But the city plans to demolish the plaza, which it bought last year in hopes of redeveloping the land to jump start a multi-million entertainment district. And a deal to keep both operations in West Carrollton at a new site was denied by the state, city Economic Development Director Michael Lucking said.
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“That’s a service that a lot of people use and it brings people to the community,” he said. “We want to keep (them) here.”
By state guidelines, the registrar’s office must remain in the city or move to Miamisburg or Moraine, West Carrollton officials said.
The deputy registrar in West Carrollton, Brian Manley, last week declined to comment on the office’s future site, and Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Public Information Officer Lindsey Bohrer said only “we’re still working out the details.”
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West Carrollton bought Carrollton Plaza last spring after city council approved a $3.2 million financial package for 13.75 acres at the southwest quadrant of Interstate 75’s Exit 47.
The package allowed the city to pay $1.8 million for nearly 11 acres, get another 2-plus acre tract donated, and pay about $1 million to get the land “shovel ready,” records show.
At that time, city officials said their goal was to have Carrollton Plaza vacant by the end of 2017. But last month the city approved a lease extension through June for both the deputy registrar and the auto title office.
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The deal runs month to month and can be terminated by either party with 30 days notice, Lucking said.
Both deputy registrar’s agency and auto title office were set to agree to leases at the Imperial Square shopping center near Alex Road and Ohio 725, Lucking said. But he said the deal was nixed by the state because it was too close to registrars’ offices in Centerville and Franklin.
However, the BMV’s Bohrer said in an email Friday “there are no defined minimum standards or franchise territories for distance between (deputy registrar) agencies.”
An issue for West Carrollton, Lucking said, is it does not have a surplus of the type of real estate needed by the deputy registrar and the auto title office.
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“The challenge I have is we don’t have a whole lot of retail store fronts,” he said. “They kind of need to be around Dixie or Central Avenue – or somewhere in that area. And right now I don’t have a lot of retail space to meet their needs.
“They’re going to have to make a decision soon because we don’t want to keep the Carrollton Plaza property” as is, Lucking said.
“We originally wanted to shut it down right around now,” he added. “We’re working cooperatively with the tenants to try to assist them. But it’s going to take a little longer than what we expected.”
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