Shoregate to ‘boom’ with economic development

Two new retail buildings are currently being built at the City of Willowick’s Shoregate Town Center.

Two new retail buildings are currently being built at the City of Willowick’s Shoregate Town Center.

The buildings will be 6,000 square feet with about five units in each, said Mayor Richard Regovich at a recent State of the City Address at a Willoughby Western Lake County Chamber of Commerce meeting, and the rumor has it that there are a couple of businesses already slated to go in.

“I don’t know it for a fact, but one starts with an S and ends in arbucks, and the other one may be a Chipotle,” Regovich said. “I’m hoping because it’s a big boom for us here in Willowick and Lake Shore Boulevard, and ties into our lake shore corridor.”

While most of Willowick’s businesses are still open, some are still hurting, Regovich said.

“A part of what we did was our CARES Act funding was offer our businesses a grant of $5,000,” he said. “We had about 15 businesses take advantage of that and I was happy to do so so we don’t lose those places we’ve come to love here — places that are unique and small that we’re trying to keep going.”

The Special Improvement District, or SID, has been on the forefront for the last two years, Regovich said. Alongside Mayor Dennis Morley of Eastlake, Mayor Robert Fiala of Willoughby and Mayor Ed Klco of North Perry Village, the mayors are hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel where the cities get to step away and the SID takes over, Regovich said.

“We may have to push the train out of the tunnel, but we’re at the point where we can get it going and help these people who live along the lake,” he said. “That will be a big win for us in Lake County.”

Willowick’s housing stock is on the rise as houses for sale in the city are selling quickly for high prices, Regovich said, even amid all of the changes within schools. In addition, even though the senior center is closed, the Meals on Wheels program remained ongoing to serve residents daily, he said.

“Unfortunately, the things we have on hold — the lakefront development plan is near the end. It’s tough to take traffic counts during the crisis,” Regovich said. “People aren’t driving like they used to, schools were closed, so we are working through that.”

Regovich is hoping to have the lakefront development plan completed soon, which may change future plans slightly, he said.

“It’s still a lot of outdoor space. What we are doing there is really street scape, so we may change the roads, lighting and those kinds of things to create that business corridor there,” Regovich said. “Until we can get somewhat normal, we’re not going to go forward on that too quickly.”

The “elephant in the room” still remained the novel coronavirus that hit about a year ago, Regovich said.

“I don’t know any of us had signed up for this when they ran for mayor,” he said.

Weekly meetings were taken with the all mayors and managers, and officials in the county and the health department to stay up to date on daily events and how many people were getting sick, Regovich recalls.

“Now, it’s about vaccines and we were able to make decisions as a group,” he said. “It made it easier for us to get through this crisis and continue to work through this crisis knowing that we’re all in it together. My hat is off to (Mayor Morley) for his leadership during this crisis and to all of you.”