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Bigger Giant Eagle key to new Solar Center
(by Sue Reid - June 17, 2009)
Bigger Giant Eagle key to new Solar Center
By SUE REID
Construction may begin on a 99,900-square-foot Giant Eagle supermarket in Solon as early as next spring.
City Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said last week that Perlick-Caplan, owner of the Solar Shopping Center at the southeast corner of SOM Center (Route 91) and Aurora (Route 43) roads, is proposing some zoning changes. They would allow for a reconstructed Giant Eagle on-site, a tear-down of 75 percent of the plaza and an arrangement of parcels along the perimeter of the site, he said.
"One of their state-of-the-art prototype buildings" is being proposed, he said of Giant Eagle. Mr. Frankland said that a Giant Eagle GetGo gas station would be part of that, but it would require a zoning change.
The owners are requesting the zoning changes be placed on the November ballot and are seeking the review of the city's planning commission.
"Anytime you add or subtract the use from the current zoning, it has to go to the ballot," Mr. Frankland said. "If it would have any chance, planning commission has to start reviewing it," he said of making the November ballot.
Brad Kowit, of the Kowit and Passov Real Estate Group out of Cleveland, made a presentation to City Council Monday in which he showed conceptual plans. Council approved a motion to forward the issue to the planning commission.
"Giant Eagle desires a new store on site," he said. Without re-zoning, they have expressed a desire to relocate to where they can have the full size store the market requires, he said.
Mr. Kowit noted that the shopping center owners do not have a final site plan that Giant Eagle has signed off on, but a meeting is slated for this week.
"We believe the intent is there both with the ownership and Giant Eagle to have a new Giant Eagle on site," Mr. Kowit said. Giant Eagle's concerns is having the necessary parking to fit their needs, he said.
"It's a very expensive proposition to build new and tear down old," Mr. Kowit said.
To lease that small section that would be a gas station, zoning needs to be changed from C-3, general retail, to C-4, motor-service commercial, Mr. Frankland said. "They would also be asking for C-3 zone change for properties they own east of the plaza currently zoned office. They had asked for that same zone change last year and council did held off on their approval. This site plan could be more attractive to council and the community," Mr. Frankland said.
"The city needs a top-of-the-line grocery store," he said. "That would be an excellent thing for everybody. We've always talked about, how do we get Giant Eagle redeveloped?"
Perlick-Caplan submitted a letter to council, dated June 11, in which they requested their proposal be referred to the planning commission, Mr. Frankland said. The process for potential zoning change has to be referred to the planning commission but first must have a referral from City Council, he said.
"There's a lot of loose ends now," Mr. Frankland said. "It will be a very tight time frame."
Unanswered questions still surround the proposal, Mr. Frankland said, specifically how close the Get-Go would be to the site.
"There are two alternate proposals to the Get-Go," Mr. Frankland said. One has it on the extreme southern end of the property, located between the Giant Eagle and SOM Center Road, he said. The setback would be very narrow, only 30 to 40 feet off of SOM Center Road. "I can see that area being problematic," Mr. Frankland said.
Another proposal has the Get-Go tucked into the middle of the plaza site, which, from the city's standpoint, would be preferred, he said.
"The one in the middle of the site will be more attractive and accommodate traffic better," Mr. Frankland said. It would be more aesthetically pleasing, he said.
Mr. Frankland also said the developers stated their preference would be to keep the Giant Eagle open during construction. Mr. Kowit said that the any tenant that is there now, "we want to keep them in the center."
He indicated it would keep all of the tenants on-site and continue to have them operate while construction would be going on.
Mr. Kowit said if the zoning change were approved this November, construction could start in spring 2010. It would probably take 12-14 months until it would be complete.
The proposal is "very close" to what the city wanted, Mr. Frankland said.
"We're just looking at the preliminary site plan now," he said. "It's very close to the master-plan principals for the area. It can really help us advance what we are trying to achieve there."
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