At the end of 2021, a vital connection for Dayton was reestablished. And it may help give a boost to a variety of projects along a historic business corridor.
The Third Street Bridge, which had closed at the end of 2019, reopened in early December. As we enter 2022, several developments are underway in the historic Wright Dunbar business district on West Third Street.
First, the bridge itself also deserves mention, not only for the fact that it is complete (and on time, an impressive accomplishment during a pandemic) but also for its beauty and design features.
The $17 million bridge includes art cast into the concrete that was chosen following a series of discussions between county engineers, Wright Dunbar residents, and other stakeholders. They agreed that the Peace Bridge “should speak to African American struggles, our city’s rich history, and the legacy of this important structure.”
Those crossing the bridge will find depictions of the Wright brothers and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., and much more. There is a wide pedestrian walkway on the south side of the bridge, as well as several observation platforms.
The new Peace Bridge continues a trend in Dayton over the past two decades of using bridge rebuilding projects to explore artful designs and placemaking in lieu of typical “ODOT ugly” construction, as explained in a Dayton Daily News article.
And perhaps just as importantly, the bridge reestablishes the connection from downtown to innerwest Dayton including the historic Wright Dunbar business district where quite a few projects are in various stages.
Happenings in the Wright Dunbar District
One of the biggest developments, the West Social Tap and Table, is under construction at the southwest corner of Third and Williams Streets.
The $2.1 million project is turning a single-story building that once served as a conference center into Dayton’s first food hall. It will bring five food stations, a coffee shop, and a bar to an area long considered a “food and dining desert.” The district’s only restaurant, the Texas Beef and Cattle Co, closed in June 2021.
In 2020, it was reported that Grind House Coffee Co was working on a coffee shop at 1000 West Third Street. Initially it was unrelated to the food hall project, but now Grind House has joined the new venture, and it appears that a wellness studio is coming to the 1000 West Third building instead (below).
Potential Developments
Additionally, other possible projects are in the planning and fundraising phases. The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) is hoping to establish an arts and culture hub at the historic Midget Theater Building at 1021 West Third Street. (Source: Dayton Business Journal).
The $6 million endeavor is far from funded but has sought major grants through the Dayton Development Coalition’s PDAC program and the City of Dayton’s ARPA program, to be supplemented by state tax credits and significant private support.
In 2020, a major development was proposed for the West Side Chevy Building at 800 West Third Street, but little news of progress has come since then.
The Gem City Ice Cream Building, which has connections to the Wright Brothers’ first bicycle shop, has had a turbulent past few months. The city-owned structure has long been deteriorating, and it was slated for demolition despite preservation efforts to save it and find a new developer. Most recently, I reported on a local technology group interested in the space.
Finally, while these larger projects move along, other new ventures have already opened in the district recently. The Greater West Dayton Incubator, a business hub aimed at entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups, opened at 1105 West Third Street in December.
Before the construction of I-75 and the loss of many residences to urban renewal, innerwest Dayton was much more closely integrated into downtown. Hopefully this new bridge and these developments will start to rebuild that connection.
Photo courtesy of Dayton Metro Library
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