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With one redevelopment, hopes grow for more
(by Sue Reid - June 06, 2012)
With one redevelopment, hopes grow for more
By SUE REID
The redevelopment now under way with the Solon Village shopping center is raising hopes among some Solon officials that other aging retail plazas will follow suit.
Redevelopment of the SOM Centre plaza, where the Marc's and Sears Grand stores are located on SOM Center Road (Route 91), along with the Carter Lumber area next door, remains a top priority, Solon Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said. Ranking next is the Solon Square Shopping Center on Aurora Road (Route 43), he said.
"If you are going to see interest in the area, it will start with the commencement of the Giant Eagle project," Mr. Frankland said of the Solon Village project, formerly the Solar Shopping Center southeast of SOM Center and Aurora roads. "Once that project is completed and people can see the type of quality development it is going to be, it is likely to spur redevelopment."
Anytime a community achieves a redevelopment, it generates interest from other developers, he said.
"While the economy is not great, we are hopeful for some renewed interest there," Mr. Frankland said of the other plazas.
The plaza with Marc's and Sears Grand, which is zoned C-6 commercial, is very outdated "right on one of the principal entryways into the city," he said. "It is probably one of the areas we receive the most expressions of dissatisfaction with the city is that little section," he said. "The No. 1 priority of the city to have that redeveloped."
Carter Lumber has done some improvements in addressing the outside of the building, he said. "That has been a big improvement," Mr. Frankland said of the composite siding used, "but what the city is looking for is entire redevelopment."
The city's master plan recommends a complete tear down of that plaza, he said, and a mixed-use type of project similar to the First and Main area in Hudson. That is the "A site in Solon," Mr. Frankland said. "That is the site where a developer would pick."
The master plan also recommends a tear down and rebuild of the Solon Square plaza. "Instead of a long, continuous plaza, the master plan recommends having individual buildings laid out and pulling those buildings out closer to Aurora Road with parking behind the buildings," he said.
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