Miami Crossing
Mall Area Master Plan

Miami Crossing is an established commercial district centered around the Dayton Mall at the interchange of SR 741 and SR 725 in Miami Township, Ohio. It is one of the region’s primary commercial destinations, home to more than 400 businesses spanning retail, hospitality, healthcare, services, and entertainment. A master plan for the district was last completed in 2015, and it produced real results: the JEDD and TIF were successfully established, public infrastructure investments were made, and new architectural, landscaping, and lighting standards were put in place. But the conditions that shaped that plan have fundamentally changed. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the structural decline of regional retail in ways that were underway but not yet fully visible in 2015. The mall’s ownership, once uncertain and fragmented, has consolidated into three defined owners—creating partners the Township can work with for the first time in years. And many of the catalytic opportunity sites identified a decade ago have either been developed or shifted in relevance. This is not an update to the 2015 plan. It is a new plan, built for a new moment. Miami Township, the Miami Crossing JEDD, and area stakeholders have partnered with Planning NEXT, with support from Ninigret Partners, to set a bold but achievable course—transforming Miami Crossing into an inviting, walkable, and genuinely distinct destination where people choose to spend time and where public investment makes new private investment possible.

Growing a true town center from the ground up

Miami Township has no traditional civic center, no central gathering place that functions as the community’s heart. Miami Crossing, with its proximity to the Township Government Center, Dayton Metro Library branch, and RTA transit hub, is the closest thing to a town center that exists, but by default rather than by design. The Miami Crossing Master Plan changes that. Guided by six big ideas—inviting, vibrant, attractive, beautiful, identifiable, and livable—the plan gives the Township a clear set of strategies to guide investment, attract new uses, and build the kind of place where people do not just shop, but genuinely choose to be.

Readiness before opportunity arrives

A lot of what people want to see happen at Miami Crossing is not within the Township’s direct control. The Dayton Mall and the properties surrounding it are privately owned, and their owners make decisions about investment, tenancy, and redevelopment on their own timelines. What the Township does control is whether it is ready when those decisions arrive—and whether it has the tools to respond. The Miami Crossing JEDD, established in 2009 and covering 192 acres, provides a proven governance and funding mechanism, with its 2.25% income tax on district employees reinvested entirely back into the district. Combined with the TIF, established in 2005 to capture and reinvest property value increment over a 30-year term, the Township has meaningful resources to bring to the table. The plan is structured around three postures—act now, act when ready, and act when the time comes—ensuring that every action is grounded in real conditions, and that the Township is never caught flat-footed when a trigger fires.

Ground the work in functional, technical, and financial capacity of the community

Miami Crossing’s most abundant resource is not its buildings or businesses—it is surface parking. The vast asphalt fields surrounding the Dayton Mall represent both the district’s most visible challenge and its most significant opportunity. When market conditions align and ownership is willing, these flat, accessible, infrastructure-ready parcels are the most viable candidates for the walkable, mixed-use redevelopment the community envisions. The plan draws on national precedents to frame a realistic pathway for Miami Crossing’s own evolution.

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Tags

Project Type: mall area master plan
Community Type: township
Client: Miami Township
Services: land use, community engagement