Bertha Buttner, a Xenia resident who attended one of the community meetings on Wednesday, said improving public transportation and street conditions is one of her biggest concerns. Xenia and other areas of Greene County are served by the Greene CATS busing system, which is run by the county.
“I remember in the past, my husband and I and the kids (would) pass through Xenia to go to Yellow Springs. I think that might be the case for other people,” she said. “A lot of people saying there’s nothing to do here other than restaurants and stores, nothing for the kids. (Xenia) needs something that the other places don’t have.”
Positive, negative, and feedback
Positive elements, according to Xenia residents’ feedback, include the city’s bike paths and parks, local businesses, affordability and small-town feel. But downtown vitality, street infrastructure, lack of quality entertainment, homelessness, and crime continue to be problems, survey data shows.
City events for residents to give their own feedback are scheduled from now through the end of the year, including at food truck rallies, Devil Wind Brewing trivia nights and at city festivals like Harvest on Main and the Christmas Station in December.
The next full public meeting like Wednesday’s event will be Nov. 16, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Greene County Media Room, 541 Ledbetter Road. It will focus on neXtPlan strategies and future land use.
“If (residents) participate, then that means we’re going to be able to create a plan that reflects their needs and what is going to make Xenia a good place to live for them. Because that’s the real goal,” city planner Brian Forschner said.
Housing is a key issue
Quality indoor entertainment and commercial development is a common request from Xenia residents, survey data shows. By far the most prevalent use of land in Xenia is single-family housing, closely followed by agriculture, according to the city’s Xplore report, which compiles both city and survey data. Xenia has very little multi-unit housing, like duplexes or apartments, which may be avenues to creating more housing affordability, Forschner said.
The median sale price for a home in Xenia in 2022 was $150,000, but most of the homes currently under construction in the city are in the $300,000-plus range. Xenia, like many places in Ohio, currently has a “missing middle” of housing affordability.
One solution involves promoting infill development on abandoned or vacant properties, including everything from historic houses to empty lots, which currently have a burden of outstanding property taxes.
Xenia has 29% of county’s delinquent property taxes (meaning more than a year’s worth of property taxes past due) but only 15% of county’s population, according to city data. The vast majority of these properties are located on the city’s east side, with many properties abandoned, or with their owners deceased or unreachable.
“There are some properties that have been delinquent for well over a decade, and have accumulated tens of thousands in delinquent taxes,” Forschner said. “We’re maintaining them; the taxpayers are essentially paying for the mowing of these properties. So it’s critical that that foreclosure process continue.”
Foreclosure primarily happens through Greene County courts, but once a property is foreclosed on, and if no one buys it at a county auction, the city may purchase it. Local governments and schools must then waive the delinquent taxes, at which point it may attract a buyer.
The city of Xenia is in the process of implementing a housing preservation program to incentivize people to purchase and then live in these homes.
Xenia already offers property tax abatement in older neighborhoods toward the same end, Forschner said. Builders of single-family homes, or those doing a major rehab of a home, can submit an online application to the city.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Commercial development
Xenia Towne Square has long been a cornerstone project for the revitalization of downtown. The city recently sold off a portion of Towne Square to developer Dillin, which is spearheading a multimillion-dollar revitalization of the area, located in the center of the city.
Soaring interest rates, particularly on the commercial end, have caused challenges, but several companies have already expressed interest in leasing there.
The city’s position directly between the city of Dayton and the Honda-LG battery plant under construction in Fayette County has fueled commercial interest in the property, Forschner said.
“Despite all these headwinds, there is a lot of market interest in the project, and I don’t think that market interest is going to go away. It’s there. It’s here to stay,” Forschner said.
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