From farmlands and truck stops to outlet malls, mega-churches and a future racino, the intersection of Ohio 63/Interstate 75 has changed rapidly in the past decade. City of Monroe and Turtlecreek Twp officials don’t see that growth stopping anytime soon and said they are taking the necessary steps to ensure that growth is done in a manner that benefits both communities.

“Development is like farming,” said Turtlecreek Twp. trustee Jonathan Sams. “When you have open land, one of two things will grow there: crops or weeds. If you are careful and you nurture, and if you sow the land, then you get crops and it’s valuable. You ignore it, pay no attention to it, then something will grow but you won’t like the product. It will be weeds.”

“Planned Communities don’t just grow,” said David Prytherch, Associate Professor of Geography at Miami University. “They hope to grow towards some sort of ideal they have for themselves. You can grow well or you can grow poorly. That’s the bigger question. Does all of that growth in the short run help you achieve the type of community you want to live in in the long run?”

Among the sites that have come and are coming to the Monroe exit and surrounding area are:

• Solid Rock Church, which opened in 1992 has more than 5,000 members and is one of the exit’s most visible locations thanks to the 62-foot-tall Jesus statue that stands in front of it.
• Joe Morgan Honda, a car dealership owned by the Cincinnati Reds hall of fame second baseman, opened in 2010.
• Cincinnati Premium Outlets, a 400,000-square-foot outlet mall with more than 100 stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Nike and Coach, opened in 2009.
• Miami Valley Gaming and Racing, LLC, plans to open a $175 million combination racetrack and Video Lottery Terminal casino at the intersection of Union Road and Ohio 63, a little more than a mile away from the exit in early 2014.
• In November, Industrial Developments International purchased the vacant 300-acre Park North at Monroe located behind the Cincinnati Premium Outlets and announced plans to redevelop the area. Currently, only the Home Depot Rapid Deployment Center sits in the park, but that property was sectioned off and sold.
• Starting in 2007, ODOT spent $7 million to replace and widen the 63 overpass that crosses I-75 in anticipation of the increased traffic being expected for the area. In 2010, the agency installed a unique Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) to control the increased traffic flow entering and leaving Ohio 63 for I-75.

The interchange provides a great location to attract both Cincinnati and Dayton traffic and high visibility, managers of the various businesses said.

“We are very pleased with our location in Monroe,” said Lewis Taulbee, General Manager of the Cincinnati Premium Outlets. “The interchange is strategically located to enable us to serve area residents as well as area visitors and has good access and visibility.”

Leaders see development as inevitable

Government officials believe that the development will only continue around the interchange.

“I don’t think it will be possible to stop the development along (Interstate) 75,” Sams said. “But you have to take the right steps to appropriately control the growth that is happening and make sure it’s a positive for the township.”

Sams said appropriately controlling and utilizing the inevitable development is paramount to his role as a township trustee.

“Land owners and business owners want to have a positive business environment,” Sams said. “So long as everyone is willing to take the necessary steps, then you can develop a positive business environment.”

Monroe City Manager William Brock has been in Monroe for almost 10 years and has been an eyewitness to the growth of the Ohio 63/Interstate 75 interchange.

“What you see is a transition from some of the older uses to uses like the mall and Joe Morgan Honda,” Brock said. “You’re seeing a transition as Dayton and Cincinnati grow together. People are seeing more opportunity at this interchange to service both markets.”

Brock said Monroe has developed a master plan for responsible growth within the city.

“Everybody would love exclusively to have office complexes, but that’s not a realistic goal in this day and age,” Brock said. “We’ve taken a hard look and updated our comprehensive plan and zoning codes to get the types of uses we want to see that will be beneficial to future growth of Monroe as a whole.”

Communities, however can often risk losing their identifies in the wake of rapid expansion, Prytherch cautioned.

“Some of these rapidly-growing communities have centuries of history, and its hard to maintain that while growing at the same time,” Prytherch said. “A challenge is you can really lose the character of the place you’ve always called home. Can you grow in ways that build on and contribute to the good things you have going without losing them?”

Sams said that even as they are planning for development along the interstate, he’s trying to maintain a more agricultural setting for Turtlecreek’s interior by promoting larger land blocks and a “horse culture” within the township.

Service Demands Increase

The growth of the area has put increased demands on township and city services. Monroe’s police department has grown from 18 to 29 officers in the past decade and emergency calls have nearly doubled in that time span, according to city records. Other services, like wear and tear on roads and utilities, are harder to quantify but are definitely there, Brock said.

“One of the challenges is making sure your growth and infrastructure keep pace with each other,” Prytherch said. “Those two things are linked. You can encourage growth but then have to figure out how to deal with it.”

Monroe and Turtlecreek Twp. are in the process of negotiating a Joint Economic Development District around the racino that would use the revenue generated by the racino to pay for improvements in areas like roads, water lines and increased service calls.

Sams said the township and city are currently in the process of negotiating opening a shared fire/ems station to be located near the racino.

“As a township, we’ll be completely out of debt next year and coupled with the money we’ve been saving, will be able to utilize that money to assist with the services,” Sams said.

Even as they utilize the new facilities around the interchange, neighbors have a variety of opinions on the matter.

“I think it’s great,” said Marie Foster of Springboro, who was shopping at the Outlet Mall. “I don’t see myself going to the racino but I know it will bring a lot of money to the area. And the Outlet Mall has been awesome, especially for Christmas shopping.”

Dan Griffin of Salem Twp. in Warren County said he was worried the growth wouldn’t end.

“I live on a farm and it’s pretty far away from here now, but this used to all be farm land and it’s getting closer all the time,” Griffin said. “Where does it stop? We’ll have to take a stand at some point if we want to keep Warren County more rural.”

For Diane Smith of Monroe, the growth has good and bad qualities.

“The traffic can be horrendous, especially on weekends,” Smith said. “I remember when the Outlet Mall opened, we knew not to come out this way. You just couldn’t get around. Even some weekends, especially around Christmas, it’s just a mess. I worry with the racino coming in, it’s just going to be worse too.”