OHIO SITE FIGHT: DEVELOPMENT GROWS

Development grows surrounding Wal-Mart in Brimfield [Akron Beacon Journal]

Don’t be surprised to spot a thin layer of sawdust hovering over Brimfield Township.

Cascades of Brimfield—a 113-acre development that promises to turn the rural Portage County burb into a residential and retail mecca—is unfolding on schedule.

Construction is well under way on a new Lowe’s home improvement center, which is expected to open in time for the Christmas season.

It will join the nine-month-old Wal-Mart Supercenter, Applebee’s and Home Savings Bank of Youngstown, the vanguard of a retail and commercial zone that will eventually swell to 600,000 square feet. The developer is 3D Real Estate Partners Inc. from Independence.

Cascades is south of Tallmadge Road and west of Interstate 76 in the Tallmadge/Brimfield Joint Economic Development District, which means both communities share the tax benefits.

Plans for the $50 million Cascades project were drawn three years ago, and the sawdust has been flying for the past two, said Dick Messner, Brimfield’s zoning, planning and development administrator.

Also under way is a 10,000-square-foot building that will hold a smattering of smaller businesses. Known tenants include a Strickland’s frozen custard store, Arabica Coffee, AT&T and Best Cuts.

And the sounds of construction coming from the nearby wooded panhandle are the first of 10 apartment buildings designed with young professionals and empty nesters in mind.

The upscale buildings, along with a clubhouse and pool, will consume 13 acres. Three apartment buildings and the clubhouse—being constructed by Gross Builders of North Royalton—should be open by the end of the year, Messner said.

Meanwhile, the first phase of The Village is in its final design stage. The Village will be a 200,000-square foot strip that will simulate a small pedestrian-friendly downtown.

The ground-breaking isn’t scheduled, but it could happen by the end of the year, Messner said.

``Its features will include a boulevard entrance with a waterfall off Tallmadge Road, and a 1-acre park,’’ Messner said.

Messner said the project is meeting the expectations of local officials.

``We set a couple of priorities when we first started working with the developer back when it was farmland,’’ Messner said. That included having a big discount center, a home improvement center, a national chain restaurant, a bank and an entertainment complex.

So far, the township has landed everything but the entertainment complex, ``and we’re working on it,’’ Messner said.

``Now that Lowe’s is under way, it will probably speed up the process and I expect by next spring will see lots of things going in,’’ he said. ``Once we get the young professionals in there and the empty nesters, they’re going to demand services.’’