Why West Chester said no to Liberty Center
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WEST CHESTER TWP. – When developers of the $350 million Liberty Center picked largely undeveloped Liberty Township for its giant mall, they were going with their second choice in Butler County.
Originally in 2007, Steiner & Associates wanted to build a colossal, mixed-use development near the Interstate 75 and Cincinnati-Dayton Road interchange in adjacent West Chester Township.
Already having developed the popular Easton Town Center north of Downtown Columbus and the Greene in suburban Dayton, many communities would be eager to land a major development from Steiner. But The Enquirer has learned West Chester officials said thanks but no thanks.
The West Chester officials told Steiner a giant retail mall didn’t fit their economic vision of the township expanding its employment base, one focused on professional jobs and corporate headquarters.
“You can’t sustain your community with $12-an-hour retail jobs,” says George Lang, who since 2004 has been a West Chester Township trustee.
West Chester’s focus on instead adding to the 63,000-resident township’s growing portfolio of corporate headquarters and offices, which now includes AK Steel, United Healthcare, GE Aviation, First Financial and Procter & Gamble.
These employers have served the township well, he said, and there's now a core of high-paying professional jobs that have coalesced around the Interstate 75 and Union Centre Boulevard interchange. An ancillary economic boom from all the white-collar jobs has since resulted in a “hotel row” of executive level hotels – now numbering nine – springing up around the interchange.
“That’s the reason we flourished in a down economy during the recession," Lang said. "We added 20,000 jobs while Ohio was losing 400,000 statewide.”
Beau Arnason, executive vice president of Steiner and Associates, said the Cincinnati-Dayton interchange was “certainly a site we explored at the time.” It is two exits south of Liberty Center’s eventual location along I-75 between Liberty Way and Ohio 129,
“But we couldn’t be any happier with where we are today,” Arnason said, referencing the Liberty Township site.
West Chester resident and businessman Zane Hamid was “disappointed” to learn the Liberty Center did not materialize as the “West Chester Center.” Hamid is owner of the Tikka Grill, a Mediterranean and Greek restaurant, near the Cincinnati-Dayton Road interchange.
Of West Chester’s four I-75 interchanges – Union Centre, Tylersville and the Ohio 129 and Liberty Way interchange on Liberty Township’s border with West Chester – Cincinnati-Dayton Road “seems like an afterthought,” Hamid said.
Not only would it have been better for his restaurant, which is still doing well with the Walmart and dozens of smaller businesses that eventually took the site first sought for the giant mall. But Hamid believes the interchange is lagging while the rest of the I-75 growth corridor in Butler County is booming.
And as a West Chester resident, he said Liberty Center would be better suited for his community rather than the much smaller, still largely undeveloped Liberty Township.
But Lang pointed out that given the short driving distance of Liberty Center to much of West Chester, his township’s residents will still benefit.
“They are going to bring in the retail sector, which is okay and we will do well with businesses and office jobs,” Lang said. “Besides, we can’t compete with the investment they (Liberty Township) has made in retail and we don’t want to."
Tale of the tape: West Chester vs. Liberty
With a single project, the $350 million Liberty Center gives the township a major boost in economic development efforts.
Its southern neighbor – West Chester Township – is almost twice as large and has for years attracted major corporate, hotel and other commercial growth. But Liberty Township has long sought to create its first major, central business district.
The grand opening for Liberty Center, which is the second most expensive commercial or industrial construction project in Butler County history, is Thursday. The I-75 and Ohio 129 interchange is seeing activity and development on all four corners including a Cabela’s and office complexrs.
The two townships are among the most affluent in Butler County and both are at the epicenter of the growing I-75 corridor between Cincinnati and Dayton.
West Chester is Ohio’s most populous township with more than 63,000 residents while Liberty, which has more than 38,000 residents, is among the state’s fastest growing townships.
West Chester is largely built out while large portions of northern Liberty Township remains rural and undeveloped.
While the two townships often compete separately for new business development they do so under a joint chamber of commerce, the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance.
How the Great Recession helped Liberty Township
Liberty Township Trustee Tom Farrell says his community’s landing of the prestigious Liberty Center, which opens Oct. 22, was in part due to the Great Recession.
“It gave us more time to plan,” said Farrell of his township, which has a local economy dramatically different from its West Chester neighbor.
Prior to Liberty Center, the township lacked a major business district.
Where West Chester told Steiner and Associates “no,” Liberty Township officials eagerly said “yes.”
Township officials worked closely with county officials and the developer to forge a unique plan to support the project.
Shoppers, diners and hotel guests will help offset the project's infrastructure costs under an agreement set up by Butler County and Liberty Township officials. As a result, the effective sales tax rate at Liberty Center will be 7 percent compared to 6.5 percent to elsewhere in Butler County. There's also a charge for property owners to pay 10 cents for every $1,000 of assessed valuation on the real estate.
Liberty Township’s location in the I-75 growth corridor – and planned major developments joining Liberty Center, which include an expanded Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and a new Christ Hospital nearby – has the township well-positioned for the future, officials believe.
“If it’s done right, it (Liberty Center) will be a sustainable, economic engine for generations to come because the I-75 corridor is really the road to success for Liberty Township," Farrell said.
Reporter Bowdeya Tweh contributed.
SIZING UP TWO TOWNSHIPS
Area: West Chester – 35 square miles; Liberty – 28 square miles
Population: West Chester – *More than 62,000 residents. *The township's daytime population is about 73,000, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Liberty – More than 38,000 residents. *The township's daytime population is about 23,300, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Township operating Budget: West Chester – $43.5 million; Liberty: $24 million
Business to residential tax revenue ratio: West Chester – 60 percent business to 40 percent residential: Liberty: 9 percent business and 91 percent residential.
Median household income: West Chester – $89,130; Liberty – $83,888
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated to correct information about West Chester's daytime population.