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WARREN -- Austin Landing is a 76-acre, mixed-use development in Miami Township about 20 miles south of Dayton and 250 miles from Warren.
It boasts 274 multi-family residential units, more than 200 hotel rooms, 460,515-square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, as well as 422,871-square feet of class A office space.
Those who live at Austin Landing or choose to visit can purchase goods at small shops or larger retailers, including Kohl's and Kroger.
Other sources of entertainment include a 12-screen Cinepolis movie theater and attached restaurant collection.
Austin Landing is one of several mixed-use neighborhoods in the state designed by Dillin Corp., a real estate developer based in Springboro. Another may soon be coming to Warren's peninsula.
Fund for Warren's Future, a public-private organization, is working to foster economic development in the city through its peninsula project. The project would add modern multi-family properties in the downtown area and establish a $150 million mixed-use project on the city's peninsula that could bring more than 200 housing units and retail space.
The peninsula project would consist of 100,000-square feet of office and retail space; a traditional hotel with meeting space; access to recreational opportunities, including a pedestrian bridge to Perkins Park; as well as a gateway to Warren's west side and the Tod Avenue corridor.
The project also would include creation of the city's first dog park and building of a park on the Mahoning River near the Summit Street dam.
While the plans set forth in the peninsula project are bold, recent meetings that representatives of Fund for Warren's Future have had with city and county officials have set its sights on infrastructure improvements in Warren's peninsula and garden district.
"These are two of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Warren," Dennis Blank, administrator of Fund for Warren's Future, said. "So are the systems underneath them."
Some of the infrastructure improvements that the organization is seeking are sewer, water and wastewater infrastructure, improved and enhanced hardscape on West Market Street, which would be reduced to two lanes, better Wi-Fi capabilities and improved electric and gas lines.
Blank said the most costly infrastructure improvement the organization is seeking is by far the upgrades to the sewer, water and wastewater systems in the peninsula and garden district.
"We have some estimates that range upwards of $8 million to $10 million to make the necessary improvements to those infrastructures," Blank said.
Along with the improvements to water infrastructure, Blank emphasized the importance of narrowing West Market Street from four lanes down to two. He said one of the focuses of the project will be enhancing the walkability of the area, which would include such changes to the road.
"One of the principal goals of the development is to create a neighborhood that is noted for walkability," Blank said. "While the speed limit on Market Street in that sector is only 25 mph, you don't need a radar gun down there to see that it's not a limit that people abide by. Even if it were, crossing four lanes on foot is a much different proposition than crossing two lanes on foot."
Blank said the organization wants to have the peninsula designed in a way that makes it easy for visitors or residents to walk from one destination to another.
"We want to create an environment where people are comfortable walking from one apartment to somebody else's apartment across the street or to a pub, a restaurant, or an office that's across the street. That gives it a more intimate feeling than you can have when you have a four-lane, state road running right through the middle."
Blank added that cutting the road from four lanes to two also would allow for on-street parking.
Blank said he does not have an exact amount for how much the changes to West Market Street would cost. He said it would be less than the improvements to the water and wastewater infrastructure.
"It will require new curbing and hardscaping that goes along with any streets," he said.
As for the improvements to wireless internet capabilities, Blank said the Fund for Warren's Future does not have any specific plans yet, but all of the infrastructure upgrades would be in hopes of making the peninsula a welcoming place for anyone.
"We want to make this a really human-friendly zone where all folks are welcome," Blank said. "We want the sort of environment where people would be happy to bring their phones and laptops and have a cup of coffee ... (Where) people can sit and do a little work or play some games or do whatever. We'll certainly be looking to have the state-of-the-art capabilities available."
Blank said the infrastructure improvements and economic development planned for the peninsula and garden district would allow Warren to take advantage of several key points of development in areas near the city, such as the village of Lordstown, in recent years.
At a recent meeting with Warren City Council members, Blank questioned how the city can take advantage of such growth. Fund for Warren's Future is hoping its peninsula project could provide newcomers to the Mahoning Valley, those individuals working at places such as Foxconn or Ultium Cells, a place to live, shop and recreate.
"That's everything, honestly," Blank said. "Warren has been shrinking for 50 years. No community can survive shrinking a little bit, year after year after year. This must be reversed. The goal is to reverse that shrinkage and become a growing community."
Blank said while manufacturing opportunities continue to grow in Lordstown, similar situations will likely not occur in Warren.
"The only way we are going to grow is as growth grows around us in the suburban and rural areas, giving those (employees) an opportunity to live someplace that provides that kind of atmosphere that younger, better educated, better paid, more professional people are looking for," Blank said. "All will be welcome and there will be opportunities for all people. But for the health of the city, the better paid and the younger are more desirable."
ARP FUNDS
The Fund for Warren's Future has requested $4 million in American Rescue Plan funds -- $2 million from the Trumbull County commissioners and $2 million from Warren City Council.
Warren Councilman Greg Greathouse, D-3rd Ward, said the other council members with whom he has spoken regarding the peninsula project all seem to be enthused about the plan.
"I am cautiously optimistic," Greathouse said. "If that comes about, it will be the largest residential development in the city in the last probably two decades. If it takes a small investment in comparison to the total project cost for the city to land a development like that, I think that's money well spent."
Greathouse said he does not believe any Warren council member will vote against granting ARP dollars to the Fund for Warren's Future for the project.
Trumbull County commissioners are generally in favor of the peninsula plan as well. Commissioner Denny Malloy did not return messages requesting comment.
Along with ARP funds requested from city council and the commissioners for infrastructure improvements, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments requested more than $155 million through the Appalachian Community Grant Program for various projects in Trumbull, Mahoning and Ashtabula counties, $28 million of which was requested to help fund the peninsula project.
CITY FIT
Blank said one of the things that has made the planned project's developer, Larry Dillin, appealing to the Fund for Warren's Future is his outlook regarding the future of the peninsula.
Blank said when Dillin was describing his work, he said, "I don't build buildings, I build neighborhoods."
However, Blank emphasized that the peninsula neighborhood would not only be for new residents, but something that fits within the rest of the city and its current residents.
"It has to be a neighborhood that is compatible with the city of Warren," Blank said. "It doesn't have to be a reproduction of another Warren neighborhood, but it needs to fit in. It needs to feel like it belongs in this community."
He said the peninsula project would be the first major development in Warren west of the Mahoning River in years.
But, more importantly, Blank said the peninsula also has the opportunity to act as a bridge, connecting the east and west sides of the city together at the river.
"It's a way of bringing the two sides of town together as it emphasizes the opportunity to develop on the west side," Blank said.