MORE: A childcare center like you’ve never seen before opens in West Chester
"Construction stalled soon after it started and then they ended up filing for bankruptcy in early 2018," Jim Flick, the township's economic director, told our news partner WCPO.
Once Deerfield Twp. officials realized the day care wouldn't be built, Flick said, they quickly filed a zoning violation to push the landowner, ECE I, LLC out of Kansas City, Missouri, to tear down the half-finished project.
"So technically they have until May to complete the project," Flick said, "but understanding, since its in bankruptcy, they're not going to finish the project — so we are being proactive by issuing the zoning violation now."
The zoning violation notified ECE I that if the day care isn't torn down by Friday, the township would take legal action, including seeking injunctive relief, civil fines and costs.
Both sides are now in talks.
"Right now we're currently negotiating with the property owner to get that site cleared and returned to its natural condition," Flick said.
The township has not said how the negotiations are going, but Flick said Deerfield Twp. is committed to getting the property back to its natural condition as soon as possible, remove any safety hazards and make it marketable for the future.
In Butler County, a 33,000-square-foot location of Children’s Learning Adventure opened last year at 8110 Market Place Drive just off Ohio 747 in West Chester Twp. ECE I, LLC is also the landowner of that mega child care center, according to records with the Butler County Auditor’s Office.
WCPO 9 On Your Side is a media partner of the Journal-News.
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