OREGON, Ohio — The city of Oregon is considering partnerships with developers after terminating a previous contract with Fairmount Properties to create the Oregon Town Center on Navarre Avenue.
The lot has been empty for years, but the city is hoping to reignite the process with a new developer.
In November of last year, Fairmount Properties put up a sign on the property saying Oregon Town Center was coming soon.
Bryce Hurley lives in Toledo but works near the still-vacant lot in Oregon.
"I thought it was an eyesore," he said. "Then I got excited hearing things were coming in. But I haven't seen anything yet."
Fairmount Properties' sign has since been taken down and Oregon Mayor Michael Seferian said the city "amicably" ended the contract with the developer because the two were working together before the COVID-19 pandemic and the idea for the town center changed.
Seferian said Fairmount was interested in bringing in retail stores and medical office space for local hospitals like Mercy Health.
"The hospitals weren't building," he said. "With all the changes, it wasn't [Fairmount's] forte, so, coming into a new developer seemed to be the thing to do."
As of Monday, the potential developer is River Rock Property Group, the same group that worked on Perrysburg's French Quarter Square.
Ricer Rock Vice President Mike Denman spoke at the city's economic development meeting Monday and said while he can't get into specifics, businesses are already interested.
"When word got out that we were potentially interested, we did get interest from a lot of national retailers and sit-down restaurant-type users that would have interest in being in the property," Denman said.
Hurley said she would not only like to see restaurants in the town center, but also some green space. But more than that, she wants to see visible progress.
"I'd like to see them start fencing it off and start doing something with it," Hurley said.
Oregon City Council is set to decide on the partnership with River Rock on Monday.
If it passes, Denman said construction could begin by the end of the year.