(This article, reprinted with permission, featuring the new Gateway Plaza, appeared in the Eastside Messenger on August 16, 2004)

Gateway Plaza will bring something new to Bexley, developer says.

By John Matuszak
Eastside Editor

The Bexley Main Street Redevelopment Commission has given its approval to the site plans for the Bexley Gateway Plaza project, shown in the artist's rendering at South Parkview and East Main Street. Developer Larry Ruben plans to have restaurants and small retail shops on the Main Street side, and brownstones and a five-story condominium building on Parkview.

Bexley Gateway Plaza will be more than a few shops, offices and apartments, developer Larry Ruben told the Main Street Redevelopment Commission in presenting his plans Aug. 4.

"This has evolved into something bigger than anyone realized," Ruben explained to the commission which approved the site development plan of his $25 million proposal. "Not in the scale that it will dwarf its neighbors, but on a scale in terms of what has been missing in Bexley for a long time. We're adding 34 lifestyles"."

The project - with a three-story building with commercial space and three brown-stone residences, and a five-story structure with 34 condominiums - will be a catalyst for beautifying the city's western entrance, Ruben added.

The developer has purchased a funeral home site at South Parkview Avenue and East Main Street from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and two adjacent residential properties on Parkview. Bexley City Council the previous week approved rezoning the residential lots for mixed commercial use.

James Caldwell, vice president for operations and finance at Trinity, commented that improving the intersection would be a welcome change for seminarians and Capital University students arriving on campus.

"This is an opportunity not just for Trinity, but for the city of Bexley and Capital University," Caldwell said. "We endorse what's going on."

Bexley's Southwest Master Plan envisions Trinity making its tax-exempt apartments to the east of Gateway Plaza available to commercial developers, potentially adding to the city's tax revenues.

Bexley Development Director Dan Lorek told the Main Street Commission that he expects to bring forward by the end of the year a proposal for a Tax Increment Finance District in the Main Street area.

The TIF district would allow the city to place unabated tax revenue into a fund for infrastructure improvements connected to real estate developments.

Lorek acknowledged that Gateway Plaza exceeds the eligibility requirements under the city's tax abatement program. Plaza Properties has not yet applied for a tax abatement, but Lorek expects to receive that request soon.

Ruben has estimated that the completed project - with 8,000 square feet of retail space and condos ranging from $260,000 to $1 million - could generate up to $10 million in property taxes over 10 years.

City planners have estimated that if the Southwest Master Plan comes to full fruition, it could increase the property valuation by $40 million.

Chris Hermann, a Bexley planner with Myer-Schmalenberger, noted that the Ruben project "worked very hard to meet the Main Street design guidelines."

The plans do fall a little short of the required parking, a staff review noted.

That is an issue that might already be solved, lead architect Mike Fitzpatrick reported.

Calling it a "pleasant surprise," Fitzpatrick said Plaza Properties will acquire a 12-foot alley behind the site owned by Trinity, adding 10 feet and eight spaces to its parking lot. Another 16 spaces can be added on a grass lot that can be shared by Gateway and the seminary.

That would bring the total of parking spaces, on a surface lot, enclosed garage and on the street, to 155, Fitzpatrick said.

Having enough parking is a major selling point, he said. "No one wants to live in a home forever without adequate parking for themselves and their guests."

The parking garage will be enclosed with a six-foot wall. City staff are asking that the garage windows be screened to shut out noise and headlight glare.

South Parkview resident Rob Coleman, who lives three houses from the proposed site, suggested that parking on Main Street and Parkview could slow down traffic.

Coleman called the plans for more pedestrian space a "huge plus."

Drawings now show a 15-foot space for sidewalk cafes and benches on the Main Street side of the building.

Ruben said he is interested in attracting new businesses to Bexley, rather than relocating existing shops.

The east end could include a restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, he said. Further west Ruben would like to see a high-end carry-out food shop, "not a cheap pizza take-out."

Possible tenants include Ben and Jerry's, Potbellies or Caribou Coffee, Ruben told the Commission.

A real estate office would occupy the ground floor corner turret, with other offices above.

To maintain the residential character of South Parkview, Ruben decided not to include any retail space on the street.

In deference to homeowners on Parkview, Ruben has modified the plans to place the north wall of his building 77 feet from the nearest property line.

A buffer with trees and shrubbery will also be between the condos and the nearby homes. The Bexley Tree and Public Garden Commission will review plans for tree removal and replacement.

As part of the intersection improvement, Ruben said his goal is to move utility lines underground.

Six buildings will have to be torn down to make way for the project, including the two homes at 502 and 492 South Parkview that Ruben said are not in great shape.

Continuing his relationship with Habitat for Humanity, Ruben said he will allow the organization to take anything they can use from the houses before demolition.

Ruben will return to the commission in September with more detailed plans and requested modifications.

"We're here to come out with as perfect a project as we can," stated the longtime Bexley resident and real estate developer whose company owns and manages 4,000 residential units and 20 shopping centers.

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