Public Hearing Set For Drexel Town Square

Oak Creek residents with opinions on the plans for Drexel Town Square, the "new downtown" for the city planned at Drexel and Howell avenues, have an opportunity to speak directly to elected officials next week.

The Oak Creek Common Council will hold a public hearing on a broad Drexel Town Square development plan at its Tuesday, June 18 meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave. 

The Oak Creek Common Council will likely vote on the proposal in July, said Doug Seymour, the city's director of community development. The Oak Creek Plan Commission on Tuesday unanimously recommended the council approve the plan.

Even after a development plan is adopted, the city government review process is far from over. Each business in Drexel Town Square will present detailed plans that require final Common Council approval. 

The council is also scheduled to vote soon on conceptual plans for a new library-city hall building, which will be built on the south end of Drexel Town Square. 

The facility will likely be the first part of the development to get under construction. City officials say a groundbreaking could take place at the end of October or early November.

Other Drexel Town Square plans call for a "Main Street," with first-floor shops and second-floor apartments leading to a town square. On the western end of the 85-acre site—once home to the Delphi factory—developers are planning 500 to 600 apartments. 

A Meijer store is planned in the area closest to Howell Avenue, with other restaurants and businesses possible near the Drexel and Howell intersection.

Meijer has proven to be the most unpopular part of the plan for many Oak Creek residents and will likely be a big topic of conversation at the public hearing. 

Developers have said a large retail store is important to attract customers and other businesses to the site, but many in the community feel another big-box store on Howell Avenue is unnecessary and would detract from the rest of the development.