Columbus City Council will weigh in next week on a plan from developer Preferred Living for the corner of Trabue Road and McKinley Avenue on the west side.
A 480-unit apartment complex would be built on an 18-acre site south of Trabue and west of McKinley, while a 15-acre site adjacent to the apartments would be reserved for commercial development.
What that means is that a sleepy section of Trabue Road – currently home to a handful of single-family homes on large lots – could be transformed in the near future into a retail center with a large apartment development behind it.
A zoning application states that a portion of the land fronting Trabue will be deeded the city, to allow for the road to be widened in the future. It also lays out the intention of the developer to annex to the city several parcels along Trabue that are currently in Franklin Township.
The apartment development will require the demolition of the Dallas Mobile Home Village, as well a cluster of commercial businesses on McKinley.
The West Scioto Area Commission voted to approve the required zoning variances for the development, although some members expressed concern about traffic impacts and the density of the development, according to a letter submitted to the city.
Although Preferred Living has not outlined a timeline for construction of the new development, it will likely happen before any work begins on the 80-acre mixed-use development planned for the former quarry land just to the north and east of this site, on the other side of Trabue. An economic development package was recently approved for that project – which will sit next to a new 62-acre Metro Park – but no detailed development plans have been submitted.