TROTWOOD SOCCER FIELD LAND MAY BE DEVELOPED

A plot of soccer fields in downtown Trotwood may eventually house a new development, as school and city officials floated the idea at a Dec. 6 school board meeting.

The 7.8-acre plot of land on Main Street in Trotwood formerly housed Broadmoor Elementary. The land is owned by Trotwood City Schools and valued at $350,000.

While there is no official plan for the school to transfer ownership of the property to the city, officials will begin meeting in January to discuss possible plans for the land, Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation Executive Director Fred Burkhardt said.

Burkhardt said he hopes the empty lot could be used for economic development.

“They’re not generating a dime’s worth of property tax,” Burkhardt said of the soccer fields. “They’re not generating jobs.”

Trotwood is working to redevelop the area of Main Street near Wolf Creek, Burkhardt said. Those improvements already include plans for a new library and court building, he said.

Marlon Howard, director of operations and community relations for the school district, emphasized that the district and city are still very early in the process and details of the project have yet to be decided.

“None of that has been ironed out yet,” Howard said.

The land could be donated or swapped out for other land, Howard said, but none of that has been decided.

Burkhardt estimated that steering committees from both the city and the school district would begin meeting in mid January to discuss the idea further.