Seven Hills mayor says Rockside mixed‑use development moving forward with hospital, 150 townhomes

Mayor Tony Biasciotta said Tuesday that a long‑planned mixed‑use project on 50 acres near Rockside and Crossview is moving forward with residential, retail and a rehabilitation hospital anchored by private developers.

"This project is 50 acres owned by a small company called LSB 7 Hills LLC," Mayor Tony Biasciotta said. "The owners of the property have spent millions of dollars getting the land developed." The mayor named the principals as Lou Beck and Jeff Grama and said the back portion of the site has a signed deal with Pulte Homes for 150 townhomes.

The mayor said the Rockside Project also includes two commercial anchors along Rockside: a Cooperhawk dining/winery concept with a scratch kitchen and a Nobius Rehabilitation Hospital that would offer on‑site post‑surgical rehabilitation. "The estimated payroll at that hospital is 17,000,000," he said, describing the hospital as a stable employer that will generate taxable income for the city.

Mayor Biasciotta framed the shift to a hospital as a strategic response to post‑COVID trends that reduced demand for traditional office buildings. He said the city previously relied in part on payroll taxes from large employers whose workers were out‑of‑town during the pandemic. "We changed with the times," he said. "We found the right size and the right tenants."

The mayor told the audience the tentative opening for the hospital and the Cooperhawk concept is 2026 but cautioned that development timelines can be affected by weather and the site’s history as a rock quarry. "This property being an old rock quarry, we run into surprises all the time because it gets down certain distance, and you're running in the rock, and they gotta cut the rock and blow up the rock," he said.

Biasciotta said developers have refined the plan over decades, that the project has been actively worked on since 1989, and that current investors have adjusted the mix to include residential townhomes and amenities to make the economics work for both the developer and the city. He said the homes will generate development profits for the builder while the hospital will provide a significant payroll tax base for municipal services.

The mayor did not provide a building permit schedule, exact financing details, or a formal timeline beyond the 2026 target. He said the city and the property owners will continue work with private partners and that several factors — including construction challenges on quarried rock and weather — could change the schedule.

What happened next: Mayor Biasciotta moved on to other city priorities. No formal city action, vote or contract award related to the Rockside Project was recorded in the presentation.