MORE: Development at Hithergreen in Washington Twp. denied by zoning board
But neighbors of the former school-turned-senior center want the land to become a park. They are now collecting signatures to bring the trustees’ decision to a referendum on the May ballot.
“If it goes to a referendum and they win the referendum, it would definitely stop me,” Peebles said. “If they don’t win, we’ll go forward with it.”
Resident Brian Feldmeyer said neighbors want the property that they’ve always treated as a park to officially become one.
“We’ve always used Hithergreen as our green space,” Feldmeyer said. “You take Hithergreen out, and we have no green space whatsoever. It’s kind of the Alamo for us.”
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Feldmeyer is running for trustee in tandem with Matt Lynch, who does not live in the neighborhood but has spearheaded the referendum, Feldmeyer said.
Scott Colwell, David Douglas, Katie Levens and Sharon Lowry are also running for the two trustee seats on the ballot, while Scott Paulson is running for re-election.
Paulson, the trustee president, said the recent vote to rezone the land was correct.
“We were looking for the most appropriate use of the property, and Mr. Peebles made an offer for the property for something he thought was reasonable and viable, given the fact he had to tear down a building,” Paulson said. “We met with the park district to try and gauge their interest in making it a park, which didn’t work out.”
Arnie Biondo, the park district director, said the district first looked at the property in 2015 when plans for a senior residential complex fell through. Their position remains the same, he said: The property is of interest, but the cost of demolishing the building is not. Biondo said the cost of the land would be in line with other recent district purchases.
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The 45,000 square-foot Hithergreen senior center came onto the market in 2014 for $1.25 million, according to Dayton Daily News coverage from the time. The center was soon shuttered when its services moved to the Rec West facility on Miamisburg Centerville Road.
Auditor’s records show the property’s current total value is $3.06 million.
“The property is only worth what someone is willing to pay,” Peebles said. “For me to make the numbers work for residential, we had to come to a price that everyone had to agree on.”
Peebles said he’s already made compromises by shaving off five lots for green space, adding landscaping and working to keep walkways.
Joyce Young, a trustee, said the number of homes Peebles proposal is “perfectly legal, according to our planned unit development resolution.”
“Personally, I just think it’s a very fine use of the land,” she said.
But residents say the density of the remaining lots is still too high.
“I have the largest piece of property across from there, and what (Peebles’) plan originally showed is across from my one lot, they’d be putting three,” said Jim Teske, Feldmeyer’s neighbor. “I’ve been in my house since 1981, and it seems every few years we go another round with another group, and the trustees don’t seem to listen.”
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