[ back ]
Solar Center rezoning up to voters
(by Mike Klimko - October 15, 2008)
Solar Center rezoning up to voters
By MIKE KLIMKO
Voters will have the say Nov. 4 over the proposed rezoning in Solon of 3.45 acres to the south of the Solar Center shopping center, a move that could pave the way for a new Giant Eagle supermarket. Approval of ballot Issue 105 would rezone the land from office to commercial use, adjacent to the shopping center southeast of SOM Center (Route 91) and Aurora (Route 43) roads.
Discussion of a prototype store of 97,000 square feet is continuing, said Simon Caplan, part owner of the shopping center and Cresco Real Estate broker.
Withdrawal of the zoning issue for the proposed Central Park redevelopment at the SOM Centre plaza east of SOM Center Road, between Bainbridge and Solon roads, should remove any confusion over the Solar Center issue, Mr. Caplan said.
Council asked the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections last week to remove the issue for the Central Park planned-unit development after the Coral Co. withdrew the project.
Votes cast for planned-unit development and Central Park would not be counted by the board of elections, Law Director David J. Matty said. Ballots were printed before the project was dropped, he said.
In the weeks leading up to action by council to register zoning issues with the board of elections, the Coral Co. and the owners of the Solar Center both discussed a new Giant Eagle store as part of their projects. Giant Eagle ownership has indicated that the existing store at Solar Center would have to be expanded and updated.
"It'll take some confusion out when people look at the zoning issues," Mr. Caplan said of the withdrawal of Central Park. "The people will see them altogether. We're 105. They were 104," he said of the issue numbers.
"We were concerned there would be some confusion. We didn't want to be a part of them. They're separate issues. The city has withdrawn the issue. It will still be on the ballot."
Solar Center has been a part of Solon for about 40 years, Mr. Caplan said. Rezoning of the land to the south of the shopping center would serve redevelopment envisioned by City Council, he said.
"Our goal is to help our tenants succeed and to create a great experience for shoppers," Mr. Caplan said. "This would be a step toward getting a modernized Giant Eagle on our property."
Commercial zoning was seen by the Solar Center owners as a key to retaining Giant Eagle as an anchor store and for redevelopment of the shopping center, he said. Five years remain on the Giant Eagle lease there.
Regency Centers, a national retail developer with offices in Cincinnati, contacted a broker representing Solar Center about a joint venture for redevelopment.
[ back ]
