Staples makeover for Five Below OK’d

Discount retailer still needs sign approval

Plans to breathe new business into the vacant Chardon Staples site are progressing, but one of the new tenants has another hurdle to go.

The city Planning Commission on Feb. 16 unanimously approved dividing and remodeling the 20,000-square-foot store in Meadowlands Town Center for two occupants.

One of the spaces is sought by discount retailer Five Below. The other tenant is still to be determined.

While city officials favored the project overall, Five Below’s initial proposal is at odds with the sign code.

The signature blue background on the chain’s proposed storefront is considered part of the sign and, as such, would push it beyond city size limits, Chardon Community Development Administrator Steve Yaney said.

“In this situation, if you restrict it because of the size of the massing of the front of this building, a smaller sign may not look quite right on this storefront, so we might need a little more space,” Yaney said.

Five Below representative Christopher Chouinard requested guidance on the matter.

“From a Five Below perspective, the blue itself is an accent color, not necessarily signage, which is partly why we made it as large as it is, because we’re considering this accent,” he said. “So (I’m) trying to understand the difference between accent versus signage.”

If the color is deemed to

be one of the corporate colors of the company, it would be considered signage, Yaney replied. He said Staples went in with its large, red sign, but it was built before the current code was adopted.

Yaney noted that similar discussions were held when Bob Evans and O’Reilly Auto Parts projects went through the approval process.

“Ultimately, they had to do it in a neutral background color,” he said. “So that has been the way that it has been interpreted by staff and the Planning Commission for the last 10 years, since this code took effect.”

He added that the aspect of the code and the city’s interpretation of it isn’t unusual.

“It’s one of those things where, if it’s not considered a design element of the building, it almost has to be considered signage,” he said. “The Planning Commission ultimately has all design authority on signage. They can change based on sign deviations for a unique design situation.”

Commission member

Hannah Sekas spoke in support of having a neutral border framing the blue.

“I agree it’s going to need a little bit bigger of a sign,” she said.

Commission member Mary Jo Stark asked whether the blue itself was an issue. Yaney said it is not the color but the amount of space it covers.

Chouinard thanked officials for the feedback.

Commission Chairman Andrew K. Blackley expressed gratitude to the property owners for investing in the site and filling a vacancy.

The property, owned by RCG Chardon LLC, is located at 255 Meadowlands Drive near the Center Street/Route 44 intersection. The space was temporarily used by Spirit of Halloween, but the size made it difficult to secure a tenant for the entire square footage, Yaney said.

“Between our Home Depot, our Walmart and the shopping center, it is a very high-end retail corridor through there, and this is going to be maintaining that,” he said.

SUBMITTED Five Below is proposed for part of the old Staples space in Chardon. The store’s sign is still a work in progress.