Strongsville will open up 85.7 acres of new industrial land by extending Foltz Parkway to the south and will also see three new housing developments and a new fire station soon, Mayor Tom Perciak said.
Perciak, speaking before about 200 people at a Strongsville Chamber of Commerce business luncheon Oct. 15, said the city is ready to award a contract to extend Foltz Parkway about 2,000 feet, opening up "the largest greenfield land site in Cuyahoga County" for industrial development "so we can create more new jobs."
The extension will end in a cul de sac and not connect with Boston Road.
Perciak also noted that the city's four existing business parks has a 97 percent occupancy rate, which poses a challenge for growth.
"We're 97 percent full, so how do we maintain or build on our revenue stream? We're going to do it by expanding our existing businesses," he said.
Examples: Momentive Technologies,which operates its global headquarters in Strongsville, is seeking to add 39,242 square feet to its manufacturing facility and will sublease 24,568 square feet of office space across the street; Kraft Mobile Systems recently purchased a 28,290 square foot facility north of its existing building on Foltz Parkway to expand operations; and PLIDCO, while not expanding physically, has grown to more than 100 employees.
Other highlights from the mayor's talk, which served as a mid-year update to his annual state-of-the-city speech every March:
- New developments are filling housing needs in Strongsville with luxury rental townhouses like Camden Woods, which recently started leasing 82 units at Prospect and Royalton roads. Parkview Homes is working two of four phases of Park Ridge Crossings and Hidden Creek Villas on Prospect Road, adding 31 custom single-family houses and 18 detached villas. And Pride One is developing 90 luxury townhouse units on 15 acres on Marks Road.
- Construction plans are being developed for Fire Station No. 5 on Royalton Road near Pearl Road to serve the center of town and enhance the city's already-solid reputation for safety.
- People talk about the decline of bricks-and-mortar retail, but SouthPark Mall is actually thriving. "Our mall will have over 7 million visitors this year," Perciak said -- second in the area only to Crocker Park, which will see about 8 million guests. Anchor stores at SouthPark are expected to remain, and the former Sears store will be redeveloped into an exciting new concept. Also, mall owners are working with new tenants for defunct restaurants.
Perciak also made note of two other recent projects: The Walter F. Ehrnfelt Covered Bridge on Whitney Road, which was rebuilt for $2.4 million (about $1 million came from grants), and the new Town Center project, which added new recreational amenities and walkways to the center of Strongsville. Cost of that project topped out at $11 million, but only about $4 million will have to be financed because of grants and donations. "Show me a community that would step up and donate over $6 million," Perciak said. "This would not have happened without the people that donated."