Business projects moving forward

Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus, Avon is still moving forward with various projects in the city.

Pam Fechter, planning coordinator for the city, said the construction just off of Chester Road, near the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery and the GetGo Gas Station, will be a new car wash.

“It’s called Rainforest Car Wash,” she said. “We did have a couple of hotels that eyed the space, but the car wash made the push to get in there. They are under construction and they should be at completion in the next couple of months.

“They are working on a storm water solution right now before they can move forward.”

Fechter said some other projects are also in the works.

“We have the Cleveland Eye Clinic, which will be located just west of the car wash (36991 American Way),” she said. “That should be ready in a couple of weeks. We also have a Hobby Lobby coming, which I always get a lot of people asking me about, just east of Menard’s on Chester (Road) coming later this year.

“There will also be Panera Bread going in there as well probably some time next year,” she added. “There will also be a new (University Hospitals) building going in on Detroit (Road) near the rec center (36265 Detroit Road).”

Fechter said it has been tough to see all the businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus.

“It’s really sad looking at the list of closures because of this,” she said. “A lot of business owners don’t know what to do, and a lot of it is so uncertain. We have been able to continue with the development of projects, but it does hurt the businesses that really need that traffic.

“We also had some businesses that recently opened before the closures,” she added. “Sadly, I know there are areas that are worse off with this than we are. We have been able to keep some of our businesses open, and we haven’t been almost completely closed down like some are experiencing.”