Delaware City Council approved a combined preliminary and final development plan as well as a conditional use permit for Columbus-based architecture firm Moody Nolan to construct a bank just north of Kroger in the Delaware Community Plaza during Monday’s meeting.
The proposal was approved with a 5-0 vote by council; Councilman Cory Hoffman abstained from voting due to a potential conflict of interest.
Approved is a 4,594-square-foot building that will contain a Heartland Bank branch as well as a future tenant on the approximately 1.34-acre site, which has been split from the Delaware Community Plaza property. The proposal was previously approved for recommendation to council by the Delaware Planning Commission on April 6.
The development will repurpose a portion of the extended Kroger parking lot that is currently underutilized. “That portion of the parking lot is rarely used at any time of the year, so it presents an opportunity to place this use there and intensify the use of the shopping center and help drive more traffic to the center,” Planning and Community Development Director Dave Efland said during the meeting.
A total of 35 parking spaces will be included in the development, and the existing curb cut on the internal access road in the shopping center will be kept to serve as the access point to the building. The existing right-in, right-out curb cut on the northern boundary of the site will be closed.
“I was excited to see this proposal because I, too, think this center has always had this problem of this giant sea of parking,” Planning Commission Chairman Stacy Simpson said during the April 6 meeting. “And I know it was built in this era where the mentality was if you build it, they will come, so everything was bigger and better. But I think we all agree that in today’s age, we just don’t need that many parking spots. With buying online and picking up in-store, and online delivery, there’s just a lesser volume of cars going to shopping centers.”
Simpson said that for those questioning whether or not the city needs another bank, it’s important to remember that how banks are used today is far different than how they were used decades ago. He added that the developers have done well to consider the design of the back of the building, which will face U.S. Route 23.
Simpson went on to say, “I think this is exciting to see a good piece of property up closer to the road, and I appreciate that they’ve actually considered that part of the building that faces U.S. Route 23. They’ve treated it appropriately so that you don’t see the back of the building from U.S. Route 23. It just feels like another active elevation.”
