The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Homes started behind old school
Remaining property long eyed for ‘downtown’ development in limbo
Part of a Mentor development more than a decade in the making is moving forward.
The first home is going up in the 13-lot Presley Way housing subdivision northwest of routes 615 and 20.
Several of the singlefamily homes will be built on the back of a large vacant parcel fronting Route 615, between the old Center Street School and the ERIEBANK (formerly Lake National Bank) building.
Floor plans for the development include colonials, ranches and first-floor master plans. Prices will range between $180,000 and more than $300,000.
“Presley Way is centrally located in the heart of Mentor,” said George Davis, president of Mentor-based ProBuilt Homes. “It’s close to everything.
“We are very excited to finally be digging basements.”
The land has a long history of proposals by multiple developers, beginning with Rick Osborne Jr.’s 2005 plan for various housing and commercial uses.
Community opposition and the economic downturn in 2007 caused him to curtail plans and propose a minor subdivision of 10 sublots on the west side of the Presley Avenue Extension for single-family homes.
In 2014, developer Bo Knez succeeded at rezoning the land along Route 615 for Center Pointe — another mixed-use plan, but he bowed out when the property went through foreclosure.
Lake National purchased the property at sheriff’s sale in 2015, and ProBuilt Homes emerged to develop the single-family home portion.
“We obtained city of Mentor subdivision approvals in the spring of 2016,” Davis said. “However, we had to reach agreement with the Center Street School and Coachhouse Association on expense-sharing, and ownership of sewers and roadways. This was a friendly, amicable process that just took some time.”
The remaining acreage is owned by ERIEBANK, which acquired Lake National in January.
The mixed-use project — intended, in part, to provide the city a “downtown” — was an ambitious one when it was conceived years ago, said Ronald M. Traub, Mentor economic & community development director.
“The voters rejection of the second phase of the rezoning and Great Recession forced a scaled-back plan,” he said.
“While I’m pleased to see the single-family component move forward, I’m anxious to see what might come on the mixed-use piece fronting on Center Street.”
Developer interest in the vacant parcel hasn’t gone beyond inquiry at this point, said ERIEBANK Senior Vice President Andrew L. Meinhold.
“Now that Presley’s under way, we can begin to turn our attention to that one,” he said.
The land comes with the Center Pointe project zoning and a 10-year, 50 percent tax abatement, as part of the Old Village Community Reinvestment Area.
Meanwhile, the Planning Commission this week will consider an informal rezoning proposal for one of the Presley Way lots in order to provide more parking to the former school building, now home to businesses. The plan calls for a 15-space concrete lot.
There are more than 30 employees among Salon Lofts, Klammer Law Office, and Foot & Ankle Specialists. Customers also are vying for parking within the areas designated for residential condominium use, officials say.