open spaces, small town feel, our focus on small businesses, and being away from the big city,” shares Village Administrator, Haley Lupton.“However, being part of the central Ohio area, we are seeing a lot of interest from developers, both residential and commercial. We’re working to manage growth in a way that serves the best interest of the village while preserving the small-town feel that draws people here.” A HISTORIC AND PROGRESSIVE CORE Plain City’s downtown district has undergone a transformation in recent years, thanks to both public and private investment.“We call it Uptown Plain City, because it’s on the up and up,” expands Development Manager, Jason Stanford. “It has gone from a very sleepy downtown area into a really up and coming neighborhood, and a lot of that has been driven by the residential growth happening in the community.” Despite its small size, Plain City’s downtown is becoming a hub for dining, entertainment, and community gathering.“We had a number of existing buildings, but many required repair. Thanks to significant private investment, many were renovated and now we’ve had many more businesses open over the last five years or so,” describes Stanford. Along with a popular barbeque restaurant, as well as several other food and beverage options, the village will soon welcome even more dining and entertainment options. “There is an exciting project underway involving our historic clocktower building. Once it’s complete, we will have an exciting new restaurant, coffee shop, and event space that residents and visitors will love,” he says. When it comes to retail expansion, space limitations are the biggest challenge. “We have a couple of great retailers that are the anchors right now, and we’ve been getting a lot of interest from others, but available space isn’t keeping up with the demand,” Stanford acknowledges. With this in mind, the village is considering infill options, and the extension of the downtown into surrounding areas. Although Plain City does not currently have a downtown revitalization group, efforts are underway to establish a merchants’ association. “We’ve been meeting for about a year now, and we’re still 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 02 PLAIN CITY, OH
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