Woodard gets first approval for new buildings at Miami Valley Research Park

Developer’s client expects 100 jobs at the site in the next three to five years; Beavercreek City Council still has to vote on the plan

Dayton’s Woodard Development is proposing new buildings offering more than 100,000 square feet of research and development space in the Beavercreek portion of the Miami Valley Research Park on behalf of an as-yet unnamed client.

The Beavercreek Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday recommended approval of the project, which calls for a two-phase project on nearly 12 acres at the northwest corner of Grange Hall Road and Research Boulevard, city documents indicate.

Developer Jason Woodard told the city of Beavercreek his client anticipates 100 jobs at the site over three to five years.

The property is already zoned for light industrial uses.

Essentially, Woodard seeks to build two rectangular 62,500-square-foot structures, built in two distinct sections to mirror each other, planning documents show. Each building would be 45 feet tall, 275 feet wide and just over 227 feet deep.

According to plans filed with the city, 20,000 square feet would be set aside for office space while 105,000 square feet would go to research and development work.

Some 50 employees would be expected in the busiest manufacturing shift of one of the buildings, documents indicate.

Now that planning commission has approved the proposal, it will go to Beavercreek’s city council next. If approval is secured there, the next steps could take place in mid- to late-August. Clearing of land could happen in the fall, with construction beginning possibly next spring, said Randy Burkett, planning and development director for the city of Beavercreek.

The sprawling research park divided between Kettering and Beavercreek continues to see new activity. In April, the Dayton Daily News reported that the Dayton Regional STEM School planned to buy more than nine acres of Kettering land at the park to build an elementary school.

And GE Aerospace last year consolidated several local facilities into one operation at the park.

Of the park’s 1,250 acres, about 450 acres are occupied. The non-profit, university-controlled park has said more than 4,000 people work there.

“Over the last decade, we’ve seen good movement” at the park, Burkett said.

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