New Year's Resolutions (and Long-Held Plans) Chart Ambitious 2024 for City, Residents and Partners
With new City Council members seated and a city manager with a vote-of-confidence from that Council, Hilliard is poised to undertake significant initiatives in 2024.
They include continuing construction on the Hilliard Recreation and Wellness Campus, implementation of the city’s Community Plan, and augmenting economic growth.
“We will have a continued focus on community health and wellness as we keep moving the Hilliard Recreation and Wellness Campus forward,” Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall said, whose successes in leading the city last year were rewarded with a 6% salary increase City Council approved in December.
“Our future recreation and wellness center, The Well, remains on schedule to open in mid-2025. Construction is moving ahead on schedule, and we anticipate that the facility’s ‘top beam’ will be installed in late January or early February. The athletic fields are progressing as well. In addition to construction, we will begin dedicating time to preparing the center to operate when it opens. That means 2024 will include efforts to ramp up staffing, develop programming, and begin marketing the new facility,” Crandall said.
Although the campus isn’t to open until 2025, access to it will be complete this year.
“We anticipate that the Cosgray extension – which runs through the Recreation and Wellness Campus – will open to traffic in mid-summer of 2024. In addition to providing future access to the campus, we anticipate it will improve traffic flow in this area of our community,” Crandall said.
Other infrastructure improvements are also in store this year.
The 2024 capital budget focuses on improvements to existing city infrastructure, with projects that span from residential sidewalk repair and street paving to underground utilities.
“While new infrastructure projects are also included in the capital budget, keeping existing infrastructure in good repair ensures that the safety, services and aesthetics of our community remain excellent,” Crandall said.
City administrators will also build on the Community Plan in 2024.
In 2023, City Council approved a new comprehensive Community Plan, which outlines the community’s primary goals and vision for the future.
The development of that plan was a process that took more than a year and included feedback from residents throughout the community.
“The next step in this process is to review and update zoning code to reflect the recommendations in the plan. This process will start when recommendations are presented to Planning and Zoning Commission later in 2024,” Hilliard Assistant City Manager Dan Ralley said.
Anticipated focus areas for these changes include the Big Darby region, downtown Hilliard, Cemetery Road, and the I-270 corridor, Ralley said.
Economic Vitality
“We have seen significant economic development progress in Hilliard in the recent years, and 2024 should continue that trend,” Hilliard Economic Development Director David Meadows said.
In the coming year, we will see additional announcements of tenants of the $250 million TruePointe mixed-use development on Trueman Boulevard, east of I-270, Meadows said.
The project features 42,000 square feet of high-end retail and restaurant space, 350 luxury apartment units, a Home2 hotel by Hilton, and 350,000 square feet of office space.
Meanwhile, Forsee Power will open its advanced battery production facility and North American headquarters originally announced in June of 2022. Hiring on LinkedIn went live for some of these jobs January 10, 2024.
Advanced Drainage Systems is finishing its build out of a $65 million engineering and technology center. Both are slated to open in 2024, according to Meadows.
Hilliard will continue to invest in the City Lab initiative, housed at Converge Technologies, which grows research and development investment and attracts high-tech employment opportunities. The city has previously announced its intention for the recent purchase of the Wolpert parcels of property to play a role in this development.
Wolpert Purchase Marks Major City Investment
Hilliard City Council on Nov. 13, at the request of the administration, authorized the issuance of bonds for the purchase of real estate in an amount not to exceed $13 million. The authorizing ordinance approves for the Hilliard Development Corporation to purchase 120 acres on Davidson Road for $10.8 million- or $90,000 per acre.
Police Growth & Service Development
In the arena of public safety, the Hilliard Division of Police will hire additional officers in 2024.
In 2023, Hilliard police hired six new officers to replace retiring officers, and internally promoted two supervisors: one sergeant and one lieutenant.
A re-organization of personnel also allowed the Division to add one full-time detective and an additional support services clerk.
“In 2024, the division will hire its first civilian crime analyst, which will allow investigators to develop more effective strategies for crime prevention and investigation. This investment is essential in addressing the complex challenges of crime in today’s world and will provide a specific expertise in our investigations bureau,” Hilliard Police Chief Michael Woods said.
During the next year, Hilliard residents will continue to see more police vehicles with the updated design, which was first rolled out in January 2023, Woods said.
“We continue to strengthen and grow community programming, allowing officers to connect with residents in meaningful non-enforcement ways, building community trust,” Woods said.