What's Happening in Lebanon, OH…

The Lebanon city council is rethinking plans for the city's downtown, with a focus towards the Warren County Fairgrounds.

Plans had been developed to turn parts of Mulberry Street into a pedestrian-only plaza or entertainment area. Instead, those plans are being reconsidered and broadened into a concept that includes the entire business district.

Rather than concentrating on the block of Mulberry that runs east to Broadway, council members asked their staff to come up with requests for proposals that would tie the north-bound corridor to the Warren County Fairgrounds. The RFPs were to be aimed at specialists in economic development and urban planners. There is a mix of residential, office, retail, and restaurant users already sited along this route.

There are also a number of projects proposed for the corridor that makes it sensible to develop this area, rather than Mulberry. A new administration center is going up on Broadway; two blocks further north, a site of a former city garage, comprising 6.5 acres, is being redeveloped; and the county plans to invest over $4m in redeveloping a part of the fairgrounds.

Once the proposals are received and a plan has been finalized, city officials might like to work with a flyer printing company on a mailer for residents that describes the scope of the work, the planned improvements, and the developments under consideration.