Grove City council approves preliminary plan for Broadway Live; floodplain study to determine scope

Grove City Council on Jan. 20 approved a preliminary planned-unit development (PUD) plan for Broadway Live, a mixed-use concept that would place retail, restaurants, a food hall, a plaza/event space and a 130-unit apartment complex north of Columbus Street and east of Broadway.

The resolution, CR 0425, passed after a public hearing and discussion about technical steps needed before construction. Council members emphasized that the vote approved the preliminary plan only; subsequent steps include a floodplain delineation, rezoning, traffic and financial studies and additional community input.

City Development Director Kyle Rausch told council the project site is complex because it lies within floodplain areas. Rausch said the city has engaged an engineering firm and will begin a floodplain study the day after the meeting to delineate floodway and floodplain limits, which will be needed to understand what areas of the site are usable and what mitigation would cost.

“Once we delineate those limits, we’ll understand the requirements to improve the site, the cost to improve it and whether public participation will be required,” Rausch said. He said the conceptual PUD includes four subareas, with the apartment building providing about 100 covered parking spaces under its podium and a total site parking supply of about 314 spaces.

Council members voiced support for the concept but repeatedly stressed it is an early-stage approval. Council President (transcript: “President Hoch”) and others praised the community engagement to date and said residents have repeatedly asked when work would move forward. A resident who lives near the site, Patrick Castro, spoke in favor of the project and said he has followed proposals for nearly two years.

Council members and staff noted several follow-up items: a floodplain study (already engaged), a traffic study to assess ingress and egress and how the project will tie into recently planned stormwater improvements on Columbus Street, and a later financial package to determine private and public cost-sharing. Rausch said the pipe project on Columbus Street should provide additional capacity and that engineers do not expect the new development to overburden that system.

Council voted to approve the preliminary PUD. The vote came after a motion to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded and recorded as carried by the council members present.

Next steps listed by staff include completing the floodplain delineation, conducting required traffic and stormwater engineering work, and returning to council for rezoning and final development-plan approvals.

The council discussion also included a procedural note: Councilmember Burrows recused herself from this item because of a family interest in abutting property; Miss Anderson presided over the item while Burrows was absent from the room.