A year after the Oasis was demolished and five years since it closed, the site of the former restaurant is no longer on anyone’s agenda.
The Oasis was demolished during the 2010 winter intersession and its lot, located at 70 University Terrace, stands vacant.
“We have not talked about the property since it was approved to be demolished,” said Mike Angelini, associate vice president of finance.
The Ohio University Foundation owns the property, which is located at one of campus’ most-traveled spots, making it the foundation’s decision on what to do with the vacated lot.
The foundation is a non-profit branch of the university, which serves as a repository for all private gifts and is charged with conducting most university fundraising.
Angelini said the only way he sees the property being sold is if the university asks to use the area.
“Clearly, it is in the university’s best interest to have a say on what goes on that property,” Angelini said.
The plot’s location is in a tight area, limiting the ways it can be utilized, he said.
Chick-fil-A proposed to build a restaurant at the spot a few years ago but was unable to do so because the area was too small for parking and delivery trucks, Angelini said.
“The area is not the most convenient site for retailers,“ he said.
Several banks have also expressed interest in putting ATMs at the former Oasis site, Angelini added.
In the spring of 2010, OU’s Center for Entrepreneurship devised a business plan competition for the property, and the winning teams received cash prizes.
Trenia Twyman, management services coordinator, helped create the 2010 Oasis Business Plan Competition.
“We put on the competition to see the business ideas students could come up with and to promote the new entrepreneurship center,” she said.
The competition initially had 24 teams ranging from three to five students per team.
“I thought we had a great response,” Twyman said
Although no discussions have taken place since the competition, “we hope to eventually do something with the plans in the future,” Twyman said.
Cash awards were given to the top finishing groups, and the group members split the prize among themselves.
First place received $10,000, followed by $5,000 for second place and $3,000 for third, with the money coming from the Ohio University Foundation’s discretionary fund.
The group that won the Oasis Business Plan Competition proposed turning the property into a boutique inn, a 12-bedroom branch of the Ohio University Inn.
Building the inn would cost about $190,000, according to a preview Post article.
However, there are no plans to use any of the proposed business plans and the contest might be repeated, Twyman said.
“The university has been focusing its efforts related to planning for capital improvement on academic facilities as well as housing and dining facilities,” Angelini said in an email.
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