Wednesday, May 12, 1999
Homes and businesses expected on Monroe site
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONROE — Plans are moving forward to develop about 500 acres of prime land near Ohio 63 and Ohio 4, city officials say, although the tract's owners aren't saying much publicly about their project.
The development, near Americana Amusement Park, likely will bring many homes and some businesses to this burgeoning community straddling the Butler-Warren county line.
Henkle Schueler and Associates of Lebanon, which manages the land, is expected to ask the city's planning commission in June or July for a zoning change, said Jay Stewart, Monroe assistant city manager.
“It's now zoned single-family, office/light industrial, and commercial,” Mr. Stewart said. “They will probably want to rezone, emphasizing more single family and multifamily, including three-, four- and five-unit condos, not apartments. Our understanding is they would keep some of the land commercial out front, across from Americana.”
The city is working with Henkle Schueler to resolve issues regarding access from Ohio 63, Mr. Stewart said.
“Where they wanted to put an access and a traffic light is not where the city would want to put it,” Mr. Stewart said. “Safety is the No.1 thing.”
David Howicz, project manager with Henkle Schueler, declined to discuss the project or reveal the owners.
Mary Jo Nead, Henkle Schueler's manager of sales and marketing, said the company has a development management contract with the owners of the property, to be called Monroe Crossing.
A marketing brochure on the property says it will be mixed-use, including office/industrial, commercial and single- and multifamily residential. All utilities are available at the site, which has 2.5 miles of road frontage.
Mr. Stewart said there likely will be several developers involved in the project.
“It's such a big tract, the current owners will probably go for the approvals for the access points, then maybe put in the main roads through the site,” Mr. Stewart said. “Then likely developers will come forward and buy tracts and come to us and go through the review process. They will have a bunch of subdivisions within this acreage. It won't be just one development.”
It will be a major project in the city, Mr. Stewart said.
“Nearly 500 acres can hold a lot of houses, a lot of condos and still have some commercial upfront,” Mr. Stewart said. “I think it's very positive. We just want to make sure there are no safety issues. But I'm confident we can work it out. It just takes a little time.”
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