OxfordPress.com

Staff Writer

Those hoping to see action on Uptown Oxford's former Wendy's building will have to continue waiting.

The city's Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied a variance request for the 2 S. Main St. property at a May 21 meeting, arguing it failed to satisfy five of seven decision standards required to grant the variance.

"This was a blow that I did not expect," Main & High Development President Bernard Rumpke said. "These gentlemen had the opportunity to allow us to build a first-class building at the height the city desired, but they didn't see it that way."

Main & High requested the city allow a setback of 6.2 feet on Main Street to align with the adjacent municipal parking garage. Oxford's zoning code presently requires a 16.5-foot setback from the right-of-way.

Robert Treadon, an architect representing Main & High, said the commercial space on the first floor of the building would be limited to a 40 foot depth without the allowance.

"It becomes a space not very viable for commercial use," Treadon said. "The tenants we're anticipating would require more than this space."

BZA Chair Todd Hollenbaugh spoke out against the proposal, citing concerns with how the structure would alter the present aesthetic at the intersection of Main and High Streets.

"If this building is allowed to encroach upon the setback, what sort of symmetry do you have at that corner?" Hollenbaugh opined. "If we permit this, the symmetry of that corner will vanish."

The proposed demolition of the structure and construction of a new three-story mixed-use building was approved by the Historic & Architectural Preservation Commission earlier this month.

Main & High has no plans to develop the building at this point, as Rumpke said it will likely stay the way it is for the next two years.

Asked if they would consider erecting a new building on the spot within the 16.5-foot setback, Rumpke said such a structure would not meet his hopes for the property.

"The building would be second-class if we were to not use the right-of-way," he said. "It would have 7.5-foot ceilings in the apartments and the commercial space that would be only 8-foot tall. It would not be attractive to anybody."

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139, ext. 86102, or at rgauthier@coxohio.com.

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