Wolpert Purchase Marks Major City Investment
To secure control of how 120 acres on Davidson Road, just east of Hilliard Davidson High School, is to be developed the city of Hilliard will ante up almost $11 million to secure the land
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.
The 120 acres is on the north side of Davidson Road, west of Leap Road and just east of the railroad crossing and is known as the Wolpert property, named for the family selling it, and includes Larry Wolpert, a former Hilliard City Council member and Ohio representative.
The purchase agreement also includes 1.8 acres for $1.2 million at Cemetery Road and Northwest Parkway, a portion of which is currently is use as the Park and Ride owned and operated by the Central Ohio Transit Authority.
The purchase price of the two acres combined is $12 million but the authorizing ordinance approves the issuance of bonds not to exceed $13 million “for the purpose of funding the cost of acquiring real property and interests in real property for municipal purposes, and approving related matters in connection with the issuance of notes.
The language in the ordinance states the purchase will provide a “significant economic development benefit for the community.”
“The COTA acquisition allows the city to control the development of a key property at the gateway into the community (and) acquisition of the Wolpert property provides the city with a unique opportunity to secure a large tract of developable land in an important corridor of the city. This will allow the city to explore opportunities to attract quality commercial development that could grow employment opportunities. Additionally, control over this property provides the land needed for a thoroughfare street, multiuse trail, parkland and a natural buffer for adjacent residential properties,” according to the ordinance.
Hilliard Development Director David Meadows said the land acquisition is in keeping with the priorities of the administration and staff.
“One of the priorities for the City of Hilliard's economic development efforts in recent years has been to attract and help grow businesses in high-tech industries. Great examples of this work can be seen at Converge Technologies, where entrepreneurs in technology-related start-ups are collaborating to bring some very creative high-tech ideas from concept to market,” Meadows said.
It is not an uncommon practice, according to Meadows, and is often used to prevent undesirable development as much as having an already specified path for desired development.
“It is a common strategy for cities to want to ensure that select parcels of land are developed in ways that bring high value to the community without negative impacts. To achieve those goals, a city may purchase those properties to maintain better control of how they are developed. This helps ensure that developments that might otherwise adversely affect the community do not occur,” Meadows said.
“We know that without the City of Hilliard's purchase, this land will still ultimately be developed in some manner. However, at that point the City would have less ability to steer that development toward a use that maximizes its value to the community while minimizing potential impacts,” Meadows said.
“While we do not currently have a specific developer for the Wolpert property, purchasing it gives the city the opportunity to acquire a large tract of land and work to ensure it is developed for its highest, best use- ideally, technology, research and development, and similar businesses,” Meadows said.
The parcel could provide opportunities for companies that got a start in Hilliard to remain here, Meadows said.
Owning the parcels will “provide greater opportunities for existing and prospective businesses to stay in Hilliard (and allows it) to be developed in a way that does not adversely affect our residents with undue noise, traffic, or environmental impacts.”
With ownership, the city will also be able to directly control other aspects of the site.
“Another significant benefit of owning the land is that the City will have a lot more say in how portions of the land will be used for the common good, such as pedestrian and vehicle connectivity, parkland and green space, site aesthetics, and environmental benefits,” Meadows said.
John Bair, CEO and chief technological officer of Converge Technologies, 4621 Lyman Drive, lauds the city's vision in purchasing the parcel for use as a tech park.
Converge Technologies partners with the City of Hilliard in an initiative called Hilliard City Lab to promote the growth and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies locally.
Converge Technologies facility on Lyman Drive serves as an incubator of sorts for these emerging technology applications.
"But when these companies become successful and grow enough, there isn't enough room here," Bair said.
To that end, Bair said he expressed his desire to Meadows and City Manager Michelle Crandall that the city find a path to provide an opportunity for growing technology companies to stay in Hilliard.
Among these companies is Lighthouse Avionics, a modular airspace management system that, as part of the Hilliard City Lab, are developing the technology and protocols to market drones used by first responders.
As an example, such drones could be dispatched to provide information in real time ahead of medics and police officers driving toward the scene of a traffic accident where conditions such as vehicles on fire or upside down on the highway could dictate an enhanced response.
The Davidson Road parcel could provide such an opportunity not only to companies such as Lighthouse Avionics, but to Converge Technologies itself.
Bair said it is possible that his own company could occupy space at the future tech park and move some of its operations such as marketing and production off-site, while engineering and research-and-development continues at the Lyman Drive campus.
I can only hope that Hilliard will hold the developers more accountable for the construction of roads, infrastructure and help the schools out as well as the fire and police departments!! Hilliard is totally weak when it comes to these negotiations. We the taxpayers have to do the heavy lifting and our taxes are soaring to levels unimaginable.
I sent them all a letter to this effect last summer. No one responded except Less Carrier.
Kevin, Check the location of the Park and Ride. The article describes it at Cemetery and Northwest Parkway, which do not intersect. It should read Cemetery and Parkway Lane.