The city of Avon could welcome two new restaurants with a new Chester Road retail complex in the works.
On Sept. 15, the Avon Planning Commission discussed the Avon Plaza which, if approved, would welcome Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steak Burgers, and Charley’s Philly Steaks on a three-acre parcel located just east of Walmart and north of Wickens, Herzer, Panza law offices.
Lynn Miggins, president of KS Associates, said the first phase of the plan would include two detached buildings of 4,200 and 2,200 square feet to house the two restaurants and a third tenant yet to be determined.
City officials and the developers are continuing to work through concerns about the driveway access on Chester Road, with Avon preferring to move it further east to mitigate safety and traffic concerns.
“That’s one of the other aspects of the site plan that we’ve spoken to the applicant about, is that their main drive has parking that is off of that main drive,” said City of Avon Engineer Ryan Cummins. “And so you would have lots of possibilities for conflict with traffic movements there.
“As far as the drive itself goes, I feel that the site can support an in and out driveway. It just could be in a better location.”
Miggins said while moving the driveway is possible, Chester Road access is critical for the project to move forward.
“It is not impossible to move it farther to the east,” she said. “What I would say is we’ve been through many months, and many iterations on this site plan.
“We looked at how to move traffic through this site and not create any kind of queuing or backups on Chester road. I think that’s what everyone is hoping for and striving for with a site plan.”
Without access to Chester Road, Miggins stressed the project would not go forward.
“We must have access to Chester Road. It was part of the agreement when the property was purchased from the attorneys, so it’s not something we could give up. The project would simply not go forward without that access,” she said.
Moving the driveway is possible, but Miggins said it was arguable whether doing so would improve safety.
Mayor Bryan Jensen said there are already significant traffic concerns in the area.
With Bendix set to open soon, bringing 500 to 600 employees, traffic will continue to grow, Jensen said.
He said he wants the applicants to explore an easement from neighboring property owners for driveway access.
Economic Development Director Pam Fechter and Miggins both expressed The Jacobs Group, which owns the property where Cabela’s sits at 35685 Chester Road, at this time, are not willing to entertain those discussions.
Miggins said the topic was a non-starter for The Jacobs Group, adding, “there’s no appetite for sharing.”
Mickey Mann, managing partner of Avon Plaza, said the company has an agreement for an easement drawn up but it will continue to hit a brick wall in finding a resolution to address traffic concerns.
“We knew coming into this project that traffic was going to be a challenge,” Mann said. “We knew coming in we didn’t create the problem in this corridor.
“But, we knew it was going to be our job to minimize our impact.”
In a perfect world, Mann said there would be a traffic light to help mitigate the problem.
“But, unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in,” Mann said.
The Planning Commission delayed a vote on the issue as the parties continue to work to find a solution.
A separate application from Avon Plaza for a special use permit to allow a 2,700-square-foot outdoor patio was tabled.
