Bridge Park expansion with condos, offices approved by Dublin zoning officials

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- Bridge Park in Dublin is set receive a more than five-acre expansion that will include offices, condominiums and public green space.

Dublin's planning and zoning commission recommended approval on July 17 for Crawford Hoying's final development plan to build the expansion along Dale Drive and Bridge Park Avenue, a five-acre block occupied by parking lots and a former preschool. Once completed, the development will represent one of the final phases in the original build-up of Bridge Park.

Crawford Hoying's plan calls for the 5.37-acre site to include two phases of condos, a parking garage and a more than 100,000-square-foot office building. A majority of the office is expected to be occupied by oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy, who announced in 2024 it plans to relocate to Bridge Park in 2027.

A five-story building to the east of the office will mark the expansion's first condo phase, spanning 160,000 square feet with 89 units. The second condo building would be built later, given COTA currently operates a "Park-and-Ride" lot on the site. The parking garage will feature 500 parking spaces across 200,000 square feet and will also house the new COTA's new Park-and-Ride.

While members of Dublin's commission applauded the development, some took issue with minor details in the plan like Green Street, a new road that will connect Banker Drive to Bridge Park Avenue. Crawford Hoying had planned for Green Street to be a traditional road for cars, but the commission said in May it should be replaced with a wide sidewalk closed off to cars, yet still accessible for emergency vehicles.

The development company attempted to design a hybrid road by proposing a "curbless" street, meaning a road outlined by landscape and boulders instead of traditional concrete. While the design is meant to be welcoming for pedestrians while still accessible for cars, commission members expressed concern for the design's practicality.

"The boulders are worrying to me," said Commissioner Kim Way. "There's lots of different people that drive and they have different abilities, for them to navigate through boulders that they haven't done before might be something that's a challenge."

Commission chair Rebecca Call echoed Way, and said she wonders if the landscaping and boulders are "not gonna work as well as we want them to work."

"I appreciate the effort in trying to connect the belt through the site on the two different sides and so I applaud the effort, I just don't know if we're a little bit more trusting than we ought to be with drivers and non drivers in that area," said Call.

Crawford Hoying is continuing to toy with the Green Street design as the plan advances through Dublin's approval process. The development company will next seek approval from city council.