Developers of former fairgrounds to host event for community input
Organizers for the redevelopment of the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds will host an upcoming workshop where people can give ideas for Dayton’s newest development.
onMain, a collaboration between Premier Health and the University of Dayton, will have a workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. June 27 at UD’s Daniel J. Curran Place at 1700 S. Patterson Drive.
The workshop will give residents a chance to learn about progress over the last year and provide insight into the design and engineering work. Participants will work in small groups to generate specific ideas and discuss amenities and public spaces that could be incorporated in the overall design.
Over the last several months, leaders of the redevelopment have branded the project as onMain, formed a board of directors, hired Buddy LaChance as CEO and worked with Stantec, an architectural firm, to begin the overall layout of the 38-acre property.
“The most important thing is defining the quality of the public spaces that are going to exist — the streets, the sidewalks, the street trees. Will there be public gathering spaces? ... We believe that is really what’s going to set this apart from a typical large-scale development is it’s going to be the quality of the environment,” LaChance said.
Stantec, which will be presenting at the workshop, and the onMain board, which will also be announced, have already gathered some ideas for how to best utilize public spaces on the lot, but they want to know whether the Dayton community thinks those will enhance the property and also hear other ideas, LaChance said.
For instance, storm water management could be just functional, or it could be pulled into the design of the whole property as a pond, he said.
“We believe this will be a transformational development in the Dayton area and will represent the best of Dayton as a city of innovation, entrepreneurialism, creativity, sustainability and inclusiveness,” LaChance said.
Premier and UD purchased the property in 2017 and formed onMain earlier this year. Leaders said in November that work on the first building could begin within the next three to four years, but LaChance said it’s too soon to tell. Development is expected to begin on the corner of Main and Stewart streets and work its way from the south to the north and the west.
“Nothing is set in stone at this point in time, so we want to cast a vision for what those might look like and make sure there’s support for that,” LaChance said. “And good ideas hopefully simulate other good ideas as well.”