Retail is still off the table, however, except for specific areas of the campus.
The applicant, 2800 Indian Ripple Rd, LLC, is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Z Equity Group. The Ohio University Foundation sold the property to the group in January 2024.
At a public hearing on Monday, one current tenant spoke in favor of the rezoning, saying the new owners had done a fair amount of work in “upgrading and doing a lot of the deferred maintenance” on the building, which has been there during his 10-year residence.
“I think it’s a tremendous location, the housing is building up around it,” the tenant said. “It’d be nice to have other people around. It’d be nice to have some other conveniences. If it were me, I’d let them put in a little pizza joint.”
Township trustees expressed concern about changing the expected nature of the facility from research and development uses, particularly as the campus is located immediately northeast of the proposed Beavercreek High School.
“The general consensus ... is that this piece in particular needs to remain consistent with, essentially, the story that was told by your predecessors,” said Trustee Tom Kretz, referring to discussions with Miami Valley Regional Planning.
Discussion Monday night centered on the uses of the facility being additive to, rather than replacing its research and development functions, narrowing down the acceptable uses to 29 different types of businesses.
For example, current tenants include science, technology and engineering firm KBR, higher education group SOCHE and engineering-manufacturing firm QQE, per documents from the township. But the center is also home to a gym and dance studio, as well as the Greene County Youth Robotics Club.
In 2019, Ohio University proposed a sweeping revitalization of the site that went through a lengthy local negotiation process, but the plan never materialized, according to township documents. The Ohio University Foundation ultimately approved a plan to sell the property in November 2021.
“I go back to when Mr. Russ (donated) this land, I thought it was in perpetuity,” said Trustee Debborah Wallace. “It is still to me, unbelievable that they were allowed to sell it.”
Lawyers for the applicant told trustees that they conducted an extensive search for deed restrictions on the property in both Greene County and at Ohio University and found none.
“You’re trying to change and live and put new life into a structure that is dying. And so I appreciate that,” Wallace said.
Auditor of State records show that the center’s management “collaborated with various professional organizations” in the Dayton region to drum up new research partnerships, but these efforts did little to improve the center’s occupancy.
Located at 2670 Indian Ripple Road in Beavercreek Twp., the Russ Research Center was built between 1955 and 1970, between Alpha-Bellbrook Road and Factory Road. The campus was given to Ohio University by the late Fritz and Dolores Russ in 2008. The donation of the research center was part of a $124 million gift from the Russ family to OU, according to news reports at the time.
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