Redevelopment
In the process of implementing the goals stated in the Plan it PIQUA 2007 Comprehensive Plan Update (Plan it Piqua), the Plan It Piqua team embarked on an initiative dubbed ReDO: Redevelopment Opportunities - Revitalizing Piqua through Economic Redevelopment.
Using Plan It Piqua as a guide, twenty (20) Areas of Interest were identified by the ReDO report as potential opportunities to enhance current aesthetic and/or economic conditions within those areas. The objective is to transform underperforming or non-performing properties to the “highest and best” use by complementing the surrounding area and the community as a whole using revitalization and/or redevelopment strategies.
The Fort Piqua Plaza project provides a perfect example of the types of projects the ReDO document is expected to address. After years of neglect, the once magnificent Plaza had become an obstacle to downtown redevelopment. But with help of a group of committed citizens, the City assembled a team of individuals to undertake a $22 million restoration of this important community institution. Today, the Fort Piqua Plaza stands as a testament to Piqua’s ability to successfully undertake such projects.
Grow Piqua Now continues to work with the City on a number of redevelopment projects, including the demolition and clean-up of the former Piqua Memorial Hospital and the former Piqua Municipal Power Plant. Both projects received funding through the State of Ohio’s Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) grant program for Phase II environmental assessments.