The center piece of the of north Merle Hay Road Redevelopment plan is the current site of City Hall and surrounding properties. One of the challenges of implementing a plan like this is the assembly of a critical mass of property to facilitate development. In the right circumstances it is appropriate for communities to purchase properties and aggregate them into parcels that can be resold to developers. This approach was used successfully by the City of Johnston on Merle Hay Road in recent years – leading to the development of the Cadence housing project.
Developers should take note that the City is approaching critical mass with the properties adjacent to the current City Hall. The City has acquired (or is in the process of acquiring) several properties on the northeast corner of NW 62nd Ave. & Merle Hay Road. Further progress was recently made when the City approved a purchase agreement for 6285 Merle Hay Road. Do you have a project that would be suitable for an important node in the Johnston community? For more information, contact Adam Plagge, Economic Development Manager for the City of Johnston.