Retail plaza proposed / 4,500-square-foot building would house 3 tenants on South Main Street just north of Veterans Way

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by Dorothy Markulis

Reporter

Hudson -- A developer wants to build a 4,500-square-foot retail plaza in the downtown area.

A concept site plan for a proposed three-unit retail plaza at 84 S. Main St. was unanimously approved by the planning commission July 14. The plaza would be north of Veterans Way and south of the railroad overpass along Route 91.

According to City Planner Mark Richardson, the project will return to the planning commission for final approval after setback, sidewalk, drainage, parking and buffering concerns are addressed. It will then go before the architectural and historic board of review.

Developer Gerry Henn said the plaza would contain three 1,500-square-foot units.

Henn said July 14 he had no committed tenants, but the primary area of interest is food service, possibly a restaurant.

The developer has contracted to buy the property from its present owner, Carol Bellian.

A single family two-story home, built in 1926, and a garage on the site will be razed, according to proposed plans.

Bellian's neighbor Joanne Moore, who lives with her mother, Jeanne, at 92 South Main St., told the planning commission she was afraid the razing of the house next door would change the character of the area. She cited concerns of increased traffic, fumes, light and drainage problems.

Moore also objected to razing the home since it was the childhood home of Dante Lavelli, Hudson High School graduate and Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame football player.

Bellian, who purchased the home in 1981, asked the commission to approve the plan. She said her home was not a historic home, but an old home that needed "lots and lots" of repairs.

"No one will purchase my property as a residence," Bellian said. "This is not a residential area any more."

According to Henn, the project is estimated to cost $900,000, including the purchase of the half-acre property.

The proposed building site is bounded on the west and north by the city-owned Village South parcel. Starbucks and Great Lakes Bakery are across the street to the east.

E-mail: dmarkulis@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3143