Pictured is an illustrative plan for a development aimed at empty nesters to go at the northern tip of the Woodside development PUD on Columbus Avenue. The plan was presented to council at its Monday work session.
(Image submitted)
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During the presentation of the first phase of the future Woodside development on Columbus Avenue, Marysville Council members had some gentle – and not-so-gentle – feedback.
“This is nowhere close to what I was led to believe was going to be in that area,” council member Nevin Taylor said.
A community aimed at empty-nesters will be the first phase of a multi-use development on Columbus Avenue.
Jonathan Wilcox, of Wilcox Communities in Worthington, told council at Monday’s work session this would be his company’s first project in Marysville. It will consist of 195 single-story units with attached garages, going for an estimated $1,300 to $1,600 per month.
“They tend to be pretty expensive on a price-per-square-foot basis,” Wilcox said.
The current plan has a clubhouse for residents near the entrance of the development, and a dog park in the middle portion.
Taylor said he believes the neighbors in that area won’t appreciate having so many new units in the area. He also expressed concern at the density of the development
“Maybe I’m being too blunt, and if so I apologize to you ahead of time, but I cannot support this,” Taylor said.
Taylor asked what Wilcox could do to shrink the development.
“Convince me that we could do something different here,” Taylor said.
Wilcox said he couldn’t speak for what was portrayed throughout the process to get the planned unit development approved.
“My understanding was that this would be essentially more of a lower-density use, so that’s the area that we zeroed in on,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox noted the development might look denser on paper than it actually is. He said since they’re single-story units, it won’t be a packed in as it looks.
Wilcox also said a road coming off Columbus Avenue leading into the development will have an entrance into the neighborhood and extend along its edge. He also said it will be incorporated into the denser development to the south.
Taylor expressed concern about how, at least for now, there’s only one entrance to the development. He said that could prove disastrous in the event of a fire or medical emergency in the southeast corner of the neighborhood.
He said if a fire breaks out in that area, “they’re all going down.”
“That just scares me,” Taylor said. “I have all respect for our fire department, but if they happen to hit one of those weird nights, when it’s a mess on Industrial (Parkway) to start with, and they can’t get in, they’ll be out there watching the flames go up in the air.”
Wilcox said his company can “look at” the situation further.
Taylor said he’d like an entrance for the east, west and middle of the development. That would allow fire and EMS crews to quickly access any part of the neighborhood.
Councilperson Alan Seymour encouraged Wilcox to consider a more modern design to reflect Marysville’s growing status as a tech hub.
“Marysville’s on the move,” he said. “Some of this project needs to display that.”
He suggested a more updated design for the units toward Columbus Avenue.
Wilcox said his company can work with the design review board and City Planner Chad Flowers when the time comes. He said the current plan has a style he’s seen work in other places.
“We’re not ‘take it or leave it’ kind of builders,” Wilcox said. “We’ll certainly work hard and try to meet that objective.”
“The front needs to display a higher-tech image, with more architectural creativity,” Seymour said.
The application will appear at the Oct. 10 design review board meeting.