A second Starbucks location in Powell is currently under consideration by the Powell City Council. During its meeting on Wednesday, the council underwent the first reading of a combined preliminary and final development plan that, if approved, would pave the way for the cafe to be constructed on the southeast corner of Home Road and Woodcutter Drive.
ComptonAddy, a commercial real estate development company based in Cincinnati, is proposing to split the 4.317-acre parcel with the intent of constructing a Starbucks on the northern 1.303-acre portion of the site. The restaurant is proposed to be a one-story, 2,225-square-foot building. Access to the site is proposed to the south with a joint access easement off Woodcutter Drive. The site includes 30 parking spaces and a drive-thru lane that would allow for 15 cars to be stacked at any given time.
The proposal was reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission as a sketch plan on March 8. The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the combined development plan on June 14 and recommended approval to the council with two conditions. Those conditions included the applicant adding a 12-foot-wide pedestrian easement along the Woodcutter Drive frontage for a future sidewalk or multi-use trail, as well as the applicant restriping Woodcutter Drive to provide a left-turn lane with 75 feet of storage and a 50-foot tapper per the traffic study.
In a memo highlighting the details of the proposal, City Manager Andrew White said of its consistency with the city’s comprehensive plan, “Although the proposed Starbucks use will not be a large employer, the commercial business will provide jobs and will be an amenity to the employment areas surrounding the site. The proposed drive-through coffee shop use will provide retail currently not available in the Home Road and Sawmill Parkway market. The surrounding employment centers and institutional site, including the new Delaware County District Library, the approved OSU Wexner Medical facility, and Olentangy Schools will help to support retail uses in the area, as will the residential developments existing in the area.”
Powell Planning Director Claudia Husak added during the meeting, “In terms of the comprehensive plan, this is part of the employment center that OSU is within, and while this may not generate a lot of employment in this particular building, it will provide an amenity for employment in that area. This is certainly going to be heavily enjoyed by OSU, the (Olentangy Liberty) high schoolers and teachers, and all the residents in that area as well.”
No vote was taken on the proposal, which will now go to a second reading at the council’s next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 18.
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.
