The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
City defends economic development priorities
The city of Avon Lake is defending its economic development priorities in the wake of Avon’s retail boom.
In response to a question from a resident at Avon Lake’s Ward 3 and 4 meetings at Troy Intermediate School on Feb. 19, Mayor Greg Zilka said the city is pursuing a path that responds to its unique needs.
The Waterview Court resident expressed concerns over the lack of economic development activity in Avon Lake in comparison to the strong retail base in Avon.
The unidentified resident said he hates opening the newspaper and seeing the neighbors on the other side of the track and everything that’s going on there.
The resident said he doesn’t want everything going on in Avon to occur in Avon Lake, but would like to see a lot more development.
Zilka said the city simply doesn’t have the economic and geographic conditions to support the type of national retail chains as Avon does.
“They’ve got (Interstate) 90 running right through them,” he said. “And not only do they have all those big box stores, they have awful traffic.”
Without the benefit of the interchanges, the city has had to adopt an alternative
strategy focusing on smaller locations that fit in with the community, Zilka said.
Meanwhile, Zilka said the city is seeing its retail locations fill up with the exception of Town Center due to a contract established with the mall’s owner.
“We cannot attract the same stores that Avon can, so we have to find smaller ancillary neighborhood stores, smaller, complimentary stores,” he said. “We’re lucky that we’ve done that and we’ve got a couple of really solid businesses now in Avon Lake.”
Established businesses
Zilka pointed to Parker’s Grille and Tavern, Taki’s Greek Kitchen and Fratello’s as businesses that are fitting the city’s mold as a center for small businesses.
“We have a couple others that we hope will catch on, but it’s a tough business and we have worked hard to bring in those types of developments,” he said. “But we cannot do things beyond a certain point, and we try to make their environment as positive as possible.”
The city is making waves
with the November 2019 announcement by Ford Motor Co. of a $900 million expansion to the Ohio Assembly Plant with a new product line planned for 2023.
The investment will bring at least 1,500 new jobs to the city.
“We are very fortunate we have Ford, we share Ford,” Zilka said. “We have some really exciting things from Ford that they announced in November.
“At the end of the year, we’re going to see where that addition’s going to be.”
In 2018, Avon Lake welcomed a $30 million expansion to Lubrizol and plans are in the works for a new global innovation center for PolyOne in the near future.
Electric vehicle
In the Ford plan, Zilka said there is room for the addition of a new product which will be an electric vehicle.
“There’s a lot of good things coming forward,” he said. “We cannot compete with big box stores in the city of Avon.
“Location, location, location. How do you explain
Menard’s and Meijer’s…and Home Depot? They all seem to be competing with each other. How many of those are going to last?
“Eventually, some of them are going to close down, and after the big boom, Avon’s going to be stuck with a bunch of half empty stores.”
Avon
The city of Avon’s retail boom has seen Chester Road’s commercial sector fill up with new additions including Menard’s, Meijer, and will soon be the new home of Bendix’s global headquarters and a Hobby Lobby.
As one of the fastest growing cities in Northeast Ohio, the commercial activity has placed pressure on neighboring communities.
Zilka alluded to the Bendix move stating the city of Elyria has similar geographic challenges.
“The announcement of Bendix coming to Avon is a huge plus,” he said. “I feel sorry for the city of Elyria that’s losing Bendix.
“That’s big box and the reason why they’re locating there is so they’ll be seen from I-90, and it’s easier to attract employees there than in Elyria that’s across from an area that’s downtrodden.”
In pursuing economic development strategies, Zilka stressed cities don’t have the opportunity to just snap their fingers and change their environment.
“We cannot attract the same stores that Avon can, so we have to find smaller ancillary neighborhood stores, smaller, complimentary stores,” he said. “We’re lucky that we’ve done that and we’ve got a couple of really solid businesses now in Avon Lake.” — Mayor Greg Zilka