This story was updated to add additional information.
Despite objections from some residents and a denial by the city’s planning and zoning board, Upper Arlington City Council has approved National Church Residences’ plans to raze and rebuild a 7-acre campus on North Bank Drive into a new headquarters office facility and two senior housing buildings.
City Council held a special legislative hearing Nov. 17 to consider an appeal from the nonprofit senior housing development company to an earlier decision by the city’s Board of Zoning and Planning, who rejected the project in a tie vote.
In a 5-0 vote, City Council overrode the board and granted the organization’s request.
There was extensive criticism from some Upper Arlington residents over the impact this redevelopment will have on its neighbors. But council members cited the importance of making the best decision for the entire community, not just those who live near the campus.
“We can all debate those tiny things, but overall, what I see is senior housing; what I see is money for our schools,” said Mayor and Council President Ukeme Awakessien Jeter. “What I see is something that’s for the overall good for our community.”
Though the current site, located south of Henderson Road, is already home to the nonprofit’s headquarters, the proposal involves expanding the premises further into the northwest corner of North Bank Drive and Arlington Centre Boulevard.
An easement — or underground strip of utilities — is situated in that area, preventing the organization from building atop without the variance requested from City Council to raise the maximum setback from North Bank Drive from 10 feet to 15+ feet.
Doing so, however, would push the entire development south toward a nearby lake that has residential homes surrounding its southern side on Concord Village Drive. Many of those residents spoke at the November council meeting, sharing their frustrations and concerns that the approval process for this project has been unethical.
One resident, Nick Davis, said that since the south side of the lake is owned by the Concord Village Homeowners Association, all homeowners along that southern strip would need to approve of any changes to the body of water. He added that since National Church Residences — which currently owns the lake’s north side — is in talks with the city of Upper Arlington about the city assuming ownership of that portion, it’s problematic for City Council to be supporting the project.
“If this project proceeds, this means the city is acting as both the beneficiary and a judge in a matter involving our own property rights,” Davis said.
A few attendees spoke in favor of the project, encouraging City Council to approve it because of the overall positive impact it could have on the city. Many who spoke out against the proposal shared that they’re not against the organization redeveloping its campus. Rather, they said there are alternative ways to do so without interfering in their neighborhood.
One such way is by paying an estimated $300,000 to relocate the easement so it’s not in the way, allowing the organization to build its campus closer to North Bank Drive and further from the lake.
With the developer spending roughly $100 million on the project in total, Davis and others said it’s upsetting that National Church is “unwilling” to spend 3% of its budget on implementing the community’s feedback.
National Church representative Joe Miller maintained that after several community engagement sessions, the developer has worked to be a “good neighbor” to its surrounding residents. He said that given the scope of this project, he thought it was “extraordinary” to only be seeking one variance.
“We believe that this project 100% furthers the goals of the district by proposing a planned, walkable, mixed-use environment with a focus on the office and office-related uses,” Miller said.
Miller also said that if the council denied the proposal, it could cause the developer to relocate, thereby having a detrimental effect on the city by causing a loss of “much-needed” housing for seniors and millions of tax dollars.
“It’s simply a statement of fact: If National Church Residences can’t get the site plan through, it will look elsewhere,” Miller said.
After a series of comments from members of the public and a response to those statements by Miller, the council unanimously voted in favor of the proposal, adding that there is room for future discussions about traffic- and construction-related concerns.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Upper Arlington Council OKs National Church Residences’ new campus plan over objections
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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