Food festival crowd also gets taste of big change coming to West Chester square

The crowds at a recent food truck rally at this township’s unofficial downtown also gave area residents a taste of the future. The annual Union Centre Food Truck Rally at West Chester Twp.’s central gathering place, The Square @ Union Centre, was the first held with a nearly completed, $50 million, five-story luxury apartment complex now overlooking the square. Between bites of food, some residents shared their thoughts on the massive complex’s impact on the square. MICHAEL D. CLARK/CONTRIBUTED

The crowds at a recent food truck rally at this township’s unofficial downtown also gave area residents a taste of the future. The annual Union Centre Food Truck Rally at West Chester Twp.’s central gathering place, The Square @ Union Centre, was the first held with a nearly completed, $50 million, five-story luxury apartment complex now overlooking the square. Between bites of food, some residents shared their thoughts on the massive complex’s impact on the square. MICHAEL D. CLARK/CONTRIBUTED

WEST CHESTER TWP. — The crowds at a food truck rally at this township’s unofficial downtown square also gave area residents a taste of the future.

Friday’s annual Union Centre Food Truck Rally at West Chester Twp.’s central gathering place — The Square @ Union Centre — was the first held with a nearly completed, $50 million, five-story luxury apartment complex now overlooking the square.

The Clock Tower Apartments — a 326-unit luxury, multi-family community — adjacent to the park-like square drew the attention and comments of some area residents as they chowed down on the tasty fare offered up by dozens of food trucks at the event.

“It’s better than just having an open field that sat there gathering tons of geese,” said 25-year-resident Stacy Klare as she gazed at the massive, five-story complex in its final months of construction.

“It makes it (square) more inviting … and now it looks like we’re becoming more like a city,” said Klare.

“And I definitely think the apartments will bring more business, and that will create more revenue with the taxes to help with the schools and the township all together.”

Fellow area resident Shirley Braden said the new residential community “will bring a lot more people down here.”

“More people might be willing to come to the square and see what else is down here,” said Braden. “I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with it.”

So is her daughter Caroline Braden, a senior at Lakota West High School – directly across West Chester Road from the square.

“It’s going to bring in a lot more people, and it could also open up a lot of opportunities for small businesses to move into the area. But with the influx of more people, it could cause problems with traffic, especially during school days.”

West Chester Twp. trustees recently approved a $2 million upgrade to The Square @ Union Centre, which first opened 15 years ago and has since become the “living room” of this booming Butler County community.

>> EARLIER: $2 million more for West Chester square next to new, large apartment complex

Construction on the $2 million of additional park features will begin soon — with a projected completion of summer 2025.

Area resident Laura Lessing had some concerns about the many changes on the horizon.

“This square hasn’t been here that long. Why do we have to … redo the whole thing?” said Lessing.

“We had looked into moving into the apartments if we sold our house, but we think it’s too many apartments in a condensed area,” she said.

Her husband, Eli Lessing, said “There are always concerns when new things come along, but there could be good things too. We have to wait and see.”

The $50 million Clocktower condo/apt. complex project at the high-profile center square of West Chester Twp. enters its final phase of construction and West Chester Township officials recently announced new plans to expand and add features to The Square @ Union Center to attract and cater to hundreds of new residents expected to move in by early 2025. These could include a splash park, public art and an outdoor performance stage. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

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