RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- City Council’s Planning & Zoning Committee has unanimously recommended to council approval of the Belle Oaks second-phase conceptual site plan.
The committee, meeting Tuesday (April 14) via the Zoom conference app, approved a plan that could result in as many as 18 buildings being constructed south of the former Sears building on the Richmond Town Square property, site of the Belle Oaks development. Seven of those buildings would be for residential use in the form of luxury apartments.
The first phase of the mixed-use development was to begin in June with the demolition of the former Sears building to make way for six apartment buildings, two of which would also include first-floor retail. Also included would be a park, parking garage and other amenities. The northern end of the mall site that is designated for phase one, may also include construction of up to two outparcel buildings that might be used for retail, a restaurant, or perhaps a small hotel.
Both phases make up a project at the 69.2-acre mall site that is expected to cost more than $200 million. DealPoint Merrill, of Woodland Hills, Calif. is undertaking the project.
The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission approved the second phase plans, drawn up by Bialosky Cleveland, on Feb. 12. Council last met to discuss the plans on March 17 and hadn’t met again until April 14 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Other matters, such as a parking study and marketing study, to make sure the area can accommodate the planned 791 total apartment units, must also be completed.
“What you have before you tonight is the conceptual site plan, and then we’ll go through another round of reviews,” Economic Development Director Brian Gleisser told council April 14.
“Each building, (and) each outparcel that gets constructed will be reviewed independently,” Building Commissioner Jim Urankar added. Urankar also noted that the city’s Architectural Review Board has suggested that new, proposed RTA shelters along Richmond Road match the Belle Oaks design, which he believes is a good idea.
“To summarize things,” said Planning & Zoning Committee Chairman and Councilman Mark Alexander, “this is a conceptual site plan approval, and everybody’s (including
council) going to get a second bite at the apple (to approve each building) when it comes back through for different things as we go forward, and we start finalizing who the tenants are.”
Also on April 14, council agreed to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. May 12 for the Belle Oaks’ New Community Authority. The public hearing was to be held March 24, but had to be postponed because of the coronavris.
A New Community Authority is a financing mechanism for the Belle Oaks project that DealPoint Merrill has proposed. It is a financing mechanism that has become popular for large-scale developments in Ohio. In order to form a New Community Authority, the property owner/developer, has to petition the city to do so. The city then forms a committee,to include several resident members, to oversee the finances of the development. Before such a committee is formed, a public hearing must be held.
DealPoint Merrill CEO David Frank took part, from California, in the Planning & Zoning Committee meeting. At one point, Councilman Daniel Ursu asked if DealPoint Merrill would maintain the mall property, including cutting grass, during the summer.
“The Sears property would fall under DealPoint Merrill to maintain,” Frank said. Frank went on to say that parts of the property that had been mall owner Mike Kohan’s responsibility to maintain, hadn’t been maintained. As such, DealPoint entered into an understanding with Kohan that it would maintain those parts of the property.
“We’re now dealing directly with the landscaper as it relates to that parcel (around CubeSmart) and the other parts of the mall,” Frank said. “We took it upon ourselves voluntarily to do this. We are not under any contractual agreement. So we will operate in the same fashion unless Mr. Kohan changes our arrangement.”
School construction
Urankar said that, despite the coronavirus, construction has been moving forward on the new Richmond Heights High School building.
“Our upper school is still moving forward with construction pretty aggressively,” he said. “I don’t think there will be a supply chain problem, but that would be the only reason production would slow down there. They’re still maintaining their schedule right now.”
Meanwhile, conditional approval has been given to plans for Flex High School, the school for at-risk students scheduled to open this summer in a storefront at Hilltop Plaza.
“We do have a lot of planning going on right now,” Urankar said. “There’s a lot of applications for planning still moving through the building department, even though the residential permits have slowed down somewhat.”
Deer put on hold
The city was to have conducted a deer population survey this month. That survey, because of the coronavirus, is not being conducted.
Councilwoman at-large Juanita Lewis, who is chair of council’s Recreation Committee, asked Mayor David Roche about the status of deer population discussions.
“That has been out on hold for the near future,” Roche replied.
Opening of Highland Road bridge
City Engineer Lee Courtney was asked if Highland Road, at the Euclid border, would be opening soon. When the road was closed last July 27 for bridge superstructure repair and replacement, it was stated that the road would reopen in May.
“The opening date is totally up in the air because they have found that not only was there a problem with the bridge deck, but some of the foundations are bad on the piers which hold up the bridge, which means they have to go down to the bottom to fix that first before they can fix the top.”
Courtney said he recently spoke with the job’s county engineer who said there is not yet an opening date scheduled. The engineer told Courtney that the county doesn’t want to open just one lane of traffic because it might again have to be closed and such changes could be confusing to the public.
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