A new Chick-fil-A was proposed for construction right off campus, at the northeast corner of Presidential Drive and Colonel Glenn Highway, near Wright State University (WSU).
This location will have indoor and outdoor seating, accommodated with 74 approved parking spots. In addition, there will be two drive-thru lanes.
The project was proposed at the Beavercreek Planning Committee (BPC) at their latest monthly meeting, which takes place on the first of each month. The committee voted 4-1 in favor of the restaurant. The project is continuing to move through the city's review process to gain final approval.
The vote against the project from the BCP came from Jim Fountain. During the meeting, he expressed concerns about departures from the original plans for that land.
“[Chick-fil-A] is a tremendous, successful chain, but does it fit the mission of what the university wanted for that particular corner,” Fountain said.
WSU students, such as Bethany Crank, a Sign Language Interpreting major at WSU, are intrigued to see what a new restaurant would be like and how it would compare to the existing Chick-fil-A on N. Fairfield Road.
“I'm hoping it's a bigger location, because the one closer to [the] Fairfield Mall is always a nightmare, specifically the drive-thru,” Crank said.
Raider’s Row is a proposed development near WSU to expand retail and dining options. This proposal came from Woodard Development, a commercial development and construction firm, with the Chick-fil-A being the first project.
Dave Tyber, one of the site engineers from Woolpert, proposed the new project alongside Jason Woodard, the master developer for the project. They were asked a series of questions by each member of the board, as well as citizens from the public hearing, before a decision was made.
One of the main concerns during the proposal was walkability. At its location, there will be a right-in-only entrance off of Presidential Drive, with a main entrance and exit further down. The drive-thru will be parallel to Colonel Glenn Highway.
The concern would be pedestrians cutting across the drive-thru to get to the restaurant from the sidewalk. Before the vote was taken, Jonathon Myer, Vice Chair of the board, added a clause to the proposal to address this issue.
“I would move to add a condition number 18 that reads ‘a sidewalk access point should be located on the southern portion of the property.’ I’ll be vague to allow the exact location to be determined later,” Myer said.
The Beavercreek City Council has the final say in whether or not the project will be approved. The council is set to vote on the proposal at their meeting on Monday, April 27.
