The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
City Market project evolves
Wendy’s, curbside grocery pickup among latest plans
The City Market development in Mentor will have no shortage of food offerings.
The three projects confirmed for the site so far are Giant Eagle, Taco Bell and — the latest — Wendy’s restaurant.
Mentor Planning Commission recently approved a Wendy’s plan for 6866 Center St., an outlot of the 20-acre site southwest of the Route 2/615 interchange. The project includes a drivethrough, outdoor seating and the latest prototype.
“This design has been out for about a year,”
said Doug Kincaid, construction manager for the franchisee that will operate the store. He said the nearest example is in West Virginia, although one renovated a couple of years ago in Painesville Township is similar.
“They are really trying to redesign this to open it up, make it very inviting,” he said.
The eatery will be just north of Enterprise Car Rental and employ up to 50 people.
The City Market project is progressing well, said Ronald M. Traub, the city’s economic & community development director.
“As I’ve mentioned, the project (will be) transformative in eliminating a row of non-descriptive commercial businesses, replacing them with more contemporary architecture, but more importantly, providing an overall plan for traffic circulation and landscaping,” he said.
Meanwhile, aspects of the project continue to evolve.
Taking shape
Giant Eagle representatives seek to include Curbside Express pickup at the store. Customers would have the option to order groceries ahead of time — at least three hours — and pick them up at a drivethrough station on site.
The Planning Commission tabled the request at the June 14 meeting after concerns were raised about the “industrial look” of part of the exterior. The
55,000-square-foot store is anticipated to open next spring.
There is some indication of what is planned on the rest of the property on developer Visconsi Companies’ website.
One image shows a gas station (GetGo) at the northeast corner of the site. The northwest corner is labeled as Phase II/Future Development. There have been reports of a fitness center being interested in that portion of the property — formerly home to Mold Masters International. The site, at 7500 Clover Ave., is still owned by MMI Holdings, Inc.
“We’re still continuing to pursue a Phase II,” said Vice President of Development Bradley Goldberg. “Our plan is to develop something on that property some day. … There’s a pretty decent amount of interest.”
There are three more available parcels. Visconsi is talking to a variety of users and uses.
“They’re primarily food and retail,” Goldberg said. “It’s a service, food and traditional retail (development).”
The fate of the existing
Giant Eagle on Plaza Boulevard remains unclear.
The company issued the following statement: “At Giant Eagle, we are continually evaluating opportunities to evolve and expand our supermarket presence. While we are excited to move forward with the City Market development, we are still in the pre-construction phase and have no further details to announce at this time.”
A ‘unique opportunity’
The area had been zoned industrial since at least 1953, with M-2, Heavy Manufacturing zoning being assigned in 1963. The majority of the site was part of the Fluid Controls campus. Another significant portion had been occupied by Middleton Roofing.
In 2015, the Planning Commission was presented an informal rezoning request by Visconsi. The commission unanimously recommended rezoning about 12 acres from M-2 to B-2, General Business.
Nearly 77 percent of voters supported the rezoning in November 2015.
Last year, the commission approved the site plan for City Market, as well as vacating Kelly Drive. The Taco Bell site plan passed in April.
The original concept for the development had included an 87,000-squarefoot grocery store, a 45,000-square-foot fitness club and an 8,400-squarefoot multitenant retail center.
Goldberg previously indicated that aspects of the project were scaled back because of changes to the retail market after the conceptual design and rezoning were approved.
He called the development a “unique opportunity.”
“It’s got terrific visibility,” he said. “There are not a lot of opportunities where you can be in a grocery-store anchored project that offers this kind of visibility with the significant traffic counts for daytime, and going to and from work.”
Road improvements related to the project have begun on Route 615, including traffic signal pole foundation installation and utility relocation. The roadway construction is dependent on utility relocation completion.
Work will include building a right-turn lane into City Market for southbound Center Street traffic, construction of an island where the previous turn lane to Kelly Drive was and adding traffic signals at the entrance to City Market on Center Street and Tyler Boulevard.
Completion is scheduled for Oct. 18.
Four existing businesses will remain on Route 615 — El Rodeo Mexican restaurant, Mentor Family Restaurant, Enterprise RentA-Car and Jim’s Discount Car & Truck. A daycare on Tyler Boulevard will be preserved as well.
Giant Eagle representatives seek to include Curbside Express pickup at the store. Customers would have the option to order groceries ahead of time — at least three hours — and pick them up at a drive-through station on site.