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New buildings raise hopes for old district
(by Mike Klimko - September 11, 2008)
New buildings raise hopes for old district
By MIKE KLIMKO
Plans for a pair of two-story office buildings totaling 28,000 square feet in Solon's historic business district could be a key development, Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said.
The 1.75-acre property to on Bainbridge Road, just west of the Walgreens drugstore, represents a chance to stir redevelopment in the area, Mr. Frankland said in a report to the city's planning commission.
Solon developer Dennis Totarella is developing the site on behalf of property owners Alden and Gerald Cohen. The plan for offices and retail businesses was on this week's agenda for the commission.
"The proposed project is located at a strategic position within the city. And the development of this site will likely encourage further commercial development in the immediate vicinity," Mr. Frankland said.
"It has long been a city goal to jump-start redevelopment of this area," he said, noting previous projects that have enhanced the historical character of the area, as outlined by the Solon master plan.
"Implementation of the proposed office and retail development currently under consideration has the potential to significantly advance the city's goal of achieving the high-quality historic redevelopment of this segment of Bainbridge Road," Mr. Frankland said.
The proposed building of 18,000 square feet fronting Bainbridge Road would present a commercial facade with a traditional "zero-lot-line" appearance, he said.
Variances for the required number of parking spaces and the size of the buildings could be seen as drawbacks due to reduced setback from the street, he said. "The proposed building to street setback is narrow but certainly not without precedence in other historic commercial areas in Ohio, and even in the immediate area," Mr. Frankland said.
"Each building is intended primarily for office use, though the design could also accommodate small retail tenants, restaurants and speciality shops," he said.
Narrow setbacks improve the appearance of historical design and limit the potential for future street widenings, he said. Present setbacks have more or less ruled out any plan to widen streets, he said.
The site is among the most strategically important properties in Solon and is near the center-of-town planning area, which includes the new fire station and veterans memorial park at the southwest corner of Bainbridge and SOM Center (Route 91) roads, Mr. Frankland said.
The area near the center of town was targeted for the development of office buildings as part of a 2005 zoning measure seeking to recapture late 19th-century and early 20th-century design, he said.
"It was the planning department's request that the building be located closer to the street than the code-required 46 feet," Mr. Frankland said. "This request was made in consideration of the greater planning design goals for this vicinity of the historic district," he said.
"In specific, the creation of the appearance of an old-fashioned commercial street front. Traditional commercial street front design typically places adjacent buildings in a line, usually quite close to the street, often with only a sidewalk separating the structures from the road."
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