Development of the Easton site at 605 N. Main St., also known as Ohio 741, has been a hotly debated issue for years, with various proposals dating back to 2008.
After disagreement between developers and Springboro city council, a 2022 court settlement was reached allowing housing, retail and commercial development on the part of the land closer to Ohio 741, separate from the acreage Springboro is interested in buying.
Springboro City Council voted 5-0 Thursday night to enter into a purchase agreement with Easton Farm Partners, LLC to buy the 60 acres further back off 741. The move allows City Manager Chris Pozzuto to start negotiations to buy the land.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Springboro Mayor John Agenbroad said if a school were to be built on part of the land the city wants to buy, measures would be taken to minimize the traffic impact.
“This could present a unique opportunity to expand our educational offerings, while providing a viable solution to the district’s current aging facilities, ultimately enriching the lives of our students, parents, and community members,” Springboro schools Superintendent Carrie Hester said in the district’s announcement.
City officials said they were approached by representatives of the property owners about buying the land. The city would pay $116,666.67 per acre, according to Springboro records.
While no specific plan for the 60 acres has been decided, it will allow a connection of North Park with Gardner Park “to create a buffer zone for the existing neighborhoods,” according to the city.
Springboro City Council members said they are seeking to buy the land to have control over its future.
“This has been a long … process and we have an opportunity … to buy the lion’s share of it if we can work out all of the details,” Agenbroad said. “If we buy, we control it.”
Councilwoman Becky Iverson said the city bought the land at the northwest corner of Ohio 741 and Ohio 73, where Wright Station has been developed, for similar reasons.
“So, we have controlled everything that’s built,” Iverson said. “We can’t tell a private citizen what to build. I think most of us would agree that’s not what the role of government is.”
A city map of the land designates the homestead, the 60 acres Springboro is proposing to buy and areas for commercial mixed use, multi-family and townhouses.
The city and the school district are seeking a deal involving several properties, both sides said. Aside from the 20-acre piece of the Easton Farm site, it would involve current school district land at the former Jonathan Wright Elementary and Clearcreek Elementary, as well as maintenance and use of Wade Field at the Springboro Intermediate School, district officials said.
Pending Springboro board of education approval, the district would hire an architect to assess the 20-acre Easton Farm parcel and “the outlooks on the district’s current facilities,” according to the city.
If the site assessment at Easton Farm is positive, an agreement for land transfers will be considered by both parties, the city said.
Springboro City Council rejected a development proposal and rezoning for the Easton Farm in 2021. But in October 2022, a court settlement was reached between the city of Springboro, Easton Farm Partners LLC and others, granting certain zoning status to the $265 million housing, retail and commercial development that had been proposed for the site along Ohio 741.
But nothing happened after the court settlement.
“And all of a sudden it went dormant. Nobody had any conversations at all,” Agenbroad said, noting that national economic issues such as inflation and interest rates may have been factors.
Plans to develop the same land had been brought forward by other developers in 2008 and 2017, but either were rejected by the city or dropped.
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