The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
City shows sturdy economy Retail investment, plans for square continue to roll
Ed Babcock grew up in Chardon, graduated from its high school and continued the local family business at Junction Auto — begun by his grandfather and great-grandfather in 1931.
So when an opportunity arose to improve his hometown, he went for it. He and wife Connie recently renovated a storefront on Chardon Square that had fallen into disrepair.
Now they are preparing to market 109 Main St. — between Antiques on the Square and Jasmine Dragons — for a restaurant or other retailer on the first floor and residences on the second.
“(We envision) something that’s going to add
to the critical mass of Chardon, draw more people to town,” he said. “We think Chardon’s a strong community and will continue to grow. We want to try and make one little piece of it better.”
Such investment is among many signs of economic vitality in town.
Other evidences are a steady stream of building projects, including new business construction and reimaging of existing ones, plus plans taking shape to transform the square’s east side and its historic theater.
Reliable retail
The community of roughly 5,200 people welcomed nearly a dozen new retailers in 2016, and this year projects include Thistle House Senior Living Community — a redevelopment of Chardon Motel at 526 Water St. — an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store at 379 Center St., and a complete makeover of the Arby’s on Water Street.
While some cities can boast of similar development, not all have attracted the same number of prototype projects. Along with the Arby’s remodel, they include the Bob Evans and DQ/Orange Julius redesigns.
In addition, Mr. Hero recently upgraded a defunct KFC restaurant at 319 Center St. with the former’s most modern design.
“Chardon is being used by multiple corporations to roll out new models for buildings and services,” city Planning & Zoning Administrator Steve Yaney said.
The latest debut is WalMart offering an online grocery order/drive-through pickup service.
“I believe that our businesses are seeing strong sales and continued growth at the Chardon locations,” Yaney said.
While it isn’t immune to the malaise infecting national retail giants such as MC Sports, retail vacancy levels remain relatively low.
“The city is seeing stronger vitality than the region and country as a whole,” he said.
Chardon’s got a lot going for it when it comes to attracting businesses,
said Anita Stocker, Geauga County’s community & economic development director.
“There’s something about a consistency and stability of an economy that just allows things to organically occur,” she said. “There are generally no spikes one way or another. There’s a stable government, a stable land value, a stable workforce.
”We’re not necessarily on trend with everything new that comes along, but it’s very comforting to a business to know that the changes will be minor and weatherable.”
She noted a good blend of residential development and community activities as well.
Vision for tomorrow
Some phases of a conceptual design for the square’s east side, adopted by City Council in 2016, could become reality within the next several months, said Chardon Tomorrow Executive Director Mary Glauser. The grassroots organization’s mission is to preserve and enhance the historic character of the city while promoting economic development.
“The highest potential at this point is realizing some of the greenscaping/ green spaces, and laying the groundwork with community leaders, developers, and planning and zoning,” Glauser said.
Some parts of the vision are dependent on other projects, such as the school district’s facility redevelopment proposal. It appears to involve closing some schools — due to declining enrollment — and building a new centralized facility to serve all the kindergarten through sixth-grade students.
The elementary school on the square is part of Chardon Tomorrow’s vision plan.
“(The plan) sees the Chardon Public Library, and Park Elementary School and auditorium as vital institutional anchors to remain, flanked by mixed-use retail and residential development, with public green spaces, pedestrian access, and adequate parking located behind the buildings facing the square, mirroring the existing historic buildings on the west side,” said Councilman and Chardon Tomorrow President Andrew K. Blackley.
The concept includes a 40,000-square-foot library; two, three-story mixed-use buildings at the north and south ends of Park Street — 50 to 60 units each — and potential for a two-level, 446-space parking garage behind the new buildings. Restaurants and retail are envisioned on the first floor and homes, such as apartments or condos, on the other floors.
Townhomes would serve as a buffer between the apartment/condo complexes and single-family homes on North and South Hambden streets. In addition, the plan shows the potential for closing Short Court Street and creating a pedestrian mall joining the green space in the park.
There is no set timetable for the vision’s fulfillment.
“Developers have shown interest in parts of the project, and the city is optimistic that it will move forward in the future,” Yaney said.
Coming to a theater near you
Chardon Tomorrow is actively working on another project involving the square — one that isn’t reflected in the vision plan.
The group is assisting Geauga Lyric Theater with expansion and renovation plans, now in their infancy.
“We feel it is a priority, because a vibrant arts community can be the cornerstone of a thriving downtown,” Glauser said. “Our hope is to support them so that, in addition to the theatrical performances, Chardon can offer many other types of entertainment and cultural offerings at the theater.
“There is such an interconnectedness between what is being discussed at the school district, city, and arts community that it is a very exciting time.”
The theater guild received a $200,000 Ohio Facilities Construction Commission economic development grant to be used toward a cultural facility.
The grant will provide for additional public access, storage and offerings. The first priority is expanding bathrooms, theater Executive Director Erika Hansen said.
“The public currently has to wait in extremely long lines during intermission, and the actors need to walk around the outside of the building to access the rest rooms in the lobby,” she said.
Another goal is to put an addition on the theater so that it doesn’t have to close between productions in order to allow set building on stage. This would enable the theater to provide new events on a regular basis rather than sporadically as space allows.
“We envision being able to expand operations with movie presentations, music performances and other entertainment offerings that will increase foot traffic and bring an increased economic impact to the Chardon Square area,” Hansen said. “Working in conjunction with partners and local businesses to create events for downtown Chardon will work to the economic benefit of the city and will provide increased revenues for GLTG and private businesses.”
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