Staying with the story: The Dayton Daily News has covered this story closely since we first broke the news in March 2013 of GoodSports' intentions to build a fieldhouse/hotel in Huber Heights. We will continue to follow this story with in-depth coverage.
What: City Council meeting
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: City Hall, 6131 Taylorsville Road
A family sports restaurant is being planned in Huber Heights near the city’s new $18 million music center.
TJ Chumps is looking to open its fourth area location at 7050 Executive Boulevard, east of the city’s music center construction site and between the $22 million GoodSports Enterprises’ fieldhouse/hotel and Meijer.
According to plans submitted to the city Friday, TJ Chumps would build a 12,795-square-foot building that will include a dining area, banquet room, bar and large patio area with removable walls.
The total project cost will be a little more than $2 million, said Jim Dunn, a co-majority owner. The restaurant will employ 40 to 70 people, depending on the time of year, he said.
TJ Chumps has restaurants in Englewood, Fairborn and Miamisburg.
The city’s Planning Commission will vote on the detailed development plan June 24, assistant city manager Scott Falkowski said. The company would like to open the restaurant by the end of the year, Dunn said.
“We really want to make our core the citizens of Huber Heights and the citizens around there,” Dunn said. “But the events at the music center and GoodSports I’m sure can only help us.”
Huber Heights City Council is scheduled to vote Monday night to sell the 3.013-acre lot to TJ Chumps for $600,000. Oberer Realty Services Ltd. will receive six percent commission of the sale. Water and sewer utilities are already at the front of the site, Falkowski said.
“This is exactly what we had planned with the music center — creating an anchor,” Falkowski said. “We couldn’t be happier with how things are going. This will complete this side of the road with development.”
Falkowski said the city could use some funds from the sale for music center operations and the first year of the city's contract with Music and Event Management, Inc.
The city also is trying to sell a 7.5-acre parcel of land near the Brandt Pike/Executive intersection. Huber Heights purchased 33.6 acres of land for $2.31 million from Meijer last June.
City Council also is expected to vote Monday on two changes to the amended development agreement with GoodSports.
GoodSports is waiving its right-of-first refusal on the outlot property to allow the city to sell the three-acre parcel to TJ Chumps. Additionally, the back-end date for the construction completion requirement will be extended three months to Sept. 1, 2015.
“We anticipate being done well before that,” Richard Blalock, GoodSports vice president of special projects, said to council this week.
According to the first amended development agreement between the city and GoodSports, the land would have been turned back over to the city if construction didn't start by June 1 or if the fieldhouse/hotel is not open by June 1, 2015.
Falkowski said GoodSports has satisfied the front end of the development agreement. He said the extension will allow GoodSports and TJ Chumps to work together on site plans, including drive access and infrastructure.
Construction is a 10-month build-out for the fieldhouse and 12 months for the hotel, GoodSports vice president of development Anthony Homer has said.
GoodSports officials have said they would like to begin hosting events in January 2015, but Falkowski said that goal is a "little too aggressive of a schedule."
Events could include basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and cheerleading. Blalock said 17 events have been booked and three are pending.
“This is the first one, and when we roll it out, we want the facility done right, the staffing right and the programming right,” Blalock said. “ We’re moving a little slower than anticipated, but we want this thing done right.”
The fieldhouse and hotel will be stand-alone buildings. A courtyard area will be created between the fieldhouse and hotel.
The fieldhouse will feature 85,000 square feet, including 50,000 square feet of hardwood courts (six basketball or 12 volleyball) and an 8,000-square-foot fitness center. The five-story hotel will have 124 rooms. Other on-site amenities will include a restaurant, bar, pool, meeting room, sports therapy and virtual golf.
Huber Heights and GoodSports have said 412 total jobs — 112 permanent and 300 temporary construction — will be created by the GoodSports complex. GoodSports has posted 10 job openings on its website for the Huber Heights complex.
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