North Royalton pursues $1.3M entryway and markets 118-acre site with Team NEO's help

Economic Development Director Tom Jordan told the Building & Building Codes Committee on May 20 that the city is seeking $1.3 million to build an entryway at York and York Alpha, and that the Ohio Department of Transportation has made a ‘‘soft pledge’’ of $250,000 toward the project. Jordan said the city is pressing to secure outside funding before completing local work.

Jordan said Team NEO has accepted the city’s assembled 118-acre tract on Abbey Road into its Select Sites program. ‘‘They will do pre-development work over the next three months — surveys, wetland delineation, Phase I environmental reviews and utility verification,’’ Jordan said, adding the organization will help market the acreage to users that create jobs rather than warehouse space. He said Team NEO’s participation includes some funding for that pre-development effort.

Jordan said sewer construction for the Abbey Road area is underway; most work along Abbey Road is expected to be finished by October, but he said sewer service to the site will not be available until the end of the year and the I‑80 leg must be completed before the system is fully operational. Jordan characterized timely sewer completion as important to attracting the types of employers the city wants.

Jordan provided a round of status updates on private- and city-owned sites: McDonald’s and Taco Bell are doing interior work; St. Albert’s has filed for a building permit; Buttercream and Olive Oil are partially open; Royal Victorian Gardens remains under construction. He said engineering remains to be done on proposed Dunkin’ Donuts and Jimmy John’s sites at Bennett and Royalton Roads. He also said three city-owned lots in the industrial park are being marketed with CRESCO; three other parcels are being held pending an emergency-exit review requested by a nearby developer.

Council members asked about transparency and reporting on permitting. Councilmember Michael Wos asked if the new permitting software can produce ward-level permit reports so councilmembers can track activity without contacting the building department directly. Jordan said the new system is fully functional for permitting and online payment and that he has produced year-end permit reports in the past; he cautioned against publishing full complaint records online but said he can provide statistical reports to council.

Jordan noted the city has pursued other grant opportunities, including a $50,000 CDSG award and hopes to secure a proposed $5 million congressional appropriation for Phase 2 of Royalton Road widening. He said uncertainty at federal funding agencies has slowed some grant decisions this year.

Next steps: Jordan said the city will continue pre-development work with Team NEO and pursue external funding for the entryway; sewer construction timelines remain critical to marketing the Abbey Road site.

Votes and formal actions from the committee meeting (approval of minutes and adjournment) were recorded elsewhere on the agenda and did not change the economic-development directives discussed above.