With visions of riverfront restaurants, shops, event centers and hotels, West Carrollton city council members are considering the adoption of a new Community Entertainment District.

“The development possibilities are unlimited, but one obstacle that we face is a limited number of available liquor permits in the area,” said Brad Townsend, city manager. “The other advantages of creating this district are that it would allow us to overlay special sign and zoning code provisions,” he said.

State law allows Community Entertainment Districts (CED) to obtain an increased number of liquor permits – one for each five acres in a district, up to 15. The city’s proposed CED, “Miami Bend,” would encompass approximately 600 acres near the Great Miami River.

The district could contain entertainment, retail, and social establishments alongside restaurants, hotels and shopping centers. For communities with populations of less than 100,000 such as West Carrollton, successful CED applications need to show a development potential of $70 million. “Our conservative estimate is $110 million for the 600 acres that we’ve defined in our proposal,” Townsend said. “Approximately $26 million is the redevelopment of Exit 47,” he added.

The proposal will be reviewed at the April 24 city council meeting. “We look at this as an economic development tool because we hope that it will encourage businesses to locate in our area,” Townsend said.

Obtaining a multiple-tiered liquor permit for restaurants and event centers can cost several thousands of dollars. However, a liquor permit within a CED costs only $2,344. The qualification standards for license seekers remains the same and the licenses cannot be transferred outside of the district’s boundaries the way standard liquor licenses can.

According to state law, CEDs, require a minimum of 20 acres and are established by application of property owners. The City of West Carrollton owns approximately 30 acres within the proposed CED.

City officials hope the designation will result in revitalization by bringing in new and unique restaurants to the area which will soon have a complete interchange off Interstate 75.
“This designation will also allow us to draw the boundaries of where future development activity will take place,” Townsend said.

After review on April 24, the city council is required by Ohio Revised Code to vote on the application by June 6.

Click HERE to review the Miami Bend Community Entertainment District Application

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For more information, contact Brad Townsend, City Manager, at (937) 859-5181 x9.