Fairborn advances redevelopment of former 12.4-acre Skyway Plaza site

Fairborn City Council approved a memorandum of understanding on July 6, 2026, that advances redevelopment planning for the former Skyway Plaza property at 1104 Kauffman Avenue.

The agreement authorizes the city manager to work with the Fairborn Development Corporation, which will oversee special economic-development initiatives for the site and seek funding for site-readiness improvements.

The property covers 12.4 acres and has been vacant for an extended period. The action puts a city-backed development corporation in charge of preparing the property for potential reuse, a step that could affect future land use, traffic patterns and business activity along Kauffman Avenue.

What the agreement does

The memorandum of understanding does not identify a final redevelopment tenant or approved end use. The reviewed materials also do not indicate that construction has begun or that a housing project or specific commercial use has been approved.

Fairborn had already secured $1 million from the Ohio Department of Development for site-readiness work, according to the meeting summary. The underlying city or state grant document was not included in the reviewed materials, so the award terms and funding details should be confirmed separately.

The same meeting summary records a public hearing scheduled for July 20, 2026, related to the property transfer and city actions. The reviewed sources do not establish the hearing’s final disposition.

Separate transit funding proposal

A separate Greene County public-transit proposal also brought a public-input meeting to Fairborn during the same month. Greene County scheduled the meeting for July 16, 2026, at Fairborn Community Library to discuss proposed federal funding for Greene CATS during calendar years 2026 and 2027.

The proposed program lists $1,154,290 for operations, $230,859 for preventive maintenance and $153,905 for vehicle purchases. Public comments were due July 21, 2026.

That transit proposal is a separate public investment and is not part of the Skyway Plaza redevelopment agreement.

Transportation context

Greene County project information identifies the Trebein, Dayton-Xenia and Hilltop roads corridor as a thoroughfare linking U.S. 35 to Fairborn, State Route 235 and Interstate 675. The corridor information provides regional transportation context for development in and around Fairborn, but the reviewed materials do not establish a specific traffic plan or construction schedule for the Skyway Plaza property.

For now, the city’s action advances site preparation and economic-development work rather than a finalized project. The future tenant, end use and final outcome of the July 20 hearing remain unresolved in the approved materials.