MANSFIELD — Karl Milliron said Tuesday a plan to create affordable housing for veterans and seniors in the former former Century Link building at 665 Lexington Ave. meets two of the four goals his father set before his death.
Community Impact. And housing assistance for veterans.
The city Planning Commission helped move that plan closer to fruition Tuesday when it unanimously recommended the 10-acre parcel be rezoned to B-2 from its current office services status.
That recommendation will now be sent to City Council for its ultimate decision on the three-story building the Milliron Foundation purchased for $1 million a year ago, according to the Richland County Auditor’s website.
Built in 1969, the 120,000-square foot building was last appraised at $2.59 million, according to the Richland County Auditor’s Office website. The building was formerly owned by United Telephone and later Sprint, CenturyLink and then Brightspeed.
Karl Milliron, who attended the meeting Tuesday with Milliron Foundation Director Brady Groves, said it’s exactly the kind of project philanthropist and businessman Grant Milliron had in mind when he set up the foundation before his death at age 88 in 2023.
“This project checks off two buckets, the community impact and housing for veterans. Even though it’s not individual housing, it’s community living … individual, independent living.
“As we talked about it on our board, we just kept thinking about all the positives, the location … the size of the parking lot … all the ancillary entities around it,” Karl Milliron said.
He pointed to the nearby YMCA of North Central Ohio, Richland Public Health and Sterkel Park.
“We’re right on the bus route and you’re a mile and a half from the (David F. Winder Mansfield VA Clinic),” Milliron said.
“We started just checking off all the boxes and it looked like a really great opportunity for us. As we pursued it, we actually went into the building to look at it. Once we got in, we could see how it was built and it is built perfectly to convert into (61 individual unit apartments),” Milliron said.
Those apartments would be on the upper two floors, with the lower floor designed for community spaces.
He said the lower level of the building would be used as an events center, but companion services would also be added, including a gym/fitness area, medical services, hair stylist and a theater.
“We just looked at this as a great project … something that I think Grant would be very proud of. Not only doing things for veterans but making a large community impact and also taking a large landmark structure and retaining it,” Milliron said.
A 2022 countywide housing study found there’s a shortage of quality, affordable housing in Mansfield and Richland County.
He said the exterior of the building would not be changed.
“We’re not going change anything on the outside. In fact, we’re going for some historical tax credits on this project, as well. So the integrity of maintaining the looks of the structure is going to be upheld as well,” Milliron said.
He said the exterior of the property, including the large lawn, would be maintained as it is, too.
Milliron told the Planning Commission the foundation has previously hired a design company and that work is nearly halfway complete. The foundation has also contracted with Adena Corp. as a “construction manager at risk.”
A CMAR is a project delivery method where a construction manager acts as an advisor during the design phase and later transitions to the general contractor during construction
“We’d like to get started on this by the end of this year, either November or December. We would like to plan to have a grand opening on the Memorial Day weekend of 2028,” Milliron said.
In terms of future residents, Milliron said the foundation has had conversations with the local Area Agency on Aging.
“We feel that that would be a great partner to come in and manage and run the facility. They already manage a few other smaller facilities. They have the expertise in vetting those people and how to work with them for vouchers and credits and all that.
“So that’s our intent,” Milliron said.
