West Chester Twp. to sell Activity Center after Kroger sale fails

The giant West Chester Twp. Kroger marketplace deal is officially dead now that the township has decided to sell the former Activity Center and push forward with library expansion to house community gathering space.

The trustees are expected to put the Activity Center at Tylersville and Cox roads up for sale today, Dec. 14 and approve a $627,000 engineering contract for a MidPointe Library expansion. The township considered other options for the property including re-opening the facility for community use.

“The cost of needed renovations and the demands of staffing such a facility would bear significant cost to taxpayers with no apparent sustainable funding source,” Township Administrator Larry D. Burks said. “Therefore, the trustees will be asked to list the property for sale.”.

With Township Trustee approval, NorthRidge Realty Group will handle the listing of the property which is made up of two parcels for a total of approximately 3.59 acres including a 16,092 square-foot building.

Senior citizens displaced when Community First vacated the Activity Center and stopped programming have been gathering at the Boys and Girls Club on Cincinnati-Dayton Road.

There were many moving parts and parties involved in trying to build a new 117,166-square-foot Marketplace. The deal was contingent on Regency Centers being able to acquire the Activity Center, the Providence Bible Fellowship church, a sliver from Chesterwood Village and easements and agreements with about 10 other property owners to complete the complicated deal.

The trustees gave Regency an extension of the timeline that was set in the purchase agreement to March 2020. The company had 90 days to acquire the church and Chesterwood properties and six months to complete due diligence. However three 90-day extensions could be requested at a cost of $50,000 each. The trustees agreed to amend the contract giving Regency another six months with $100,000 due last September.

The trustees renewed discussions with Regency and Kroger earlier this fall to no avail.

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