New developments in Dille development

GREENE COUNTY (WDTN) - The battle between the City of Centerville and Sugarcreek Township over tracts of prime real estate apparently is not over. The Dille property is still locked in litigation from the initial annexation in 2006, when Centerville to took the 156 acres of woods and farmland at the corner of Wilmington Pike and Feedwire Road -- land that had been part of Sugarcreek Township.

George Oberer Jr., President of Oberer Development, the company selected by the Dille estate to develop the land, told 2 NEWS he's found a legal loophole to get the stalled project moving again -- a state statute that says if after five years an annexed property has not been developed for it's intended use, the owners can petition the court to detach the property from the annexing city.

"In this case we have not been able to come to an amicable agreement, we've made that petition with the Greene County Courts this past Friday," Oberer said. "The reason that we're filing the motion to detach is those negotiations have stalled."

Oberer explained because it is a Type 2 annexation, the City of Centerville is not entitled to all of the income tax and they are battling over the shares of the tax that go to the township or the city.

In addition, Oberer said his company has spent the past two years attempting to negotiate zoning, development financing, and the traffic improvements that would need to be made in and around the development. He said hose required traffic improvements to Feedwire Road, Wilmington Pike, and I-675 interchanges are unprecedented and would balloon the cost of the project to over $27 million.

There is also disagreement over what the project should be -- Centerville wants up-scale stores, the same as you might see at the Greene in Beavercreek.

"The problem is it's such a small market that you can't reproduce or duplicate or compete with those types of developments, " said Oberer.

Oberer said if the judge approves the petition, he will proceed to develop the property in partnership with Sugarcreek Township, taking the City of Centerville out of the mix.