Liberty Crescent
Liberty Township, Ohio

Mixed use replaces a big box and makes the site more valuable

A big box in the midst of sprawl is not memorable and contributes nothing of community value to the neighborhood. But make it three stories tall, shape it like the Royal Crescent with tree-lined avenue, and give it a view of parkland and athletic fields – that is memorable. This conceptual mixed use development consists of three floors of condominium housing units above street level commercial shops, offices and community facilities. The one story commercial specialty shops along the avenue provide views of public gardens, soccer fields and tennis facilities.

The study was completed as one of four examples to show alternatives to big box development for a non-profit client organization of residents of the City of Powell and Liberty Township. In the case of the Liberty Crescent development concept, the land value equivalent of 156 residential condominium units and 177,000 square feet of commercial development exceeded the land value of a big box retail development of 340,000 square feet. In fact, the excess value offset the cost of building the 11 acres of community facilities.