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Full story at http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/2414261Downtown Wooster getting City Square Steakhouse soonBy BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- With a growing population in the heart of the city, downtown revitalizers Mike Rose and Bill Erdos hope their latest project will "stake" itself as a dining hotspot. The duo, who work together as Liberty Market Properties, has plans to open an upscale steakhouse on the first floor of the old Germania Hall building, which is scheduled to undergo a massive restoration beginning in mid-September."I think we've been working on this for probably well over a year," said Erdos, whose group is nearly done with work on the new Broken Rocks Cafe in downtown Wooster. "We were looking at several different locations and we really hadn't felt like we found the right location until Germania Hall became available. In my opinion, it's the perfect building for a nice, high-end steakhouse." In much the same fashion the pair is doing with other buildings in town, Erdos and Rose plan on doing massive renovations inside, including refinishing old hardwood floors, replacing all the old electrical wiring and refinishing and exposing the brick facade.Erdos said the steakhouse would be owned by a group of local investors and would be managed by Mike Mariola, owner of the neighboring South Market Bistro. The restaurant will be named the City Square Steakhouse. The city granted Liberty Market Properties a 100 percent, 12-year tax abatement as part of its Community Reinvestment Area program in June for all new work done on the facility, which is believed to have been built in the 1870s, and council members were quite pleased to hear that another building was getting a facelift.
Full story at http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/2970471Cornwell envisions a new 'Campus Center'By LINDA HALLStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Lowry Center and Armington Physical Education Center have served The College of Wooster well, but their era has passed. It may not be the best time to launch another major upgrade to The College of Wooster's physical plant, but in the opinion of its new president, it is the right time. The College recently wrapped up The Independent Minds: The Campaign for Wooster, which exceeded its $122 million goal by almost $26 million.Even so, a Campus Center under consideration in the area of Lowry and Armington on Beall Avenue is so strategically important for "repositioning" The College as an admissions competitor, President Grant Cornwell said in a personal interview, "we can't wait." The College's attention to academic facilities "spoke volumes" about its values, Cornwell said, distinguishing it from similar colleges' work on buildings, such as student centers, designed to attract students.
Beall Avenue's 'Grand Dame' Lorson House putting best foot forward with renovationBy PAUL LOCHER Staff WriterWOOSTER -- She is the "Grand Dame" of Beall Avenue -- as Ted Bogner has become fond of calling her -- and she is getting a facelift. Actually it's more like a complete makeover, so she can put her best foot forward in celebration of Wooster's 200 years of history, of which she has witnessed the majority. She is the Lorson House or the Fike House -- she answers to both names.Standing on the southeast corner of Beall Avenue and High Street, the imposing brick edifice is the last of the great mansions that once stood along Beall Avenue. It is a throwback to the 19th century when the city's early movers and shakers built their homes along the thoroughfare that had started out as the dusty lane that ran from the downtown, uphill through the well-tended fields of Gen. Reasin Beall's farm, to his house on Bowman Street.
The-Daily-Record.comThings looking 'Green' Everything falling into place for opening of DiGiacomo GreenBy BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- A year ago, a local group announced plans to rejuvenate the site where the old DiGiacomo Building stood on East Liberty Street into a park-like green space. By the end of the month, the parcel located at the corner of East Liberty Street and Pittsburgh Avenue will be completed.On June 29 at 1:30 p.m., the DiGiacomo Green will officially be dedicated at a short ceremony, with a dinner following a Lamplighter's Hall. "Everything came together so well," said Sandra Hull, executive director of Main Street Wooster and a member of the project committee. "This is really a celebration of our Italian community, and it's been a wonderful collaborative effort. You start something and you hope it falls together, and it all did."Hull, along with Mindy Cavin, Daryl Decker, Bobbi Douglas, Fran Fuller, Ann Gasbarre, Judy Harland, Chuck Malta, Fritz Rabb, Jon Ulbright, Tony Yacapraro and DiGiacomo descendant Mary Lou Kerr, formed the committee that guided the effort, which will serve as a gateway to the downtown from the city's Italian district. The DiGiacomo Building burned in a December 2001 fire, and the parcel has sat empty ever since.
any news on that large vacant industrial facility along 585? I believe it may have been a Rubbermaid facility?
New look for city hall coming by end of year July 15, 2008By BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- A little more than midway through the city's bicentennial festivities, City Council saw to it the home of Wooster's government wouldn't be left out of the celebration. Council approved spending $110,000 from the Capital Improvements Fund for a non-structural renovation of the Municipal Building, located at 538 N. Market St., with hopes of recouping a portion of those costs through fundraising and private donations.Mayor Bob Breneman presented council with renderings depicting a new concrete walkway, stairway, landscaping and exterior lighting in front of the 44-year-old facility, as well as a brick coloration that will darken the overall tone of the building. "This is the center of the entity known as Wooster," Breneman said. "It's our government home. Wouldn't it be nice to take City Hall and improve it to a condition we could all be proud of, and to do it as a bicentennial statement?"The Municipal Building was built in 1964, replacing the former City Hall, which was located on Liberty Street on the site of the Embarq parking lot across from the Best Western Hotel. Building Standards Manager Tim Monea and City Engineer Joel Montgomery came up with the new exterior design. "We had a plan to do the exterior for a number of years," Monea said. "When we did the interior renovations about five years ago, we also looked at the exterior facade. There were proposals to take every other column out, put drivet on the exterior and other elaborate plans, but we settled on the fact that we didn't want to change the building architecturally."
Building to reopen with new lease on life By BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- The oldest independently owned downtown department store in the country, and one of most storied businesses in Wooster's 200-year history, will cease operations at the beginning of 2009. Stanley Gault, owner of H. Freedlander Co., announced Tuesday the store would close after the holiday shopping season because there is not enough consumer demand to remain in business.Freedlander's was started in 1884 when David Freedlander established a general merchandise store called the Buffalo One Price Clothing Store, which operated out of the building now known as Germania Hall on South Market Street. Following David Freedlander's death in 1898, his son, Herman, managed the store for the next 76 years. Herman Freedlander's son, Harold, assumed ownership of the store following his father's death in 1974.The store was purchased by a group of local investors in 1990, including James Basford, Joseph Benden, Buckeye Oil Producing Co., Mrs. R.K. Shoolroy, Donald Buehler, Eugene Buehler, Carolyn Dix, Ralph Jones, Leo J. Klise Jr., Mary Bell Klise, Donald Noble, Robert Polsky, Florence Shapiro, Samuel Shapiro, Albert Spector, Fred Heuchling, Joseph Retzler and Mary Alice Streeter, who ran the business until Gault's purchase in 1999. The building was donated to the city in 1990.
New structure will have retail and living areas By BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Ted Bogner called it a phoenix. Stanley Gault said it was "tremendously impressive." Such was the general feeling about plans unveiled for a raze-and-rebuild project on the site where Freedlander's Department Store stands in downtown Wooster. Gault, owner of the H. Freedlander Co., announced on Tuesday the store would cease operations at the conclusion of the coming holiday season, and marveled at an artist's rendering from Medina-based Washington Properties to tear down the store and construct a 30,000-square-foot multi-use building in its place."The replacement proposal is just fantastic," Gault said. "Freedlander's is really a hodgepodge of buildings that have just been put together over the years. It can't be remodeled to put another structure in. (The rendering) offers retail spaces and condominiums above, while still maintaining the look of downtown Wooster." Mike Rose, chief executive officer of Washington Properties, said the project, which will be known as Merchants Block, will consist of about 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and 10-12 market-rate lofts for purchase.
that is too bad, it was definitely a unique part of downtown Wooster. However, the project planned to replace it could be a good thing as far as bringing more foot traffic to that area after normal business hours.
what do you mean by Freedlander's "killing itself" by blocking JCPenney? (I'm not familiar with the story)
I have to wonder what historic treasures are hiding under the false facades; wholesale demolition may not be the best idea.
I never ever went to the North End when I lived in Wooster (other than to watch Steeler games at B-Dub's)I always hated that all my young co-workers would spend all their time in the North End, but would never come into town for nice places like The Shack or P.J. McBurgerstein's (I always mess that name up) or Olde Jaol or the Greek place or Tulipan's Hungarian bakery or that really awesome coffeeshop by Tracy's Karate.
There was demolition at Gilmore's, however there was at least an attempt to retain the original building's facade in the new structure.And I am always very, very careful when contractors hired by developers are the ones who claim that buildings cannot be saved.
Quote from: Evergrey on August 04, 2008, 10:58:55 AMI never ever went to the North End when I lived in Wooster (other than to watch Steeler games at B-Dub's)I always hated that all my young co-workers would spend all their time in the North End, but would never come into town for nice places like The Shack or P.J. McBurgerstein's (I always mess that name up) or Olde Jaol or the Greek place or Tulipan's Hungarian bakery or that really awesome coffeeshop by Tracy's Karate. I always hated that too, I was always trying to convince people to go to the more local places. I don't remember Tracy's Karate so I'm not sure which of the coffeeshops you are talking about (Seattle's? Muddy Waters?), but Tulipan's, Matso's and CW Burgerstein's, along with South Market Bistro, were always some of my favorite places to go
Downtown plan is lackingEditor:I would have preferred the new library building to have been built at the north end mall as that's where the people are. The old Lowe's building with all of that parking would have saved money and lowered levy requests.Now I read (DR 7-31-08) of the plans to raze the Freedlander building and replace it with a strip mall with condominiums on its top floor.Who do we think would invest their time and money to open these new stores and who will shop in them?It's a disaster waiting to happen and you can bet all of our taxes will go up because of the tax incentives that will be given to this development.Kingsbury GardnerWest Salem
I hope this was a joke:QuoteDowntown plan is lackingEditor:I would have preferred the new library building to have been built at the north end mall as that's where the people are. The old Lowe's building with all of that parking would have saved money and lowered levy requests.Now I read (DR 7-31-08) of the plans to raze the Freedlander building and replace it with a strip mall with condominiums on its top floor.Who do we think would invest their time and money to open these new stores and who will shop in them?It's a disaster waiting to happen and you can bet all of our taxes will go up because of the tax incentives that will be given to this development.Kingsbury GardnerWest Salemhttp://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4215292This one has me fired up enough that I might send in a response letter.
(not familiar with Muddy Waters)...
Quote from: OHGeneral on August 09, 2008, 05:43:09 AMI hope this was a joke:QuoteDowntown plan is lackingEditor:I would have preferred the new library building to have been built at the north end mall as that's where the people are. The old Lowe's building with all of that parking would have saved money and lowered levy requests.Now I read (DR 7-31-08) of the plans to raze the Freedlander building and replace it with a strip mall with condominiums on its top floor.Who do we think would invest their time and money to open these new stores and who will shop in them?It's a disaster waiting to happen and you can bet all of our taxes will go up because of the tax incentives that will be given to this development.Kingsbury GardnerWest Salemhttp://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4215292This one has me fired up enough that I might send in a response letter. what an idiotic letter!
Big fan of downtown WoosterEditor:It is ironic the gentleman who wanted the new library at the north end doesn't even live in Wooster (DR 8/9/08). As a newcomer to Ohio from California (the epitome of malls and car-driven mentality), I was disappointed by my first entrance into town via "the north end."Such offerings are everywhere you go these days -- the chain restaurants, chain stores, scattered out among huge (and confusing) parking lots where it is necessary, if not for self-defense, to drive the car from place to place to get more "stuff." Happily I can walk the downtown and all around the library, enjoying town square events, shopping, coffee on the patio, local restaurants, small bookstores, Buehler's, even churches and an historic courthouse -- a real sense of place.And there are people who do walk to it from their homes as well. What a concept?Peggy GuttieriWooster
The-Daily-Record.com Loft walk showcases new apartments in downtown October 10, 2008By RACHEL JACKSONStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Put your walking shoes on. It's time to explore some "lofty ideas." A variety of new downtown apartments will be showcased during Main Street Wooster's third annual loft walk on Wednesday. Liberty Market Properties will have 11 lofts open in three locations, and Gold Star Lofts will have one or two lofts open for viewing. Some of the apartments are occupied; others are still partly under construction. All lofts retain some original features of the structures, be they brick walls or floor-to-ceiling murals. "I think many people would be very surprised with the revitalization that has been occurring," said Bill Erdos, who with Mike Rose owns Liberty Market Properties.The downtown redevelopment pair will showcase nine new lofts above City Square Steakhouse as well, as one loft above the former Thomas' Deli and one loft above Broken Rocks Cafe & Bakery. The new lofts feature "huge windows" and exposed, original brick walls, as well as modern stainless steel kitchens, Erdos said. Track lighting is used throughout the apartments. "They have a very modern decor, a very urban, trendy kind of feel to them," Erdos said.
The-Daily-Record.com Historic transformation From founder's mansion to treatment facility, Lorson House is taking shape October 11, 2008By PAUL LOCHERStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Amid the clattering of hammers, the chiseling of steel into masonry and the rumbling of earth-moving machinery, the renovation of the Lorson House on lower Beall Avenue is racing toward completion. The Italianate edifice, which has looked out over generations of the city from its tree-shaded knoll on the southeast corner of High Street, is in the process of getting a new lease on life as a residential treatment facility for the STEPS program. When completed, it will house as many as 16 men recovering from alcoholism.The public will have a unique opportunity to tour the house at the start of the Christmas season as it gets decked out as Wooster's Holiday House. In an event designed to help cap off the city's bicentennial celebration, the house will be transformed into a holiday wonderland Dec. 3-7 by a variety of furniture and decorating concerns.But for now, work within the red brick walls that have ties to such prominent early Wooster families as the Bealls, Spinks and Quinbys continues. A recent afternoon found the interior bustling with tradesmen of every description as the project moves toward its pre-Thanksgiving completion date. Bobbi Douglas, director of STEPS, said the work involved in bringing the 5,600-square-foot mansion from its near 19th-century condition up to the standards and codes has been daunting.
The-Daily-Record.com Apartments appeal to loft visitors October 17, 2008By LINDA HALLStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Loft tourists got a taste of the good life Wednesday evening -- the one that can be lived in an "urban" setting with shopping, dining and culture just below them on Liberty and South Market streets. Main Street Wooster's third annual Loft Walk opened the doors to a lifestyle lived above the city. It is how Jerri Lynn Leckrone and Vera Yardley have chosen to live in downtown third-floor apartments.Tom and Pamela Martin took the tour for the third time. "(The apartments) are really interesting to see," Tom Martin said. "I enjoy seeing the architectural restoration of old buildings." He was particularly interested in what he described as the "ballroom" in the former meeting rooms of a local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows above the South Market Bistro and Moorefield Pottery.
Wooster bicentennial marker dedication is Monday By PAUL LOCHERStaff WriterWOOSTER -- The final event in the city's year-long bicentennial celebration -- the formal public dedication of the Wooster Legacy Monument in Schellin Park -- will take place Monday at 12:30 p.m. The monument, located along South Bever Street, just south of the railroad bridge, is designed to speak to Wooster's past, where the city is today, and what its hopes are for the future. It's park-like setting is designed as a contemplative spot where residents can reflect on the history of the city, and the events and people who have shaped it, and consider its vision for the future.Members of the Wooster Bicentennial Steering Committee say the monument occupies the perfect geographical spot, being located within a stone's throw of the intersection of the major Indian trails that crossed the Ohio country and which ultimately led the first settlers into the region; the site of a massacre that occurred in 1790 in which 16 marauding Indians were killed by 30 frontiersmen who had pursued them from Pennsylvania for attacking a settlement; the site of the Delaware tribe's Beaver Hat Town; and an apple orchard which had been planted by Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman.The monument consists of an elevated circular granite slab engraved with the city's bicentennial logo, which is surrounded by six posts veneered with cut sandstone, of the type typically used in the foundations and walls of early barns and houses in the area. Each one of the posts holds an engraved granite tablet that tells part of the story of the city's colorful past. A seventh post, shorter than the others, holds a tablet with the names of key sponsors of the bicentennial celebration.
City administrators marvel at state of Greyhound's former stopBy BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- When Bill Erdos looks at his newest renovation project in downtown Wooster, even he has to stop and marvel at the drastic change the former Greyhound bus station on South Market Street has undergone. Nearly condemned before he purchased it about two years ago, the building, which city officials estimate dates back to the 1870s, has been given a new lease on life, with a fresh facade and rebuilt interior awaiting some type of retail tenant on the first floor and offices and one loft apartment upstairs.The 1,750-square-foot facility, known as the "Saal" building, was awarded a 12-year, 100 percent tax abatement from the city in 2007 on all new construction completed. That work included digging out the original 4-foot dirt-floor basement to make it a usable space, gutting the first floor to expose the original brick work, sandblasting and repainting the exterior cast iron facade and refurbishing at least a portion of the original tin ceiling.
Council acts on legislation to move forward with Freedlander's demolition By BRYAN SCHAAFStaff WriterWOOSTER -- Each day the Freedlander Department Store sits vacant is another day building owners Wooster Growth Corp. are liable, and therefore, should come down sooner rather than later. After seeing no viable alternatives for a building reuse, the city's governing body approved the advertising of bids for the demolition of the famous downtown store, which closed at the end of February after 125 years in business. "When I opened up the packet and saw this, I thought, 'Wow, I'm in charge of demolishing an icon in downtown Wooster,'" said Councilman Jon Ulbright, D-at large, who introduced the legislation. "That's how people viewed Freedlander's, and for someone from Navarre to do this, ... I didn't approach this in a quick way." Ulbright said he intended to keep the legislation on first reading to gather feedback from the community about whether the building should be demolished, but following a presentation from Mike Sigg, director of administration, outlining the pros and cons of demolition, the body decided to push the legislation forward.In his presentation, Sigg briefed council on how the building came under the ownership of Wooster Growth Corp. in the late 1980s, which has earned $1 a year in rent from Freedlander's initial investment group that purchased the store from the Harold Freedlander family, and later Stanley Gault, who took over sole ownership in 1999. Gault announced last summer the store would close following the 2009 holiday shopping season.
The South Market Street project is being developed by Bill Erdos of the Coyote Group. This project will take the former Interfaith building and St. Paul's to turn into a 10-room hotel and a 24-hour fitness center, valued at an estimated $1.86 million.
Wooster City Council has cleared the way for a major expansion of a significant downtown business.During its Nov. 15 meeting, council unanimously approved the vacation of an alley between two properties owned by Sprenger Wayne Ltd., Co. The action will enable Horn Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which is part of the Sprenger organization, to undertake a major expansion of its downtown facility.
One of Wooster’s historical buildings has come a long way from its roots as a gas station and tire shop. When the former Albright Radiator building on the corner of South Market and Henry Street went up for auction, V.M. Roman thought it would make a great restaurant. “I liked the look of the building,” he said. “I had seen something like it way back and decided maybe I should try that.” The resulting restaurant, named The Henry Station, opened its doors Aug. 24 of this year.
Wooster’s Muddy Waters Café and Grille has a new look, a new location, and a new menu to go along with the same great coffee they’ve always had. The former coffee shop is now a full-fledged restaurant, serving three meals a day, seven days a week.
That's utterly fantastic. When my parents were able to get out and about, they would often to go to Wooster for the Ohio Light Opera, which is part of the College of Wooster. This is great to see from a small Ohio town.
Don't know if I'd call Wooster a small town. It's population is over 26,000. How about medium sized?
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Topic: The Random Wooster Developments Thread (Read 9999 times)
