Shared Harvest to sell part of its property for Panera Bread and a ‘future development’

Shared Harvest Food Bank is working to sell a little more than 4 acres of land in front of its Dixie Highway building in Fairfield. The food bank, which will retain nearly 6 acres of land, will use proceeds to raise capital for the food bank, including improving their building and “help us get more funding to feed more people,” said Shared Harvest Executive Director Terry Perdue. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/STAFF

Shared Harvest Food Bank is working to sell a little more than 4 acres of land in front of its Dixie Highway building in Fairfield. The food bank, which will retain nearly 6 acres of land, will use proceeds to raise capital for the food bank, including improving their building and “help us get more funding to feed more people,” said Shared Harvest Executive Director Terry Perdue. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/STAFF
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Updated Sept 10, 2019
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Shared Harvest Foodbank is selling part of its 10-acre land to a private developer that wants to build a Panera Bread restaurant.

Foodbank Executive Director Terry Perdue said the deal could be finalized in about two months with Anchor Retail, which had representatives submit aspects of plans to Fairfield’s planning commission and board of zoning appeals for the project.

There are 4.3 acres of unused land in front of the Shared Harvest Foodbank at 5901 Dixie Highway. Perdue said selling the property “will certainly help us get the capital we need to improve the building and help us get more funding to feed more people.”

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The Fairfield-based food bank, which services food pantries in five southwest Ohio counties, has started the process to sell off part of its unused property.

Anchor Retail intends to subdivide the property to accommodate two developments, according to requests that planning consultant firm McBride Dale Clarion submitted to the city. Panera Bread will locate on the southern portion of the property, and “future development” would be constructed on the northern part, according to the requests.

Anne McBride, a principal with McBride Dale Clarion, made the requests of the city of Fairfield on behalf of Shared Harvest.

First, she wrote that Panera Bread wants to develop a 4,500-square-foot restaurant at 5901 Dixie Highway on 2.5 acres, but needed a variance for dining area “to be permitted outside the building” for up to 20 patrons. The outdoor seating will be enclosed by a “decorative metal fence,” according to McBride’s letter.

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Second, in order to construct an access drive, McBride asked the city’s board of zoning appeals to abandon a requirement of a detention basin on the property.

“In order to provide stormwater management consistent with the requirements of the city, a large detention basin is to be constructed on 0.6 acres north of the proposed development. The location of this basin would prohibit the extension of the access drive.”

Both requests were recently approved by the respective boards, according to the city.

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Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.