan was stalled after the university announced the river corridor plan, which included Stimson Avenue, East and South Greens and the Mill Street Apartments. Planners wanted the two plans to merge, and not overlap, he said.
In the river corridor plan, the university has discussed redesigning South Green to add outdoor commons spaces similar to East and West Greens, Kotowski said. Two options the university has are to replace the complexes or remodel the existing buildings.
But, the plan is a large capital investment and the university and board of trustees have yet to make a decision regarding the future of South Green, he said.
A new entrance to the university from Stimson Avenue- eliminating the need to weave through neighborhoods-was another part of the river corridor plan. The road was a strategic method to reroute traffic during high volume times such as move-in day at the beginning of the year, Kotowski said.
A new entrance was one part where the Mill Street plan and the river corridor plan coincided. The new road would open spaces for commercial business, particularly business space with apartments above them, Hodson said.
Financial constraints, though, have put the plan for a new entrance on indefinite hold, Kotowski said. If financially feasible, the road could be built with or without the Mill Street plan.
It's somewhat independent
he said. If Mill Street buildings are torn down it creates options
but it can happen regardless about what happens.
But the decision to put the new entrance on hold did affect the Mill Street plan. Once the entrance was put on hold, interest in commercial business in the Mill Street area waned, Hodson said.
The Mill Street plan has encountered further obstacles. Shortly after the plan was announced, the city presented their idea for a comprehensive plan. The plan is the vision for Athens for the next 20 years, Athens Mayor Ric Abel said.
The plan has slowed the Mill Street project because developers and private owners want to make sure major developments would be accepted by the city plan, Hodson said.
Basically the developers and private citizens who had contacted me said
'we don't want to formalize any kind of partnership and we don't want to start investing major kinds of dollars into the neighborhood until we find out what the city plan is going to be
' he said.
Abel said the city's plan is in the second draft stage, which means that community input has been collected and subcommittees have refined the plan. Now, the plan is in the process of being examined by the entire committee.
Abel said he is unsure why the Mill Street planners are waiting on the Comprehensive Plan.
I don't know that (the Mill Street plan) has to wait
he said. If you have an investor that's willing to go in there and buy 30 houses
tear them all down and build exactly what was in the plan I don't think that council would say 'you can't do that we have to wait for the comprehensive plan.'
Despite the lack of a formal agreement, the Mill Street plan has focused attention on the area, causing many private property owners to show interest in revitalizing their own property, Hodson said. Eventually, he would like the city to offer tax incentives for property owners looking to remodel.
There have been houses that have been expanded and added on to... all the major streets in the area have seen some new development
he said. In part
