Topic: Lorain County growth

[Vulpster03]

I thought this was an interesting case of neighborhood amenities moving within communities to serve new residents rather than established ones... ridiculous. First of all - most of the new residents off Walker Road have private neighborhood pools. Westwinds, Legacy Pointe, Landings, and Waterside Crossings all have their own pools and serve A LOT of people that make up the newer and growing "Walker Road" population. Second of all - there is no reason to toss the old pool. I was just there yesterday in fact. It is a really nice pool - and one of the largest public pools in the area by the way. The current pool is located in a pretty nice established park area with baseball diamonds, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball, a and a large playground across from a lakefront park.

New aquatic center idea floated
Thursday, July 06, 2006
By Kim Guffey
The Sun
AVON LAKE _ After 44 years of service, the city pool soon may be put out to pasture.

The city's parks and recreation commission recommended the city install a $3 million aquatic area on Walker Road to replace the aging city pool on Electric Boulevard. The suggestion came after the commission reviewed a 12-week feasibility study conducted by Brandsetter Carol Zofcin, Inc.

City Council's finance committee will discuss funding options for the new facility, which could include asking voters for bond approval, said Councilman Martin O'Donnell.

[buildingcincinnati]

Activity in this thread has been pretty light.  I only have a few things to add, and even these are a bit old.


Court decision could cost Avon a bundle
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 6/14/06
The city could face thousands of dollars in legal bills after the 9th District Court of Appeals overturned a City Council decision that forbade a developer from building cluster homes off of French Creek Road.

Stench prompts push to halt Commons work
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 6/27/06
Questions about flooding and a foul hydrogen sulfide odor has prompted City Councilman Garry Gibbs to call for a nine-month moratorium on building and occupancy permits for the Chestnut Commons commercial site.

About 15 residents of a nearby housing development told City Council on Monday that storm water has backed up for the third time in a year.

Ballot bound Zoning issue up to voters
The Sun, 7/6/06
It appears residents will vote in November whether to assume more control of where commercial development sprouts in residential areas.

City Council's legal committee intends to recommend council place on the Nov. 7 general election ballot a charter amendment which would require citizen vote for requests to change certain residentially zoned property to commercial, said Dan Urban, committee chairman and Ward 4 representative.
Avon to start Route 83 work
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 7/7/06
Frustrated drivers will get a bit of relief next year when a new extension is finished on state Route 83, alleviating the heavy traffic congestion at the Chester Road intersection.

City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to contract with Solon-based Precision Engineering and Construction to build the extension, Mayor James Smith said. The project will cost $1.19 million and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2006.

[Steele05]

Building Boom

Joe Medici
The Chronicle-Telegram
What do a moving Target, a blighted million-dollar subdivision and a soccer academy have in common?
The answer is that they are all part of the economic puzzle that is coming together off of Cooper Foster Park Road on the Amherst and Lorain border.
What were mostly vacant fields as recently as 2005 have been transformed into one of the brightest spots of development in the county, according to Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin and Amherst Mayor David Taylor.
They hope the area can become a new commercial hub rivaling nearby centers like Avon Commons.
The development area, which stretches along Cooper Foster Road from Leavitt to Oak Point roads, encompasses several new developments including sites for the Deerfield Estates commercial and residential properties in Amherst and Lorain, Brad Friedel’s Premier Soccer Academy in Lorain and the new Premier Toyota Scion dealership in Amherst, which opened in June. All three developments are in the Amherst School District.
“

[buildingcincinnati]

Committee OKs plan to rezone near I-90 ramp
Lorain Morning Journal, 7/20/06
The Avon Planning Commission sent a recommendation to City Council that 200 acres by Nagel Road, Just Imagine Drive and Interstate 90 be rezoned to industrial and commercial use.

The recommendation seeks more flexible zoning so the land can be developed for commercial use in anticipation of the planned I-90 interchange at Nagel Road.

City could get its own YMCA
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 7/21/06
Less than six months after the YMCAs in Lorain and Elyria closed, the Greater Cleveland YMCA is looking at the feasibility of opening a new site in Amherst.

Next step for Danco may be Avon
Lorain Morning Journal, 7/28/06
Danco, a sheet metal producer in Westlake, is one step closer to relocating and expanding into Avon.

Yesterday, Lorain County commissioners approved a $3 million tax-exempt bond for Danco, as part of a plan for it to move its facility to the Avon Commerce Parkway.
Lorain’s blight plans draw criticism, defense
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 7/31/06
To blight or not to blight: That is the question.

One of the tools that administrators in Lorain have used to spur development has been designating areas as “blighted” or “urban renewal” areas, which allow the city to use tax incremental financing, apply for federal and state grants and draw up a master plan for the blighted area.
Henkel picks Avon for expansion
Lorain Morning Journal, 8/1/06
Henkel Consumer Adhesives Inc. announced yesterday its headquarters in Avon will be the site of a 229,000-square-foot warehouse expansion that will create more jobs at the city's leading employer.

Lorain residents sue over referendum
Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 8/5/06
What’s the difference between a property being zoned residential or commercial?

More than $1 million, according to two Cooper-Foster Park Road homeowners who are suing the city contending that’s how much they lost when a referendum vote prevented their properties from being rezoned for a commercial development.
Scouts consider deal to preserve Firelands camp
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/8/06
As development creeps in, a preservation group may help save a campground that has served thousands of Scouts for 70 years.

The Firelands Scout Reservation in western Lorain County faces the same challenges as many camps across Northeast Ohio: rising costs and urban sprawl. Developers of subdivisions and shopping centers find the camps' unspoiled acreage irresistible.

[Vulpster03]

Henkel picks Avon for expansion
Lorain Morning Journal, 8/1/06
Henkel Consumer Adhesives Inc. announced yesterday its headquarters in Avon will be the site of a 229,000-square-foot warehouse expansion that will create more jobs at the city's leading employer.

The adhesive company expects the expansion will result in about 40 new jobs during the next five years, adding to the current 478-employee roster, spokeswoman Heather Sefcik said yesterday.

Avon Mayor Jim Smith said the city's planning commission approved the build more than a year ago, and officials have been patiently waiting to hear the good news.

''It's fantastic,'' Smith said yesterday.

Henkel chose Avon from a short list of other distribution centers in which they had considered expanding. The list included Mentor, the former headquarters of Ohio Sealants Inc., which Henkel purchased last year, Allentown, Pa., and Edwardsville, Ill.

Big surprise there. The company's property at their Avon site already encompasses acres and acres of virgin forest. The company's land is also adjacent to the future interchange at Lear-Nagle. Not to mention that the Avon site is Henkel's North American adhesives division headquarters, and Avon's industrial tax rate is relatively low.

It is kind of ironic though that Henkel is one of the companies touted world-wide for their "green" technology, but is the poster child company in Northeast Ohio for urban sprawl. The company (once known as Manco) was founded in the Flats. As they got larger it moved to a site near the W.117th rapid station in Cleveland. Later they moved to a brand new facility built in Westlake in the late 80s for room to expand and pay lower taxes. Avon came along and decided to lure the company over the county line with tax abatements, and why not? When they had been growing at their Westlake location, most of their employees had moved or relocated from outside the region into suburbs on the western edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Avon was just the next exit off of I-90. Nevermind that it meant longer commutes and less opportunity for Cleveland proper residents, and nevermind that one of Cleveland's greatest homegrown corporate successes of the past decade isn't even located in Cuyahoga County. Virtually of the people who built up Cleveland's duct tape fortune are great cheer leaders and philanthropists for Cleveland, but virtually of these people now live in Avon Lake where property taxes and their high incomes contribute to raising property values in Lorain County and the decline of Cuyahoga County's inner core.

Less trees, more interchanges, and dispersed wealth and people away from Cleveland, more difficult commutes of blue collar workers residing in the urban core is what Henkel Consumer Adhesives North America represents. I wonder what their environmentally-conscious German bosses would think if they really knew the truth about HCA North America's impact on Cleveland has been?

[ink]

That is a real shame that Lorain and Elyria lost their Y's, do either have community centers?

[buildingcincinnati]

Wow, really well said, Vulpster03.  I had no idea of the company's history.

So, how long until the relocate to Huron on Erie County?
 

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 8/10/06 Sun:


Input is sought
School proposals may mean bond issue
Thursday, August 10, 2006
By Kim Guffey
The Sun

NORTH RIDGEVILLE - Residents will be called on over the next few months to give feedback on the school district's proposal to build a centralized campus. The project will likely require voters to approve a bond issue in 2007.

More than 2,000 new homes sprouted up in the city during the past five years and schools will soon be bursting at the seams in three years without major expansion, Superintendent Larry Bowersox said.

Anticipating further city population growth, the district spent $1.5 million to buy 47 acres near the high school at Bainbridge Road and Pitts Boulevard earlier this year. The land will provide space for the creation of a centralized campus, Bowersox said. The purchase was funded by the school's permanent improvement fund and gave much needed access to Center Ridge Road, he added.
 
http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1155228375101070.xml&coll=3

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 8/20/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Liveable expansion
JENNIFER BRACKEN, Morning Journal Writer
08/20/2006

Trees have been leveled, grounds primped and steel beams are going up.

Drive throughout Lorain County and signs of construction are everywhere.
 
From drug stores to department stores -- with road improvements to complement them -- the county has become a hot spot for affordable retail.

Lorain County Auditor Mark Stewart said the retail boom is a direct result of the increased residential development throughout the county.


jbracken@morningjournal.com

Morning Journal writers Megan King and Scot Allyn contributed to this article.

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17087786&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8

[buildingcincinnati]

From the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 8/30/06:


Voters to mull rezoning
Stephen Szucs
The Chronicle-Telegram

LORAIN — Columbia Township residents will get the chance to decide whether they want land to be rezoned for smaller lots in November.

The county Board of Elections office listened as petitioners defended their petitions against protesters Tuesday, and voted in favor of keeping the zoning referendum on the ballot.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/08-30-06/Daily%20Pages/083006local2.html
From the 9/2/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Avon eyes grant for new park
SCOT ALLYN, Morning Journal Writer
09/02/2006

AVON -- Sports fans could be attending baseball games and soccer matches at a new city park if state funding can start the ball rolling, according to Mayor Jim Smith.

And if a professional baseball team is interested in making the proposed park its home field, the city might consider it.
 
City Council could decide Tuesday night whether to apply for about $1 million in state money to build a park on 42 acres the city owns at SR 611 and Interstate 90.


sallyn@morningjournal.com

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17143682&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

[mrnyc]

this has got to be the most depressing thread of all time.

growth? what a sick joke. it's all nothing but stealing businesses from regional neighbors, building big box stripmalls and land eating suburban developments. ugh.

[buildingcincinnati]

^ Then you'll love this post.

From the 9/6/06 PD:


Old neighborhood road changes
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Molly Kavanaugh
Plain Dealer Reporter

Sheffield -- Nick DeFazio and his wife moved to North Abbe Road 15 years ago, when the neighborhood was lined with houses, a few stores and a driving range.

"You might see a car every half-hour, and on Sunday, no cars," recalled DeFazio, 89, who lives south of the Detroit Road intersection.

Now, the couple plans their day around the heavy traffic. They don't go out between 4 and 7 p.m. or around 9 p.m., when the movies let out. And they try to avoid making a left turn out of their driveway.
 
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
mkavanaugh@plaind.com, 440-934-0506

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1157531544103761.xml&coll=2

[buildingcincinnati]

From the Sun, 9/7/06:


NorthBorough homes are open
Thursday, September 07, 2006
By Kim Guffey
The Sun

NORTH RIDGEVILLE - Convenience is the goal for a new community on Mills Road.

With new storefronts located within walking distance, NorthBorough has opened its doors to adults 55 and older, SDC Homes and Neighborhoods marketing director Jonelle Sear said.

One new homeowner has moved into the 62-home community, which officially opened for sale in June. A development will host grand opening open houses in three model homes through October. All homes are single-family with two or three bedrooms, starting at $199,900, Sear said.
  
http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1157648456142390.xml&coll=3
From the 9/8/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Enrollment at LCCC up 50 percent since 2000
BETH STALLINGS, Morning Journal Writer
09/08/2006

ELYRIA -- Lorain County Community College enrollment has boomed over the last six years by nearly 50 percent, giving the college 10,659 students, the most it has had in its history, according to LCCC Vice President Marcia Ballinger.

The 48.5 percent jump in enrollment since 2000 includes students of all age groups pursuing degrees at the college.
 
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17168185&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8

[buildingcincinnati]

Both from the Sun, 9/14/06:


Housing boom brings bucks
Thursday, September 14, 2006
By Kim Guffey
Staff Writer

A housing boom in Lorain County cities has caused a shift in population that will send millions of state tax dollars to municipalities.

The latest population numbers from the Ohio Department of Development show more than 81 percent of the county's residents live in incorporated areas, which will require a significant amount of money _ $3.5 million _ be stripped from the county and handed to cities, villages and townships, Lorain County Commissioner Betty Blair said.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1158252791230950.xml&coll=3
TIFs could finance infrastructure jobs
Thursday, September 14, 2006
By Mary Davies
The Sun

AVON - City officials might seek tax-increment financing to help pay for numerous expensive infrastructure projects.

Mayor Jim Smith encouraged City Council members to authorize the city to apply for the creation of several tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts.

Creating a TIF district locks the taxable worth of real property value at the time the district is established, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
 

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1158252827230950.xml&coll=3

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 9/15/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


County wants $75M for new jail
Overcrowding issue at core of request
Brad Dicken
The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Sheriff’s Capt. James Drozdowski wants the state to set aside $75 million to build a new facility to alleviate overcrowding at the county jail.

Drozdowski asked state Sen. Jeffry Armbruster, R-North Ridgeville, earlier this year to include the project in the state’s next capital budget.

But Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo said getting the requested money is a long shot at best.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/09-15-06/Daily%20Pages/091506head11.html

[ink]

The county jail has been well above its 422-inmate capacity for years, and was built in the 1970s. It was last expanded in the mid-1990s.

I thought the Lorain County Justice Center was a prison, I guess it is just jail space? What a terribly ugly building then.

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=263019
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/pc/?id=102428&aid=8&sro=1

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 9/19/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Amherst schools offers new tax deal with Lorain
BETH STALLINGS, Morning Journal Writer
09/19/2006

AMHERST -- Amherst school administrators felt they were getting a raw deal when the city of Lorain proposed tax legislation on shared property that would result in substantial revenue gain for the city while netting zero dollars for the schools.

Two months ago, the Amherst school board received a letter from Lorain officials notifying the board of a proposed blight study on the Deerfield Estates development on Oak Point Road in Lorain. The residential and commercial development is within the Amherst school district.
 
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17215111&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8
From the 9/21/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


Enrollment at LCCC is highest in its history
50 percent jump in last 5 years
Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Enrollment has jumped a staggering 50 percent at Lorain County Community College over the past five years, a trend college officials attribute partly to students looking for an alternative to rising tuition rates at four-year schools.

“If you’re a Lorain County resident, the best opportunity for affordable higher education is in your own back yard,” said Marcia Ballinger, LCCC’s vice president of strategic development.


http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/09-21-06/Daily%20Pages/092106head6.html

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 9/28/06 Sun:


Farm wants rezoning
Thursday, September 28, 2006
By Mary Davies
The Sun

AVON - Pickering Hill Farm, the latest Detroit Road landowner wanting to rid its residential zoning, met resistance last week from planning commissioners fearful of facilitating commercial creep.

According to information from the city's building department, Pickering Hill Farm plans to build an eatery and possibly add more commercial features in the future to its 14 acres which stretch back to the upscale Bentley Park subdivision.


http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1159461627246930.xml&coll=3
From the 9/26/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


Mobile homes out, building work to start
Stephen Szucs
The Chronicle-Telegram

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Residents of the Gibson Mobile Home Park have officially moved out, and new development projects along Lorain Road and Interstate 480 may move in soon.

With a proposal for a 24,000-square-foot Cleveland Clinic building set to go before North Ridgeville city planners on Oct. 10, Mayor David Gillock said the day couldn’t have come sooner.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/09-26-06/Daily%20Pages/092606local4.html

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 9/26/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Avon Council approves rezoning near I-90
MEGAN KING, Morning Journal Writer
09/26/2006

AVON -- With City Council approval yesterday, more than 200 acres of land near the anticipated Interstate 90 interchange at Nagel Road have been rezoned to allow commercial development.

The new zoning, which covers 218 acres near Nagel and Chester Roads, north of I-90, will allow the land to be developed in anticipation of the interchange, tentatively scheduled to open in 2009. The land had previously been zoned for heavy industry, and its owner, JG Avon LLC, sought permission to allow commercial uses in addition to industry.
 

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17245896&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8
From the 9/29/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


LCCC plans facility in Wellington
Center to be college’s 2nd satellite campus
Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — Lorain County Community College will open an off-site location in Wellington next year to provide residents in the southern end of the county access to college courses.

The 10,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in the fall of 2007 and offer a generous dose of general education courses, said Marcia Ballinger, LCCC’s vice president of strategic development.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/09-29-06/Daily%20Pages/092906head10.html

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 10/3/06 PD:


High court blocks vote on plan for 112 homes
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Carl Matzelle
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbia Township -- Voters will not get to decide, after all, on the future of a proposed housing development in rural Lorain County.

A developer is moving forward with the plans after the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday shot down a zoning referendum slated for the November ballot.

The court ruled that referendum petitioners used a map that failed to outline the construction area accurately. The map could have misled people about the area subject to new zoning, the court said.
 
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
cmatzelle@plaind.com, 440-934-0522

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/lorain/1159864757159270.xml&coll=2
From the 10/1/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


PHOTO: Inmates gather in the commons area of a maximum security wing of the Lorain County Jail.

Overcrowding continues to plague Lorain County Jail
JENNIFER BRACKEN, Morning Journal Writer
10/01/2006
 
ELYRIA -- It's a daunting site for a new inmate to be brought into the Lorain County Jail.

Walking through one of the jail's five maximum security wings reserved for the county's most violent offenders, the ''established'' inmates, donning orange and white striped jumpsuits, almost immediately begin spewing profanity, taking sides and, in the case of this particular Friday afternoon, throwing punches.

jbracken@morningjournal.com

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17269248&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 10/4/06 PD:


Vote against developer could bring annexation
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Carl Matzelle
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbia Township -- For now, butterflies flutter across quiet soybean fields at Clarke and Snell roads. But bulldozers soon could destroy the peace.

A developer wants to build houses on 57 acres there. Voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to grant rezoning for the project, but it's not a clear-cut choice.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
cmatzelle@plaind.com, 440-934-0522

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/lorain/1159260083149000.xml&coll=2
From the 10/5/06 PD:


Neighbors howl over 3 (stinky) little pigs
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Carl Matzelle
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbia Township - You think your neighbors are bad? What if they weighed 300 pounds and rooted in the mud?

What if they smelled so bad you couldn't use your screened-in porch or hot tub?

Dorothy and Andrew Verbus say it's even worse than that. They say they can't go outside because of the three pigs in a pen next door.
 
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
cmatzelle@plaind.com, 440-934-0522

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/lorain/1160037021226811.xml&coll=2

[buildingcincinnati]

Both from the 10/6/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


PHOTO: A short fence is all that separates 4-year-old Michael Verbus of Columbia Station and his neighbor’s pig-pen. The Verbus family has observed that during heavy rains, water contaminated with fecal matter drains under their fence and into a small creek.  Chuck Humel / Chronicle

When country meets the city
LORAIN COUNTY ADAPTING TO CHANGE
Relocating to county townships stocked with joys and challenges
Adam Wright
The Chronicle-Telegram

Don’t worry, it’s just a cow.

And that? It’s a combine. It’s used to help make your cereal.

City folk, these are just a few of the things you’re going to learn when you pick up and move to the country.

The spirit that spread Clevelanders into the suburbs has been affecting suburbanites for the past few decades, especially in Lorain County, where residents in Elyria, Lorain and other cities have decided to move into the townships.


Source: The Ohio State University Extension Office[/color]

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/10-06-06/Daily%20Pages/100606head10.html
Pig-pen dispute has neighbors squabbling in Columbia Township
Adam Wright
The Chronicle-Telegram

COLUMBIA TWP. — If she were a wolf, Dorothy Verbus would just blow the pig-pen down.
But she’s not, and she’s exhausted all her resources.

Propped up against a wooden fence that separates her property from her neighbor’s is a wire pen that on any given day could contain up to three 300-pound pigs. And Verbus said she can smell every one of them.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/10-06-06/Daily%20Pages/100606head10.html

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 10/11/06 PD:


Bypass to reduce traffic snarl on Ohio 83 at Chester Rd.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
V. David Sartin
Plain Dealer Reporter

Avon -- By the end of the year, a traffic nightmare at Ohio 83 and Chester Road might disappear.

A new road opening soon is expected to reduce backups and start a series of improvements that will reroute vehicles from Ohio 83 around a problem spot just north of Interstate 90.

The new road, yet to be named, will be extended north toward Avon Lake from Chester Road, steering traffic clear of a new commercial area near the highway.
 To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
dsartin@plaind.com, 216-999-4043

By the numbers
1,000 an hour: Cars and trucks that pass through Ohio 83 and Chester Road during peak times.
$1.1 million: Cost to Avon for the new road.
$500,000: Amount landowners will pay.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/summit/1159864323159270.xml&coll=2

From the 10/7/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Amherst sets sights on new site for Target
JENNIFER BRACKEN, Morning Journal Writer
10/07/2006

AMHERST -- The city of Amherst may be home to a Target after all.

After plans for a commercial center with a Target store on Cooper Foster Park Road fell through in May, Matt McGill of Amherst Land Development LLC approached the city with another potential site.
 
McGill said yesterday the company plans to develop a 36-acre site at SR 2 and Oak Point Road, with Target being the anchor store. He has worked with Target officials on a separate project, and they expressed interest in working with him in the Amherst area, he said.
jbracken@morningjournal.com

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17296853&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8

[Vulpster03]

That traffic situation at Route 83 and I-90 is absolutely horrible. I don't think this bypass will help at all.

[buckeye1]

All this does is move the traffic snarl 800 feet farther north, which hopefully moves the backup off the freeway offramp.   The original plan was to create a nice curved extension to tie into original 83, instead of this disaster, with the same two turns within a few hundred feet that exist now.  But it makes some valuable land just north of City Hall for some fast food crapholes.

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 10/12/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Avon reveals renderings of proposed police station
MEGAN KING, Morning Journal Writer
10/12/2006

AVON -- Avon City Council's Safety Committee last night saw nearly finalized plans for the city's proposed $5.2 million police station, slated to begin construction this spring.

The station will house the city's growing police force and be a part of a larger government complex on Detroit Road, which will eventually house a new city hall and possibly a post office in addition to the city's fire station.
 
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17316817&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8

[Vulpster03]

Hmm, I don't remember off the top of my head where the current police station or post office is located. The consolodtion of the police station, post office, and city hall on the land just east of the fire station is a nice attempt though to create a town center. The site for these departments is on the major commercial road; Detroit and directly between the historic commercial district (French Creek), and the newer strip malls and big box developments (Avon Commons). 

Still, Avon is in desperate need of smart growth for commercial and residential development. I'm from Avon lake, just north of Avon and it is painfully obvious to me what could have or what should have been done to prepare for "smart" development in Avon. But Avon is really on a death spiral right now. Even Avon Commons (a First Interstate Property) that was the first major retail/commercial development, wasn't that bad of a design. But since then, all these little strip malls and outparcels along detroit and now Chester of all places have been sprouting up in a very stupid way. It is looking more and more like North Olmsted - which I consider to be the poster child in the west side suburbs for pathetic planning and development, because everything has developed in a way that leaves little room to salvage anything if changes were to be made down the road. It screams blight in twenty years.

But besides Avon's lack of proper planning, the development and growth here is really just a loss for Cuyahoga, and not a gain for the region.   

[buckeye1]

Avon's current police station is the 1950's era town hall on the north side of Detroit in front of the little league fields between 611 and Ridgeland Drive, next to the old fire station-turned-senior center.  The current post office is on the south side of Detroit between Wisteria and Garden Drives, next to the vacant Medic Drug.  I hate the post office, which has all of 7 parking spaces and is impossible to get in and out of.  The nice big parking lot at the vacant Medic next door is conveniently barricaded off, too!  I usually go to Westlake if I have to go to the post office.  If I recall correctly, Avon Lake's post office isn't much better than Avon - isn't it a little storefront behind the old movie theater, with a parking lot that hasn't been redone in about 50 years?

[buildingcincinnati]

From the Sun, 11/2/06:


Issue 18 campaign is quiet
Thursday, November 02, 2006
By Mary Davies
The Sun

AVON - Weeks ago, leaders of the Avon Citizens Committee 2006 thought they might have on their hands an ugly campaign battle against developers protesting a proposed charter amendment.

To the committee's surprise, no one distributed literature, posted signs or bought newspaper advertisements encouraging residents to vote against Issue 18, said Tim Bresnahan, spokesman for the 10-month-old political action committee.

The proposed charter amendment would require voter approval of most requests to rezone residential land south of Interstate 90.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1162490125102410.xml&coll=3
From the 10/27/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


New YMCA not coming to Amherst
Bette Pearce
The Chronicle-Telegram

AMHERST — The YMCA of Greater Cleveland will not locate a facility in the former LISN telecommunications building at Leavitt Road and Park Avenue, but it still hopes to have a presence somewhere in Amherst Township.

Audra Kessler, spokeswoman for the Cleveland YMCA, said the building would not be appropriate because the Y would have to occupy the second floor. The Cleveland Y still is looking for another suitable location in the township, she said.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/10-27-06/Daily%20Pages/102706head9.html

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 11/22/06 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


Traffic study to determine need for new road
Adam Wright
The Chronicle-Telegram

AMHERST TWP. — Local officials are trying to plan for an expected explosion of retail growth by studying whether it makes sense for a road to link state Route 58 and Pyle-South Amherst Road.

The proposed road — even though it’s in the early stages of planning — already has a nickname, “the 58 corridor,”’ Trustee Dennis Abraham said.

http://www.chroniclet.com/Daily%20Pages/112206local2.html
From the 11/9/06 Sun:


New campus facility is still planned by CHP
Thursday, November 09, 2006
By Kim Guffey
The Sun

NORTH RIDGEVILLE - Community Health Partners' plan for a multi-building facility on Chestnut Ridge Road is still in the works, despite sweeping layoffs throughout the company, a spokesperson said.

The Amherst-based health organization bought about 25 acres of land at Chestnut Ridge Road and Route 10 two years ago with the intent to build a health campus within a year. Financial uncertainty delayed plans, but spokesperson Jennifer Kennedy said the company hopes to begin work on the complex by 2008.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1163095108252630.xml&coll=3

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 12/7/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


3,700 new homes in the pipeline
MATT SUMAN and ALEX M. PARKER, Morning Journal Writers
12/07/2006

ELYRIA -- The residential growth of Eaton and Carlisle townships is resting on a plan to build sanitary sewers to serve potentially about 3,700 new homes and include 1,300 existing homes, according to a plan by the Lorain County Rural Wastewater District submitted to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The plan also said it anticipated an ''immediate pattern of growth similar to North Ridgeville,'' once the area is sewered by the district, also known as LORCO, according to the EPA. The townships are working on 19 potential development deals for 3,761 houses which are contingent on sewers, according to James McDonnell, chairman of LORCO's board.
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17566103&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=566374&rfi=8
From the 11/28/06 Lorain Morning Journal:


Lowe's to anchor shopping center
Morning Journal Staff
11/28/2006

AVON -- Lowe's home improvement store is set to be the anchor tenant for a new shopping center coming to Avon at Center and Chester roads, according to the city's planning coordinator, Jim Piazza.

The shopping center, called Avon Crossing, is being developed by the Jacobs Group, and will be built on more than 35 acres. No other tenants for the center have been announced, according to Piazza.
 

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17519663&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

[buckeye1]

Suit filed to take Shoreway property
From THE PRESS 1/17/2007

Sheffield Lake
By John Edwards

Content edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use - no link available

[buckeye1]

Content edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use - no link available

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 1/17/07 Elyria Chronicle-Telegram:


N. Ridgeville to get medical facility
Fairview Hospital expects construction to begin in late March
Bette Pearce
The Chronicle-Telegram

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — The growing population in and around North Ridgeville has created a need for more medical services, and Fairview Hospital is answering the call.

Fairview, a Cleveland Clinic hospital, announced plans Tuesday to build a 20,000-square-foot medical building on a 7-acre site at Interstate-480 and Lorain Road in North Ridgeville.

The two-story facility will house offices for physicians, along with on-site imaging and laboratory services.

http://www.chroniclet.com/Daily%20Pages/011707local2.html
From the 1/18/07 Lorain Morning Journal:


Avon OKs growth at Crossing
MEGAN KING, Morning Journal Writer
01/18/2007

AVON -- One proposed shopping center got a go-ahead from Avon Planning Commission last night, while questions were raised about the development plans for another.

The Planning Commission approved the general development plan for stores and restaurants for the proposed Avon Crossing shopping center at SR 83 and Chester Road. The anchor store will be Lowe's.
 

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17725063&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6
From the 12/28/06 Sun:


Lorain Morning Journal: Officials hope to expand Avon High (12/21/06)

High school expands
Thursday, December 28, 2006
By Mary Davies
The Sun

AVON Once winter weather breaks in spring, so will grounds at the high school.

Plans are to build about 67,000 square feet of classroom space, expand the music education area by 9,000 square feet and construct approximately 7,000 square feet of wrestling practice and weight-training facilities.

"We are almost doubling the size of the high school," said Superintendent Jim Reitenbach.
 
http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1167328311270320.xml&coll=3

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 1/25/07 Sun:


Lorain Morning Journal: Avon Lake to be new home for Danco Metal (12/5/06)

Avon Lake lands Danco Metal
Thursday, January 25, 2007
By Kim Guffey
The Sun
 
AVON LAKE A longtime Westlake company will pull up roots and move to Avon Lake later this year.

Crews are moving dirt at a Moore Road lot near Pin Oak Parkway in preparation for construction of a new hub for Danco Metal Products. The custom sheet metal fabricating company has been in Westlake since 1946.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1169747551227960.xml&coll=3
From the 1/21/07 Elyria Chornicle-Telegram:


EPA fines, penalizes Avon developer
Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram

AVON — The developer of a 44-acre residential subdivision in Avon has agreed to pay $87,000 in fines and submit to various mitigation and cleanup as a result of numerous citations, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency reported.

Avon Land Group Ltd., developer of Vineyard Estates in Avon, was cited for numerous violations, including illegally filling 1.7 acres of wetlands and impacting more than 1,300 feet of stream, the EPA said in a statement.

http://www.chroniclet.com/Daily%20Pages/012107local4.html
From the 1/18/07 Sun:


Value fuels LCCC growth
Thursday, January 18, 2007
By Kim Guffey
The Sun

As the cost of earning a college degree inflates across Ohio, officials at a local college say they're committed to keeping learning affordable and students are responding.

The enrollment at Lorain County Community College in Elyria has more than doubled since 2000. About 10,700 students currently flood classrooms and online courses, compared to about 5,000 students five years ago.

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1169142995183210.xml&coll=3