Business View Civil and Municipal l January 2023

48 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 for housing is as acute as it’s ever been. “We need to address that head-on because without adequate numbers of housing units, our population goals are going to fall short,” he exclaims. “We need rooftops. The mayor is spearheading that in the community of New Haven, and we see that as part of the solution of how we get to closing this need.” Just in time to satisfy that need for expanded housing opportunities comes the new Crossroads project – a mixed-use development for new apartments, businesses, and more to be built on an empty 17.68 acre property off State Road 930, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The project, which has been on the drawing board for nearly two years, will provide 135 townhome units with room for retail, a restaurant, coworking office space, a dog park, and public access to a nearby Community Center. It has already broken ground and should be completed within 28-32 months, depending on the weather, according to Brian Snyder – President of Crossroads New Haven Multifamily LLC, the project’s developer. “It will have a major impact on the community,” he states. “Crossroads represents the kind of development that will make New Haven a destination city to invest in,” adds McMichael. “When completed, this multi-use development will inject millions of dollars of investment into the revitalization of State Road 930 and New Haven. This corridor is the impression of what a lot of people have of New Haven. They don’t get beyond this to the beautiful neighborhoods we have, the beautiful homes we have. Their impression is based solely upon this US-30, SR-930 corridor,” he explains. “The more attractive we can make this, the more investment we can get on this, the better chance we have of leaving a favorable impression about what a great community we are. So, we’re looking at adding trails, and bike paths, and things like that along that corridor, as well.” McMichael also reports that New Haven just completed another new road project – one that connects the heart of the city to its northern part over the Maumee River. “It’s a beautiful new corridor leading into our historic downtown,” he says. “On top of that, we have several waterline extensions and sewer extensions, particularly for industrial areas. So those things are key. You can’t grow without those baseline legacy utilities.” Regarding downtown, McMichael is somewhat reluctant to reveal plans for a major downtown redevelopment agenda.