Community Development Director details projects, sidewalk grants and utility upgrades in North Royalton

Community Development Director Tom Jordan presented the committee with a multi-part update on April 21, outlining progress on industrial and commercial construction, residential plats and several sidewalk and utility projects.

Jordan told the Building & Building Codes Committee that most industrial projects are under construction and moving forward. He said commercial activity includes site work at a prospective Human Bean location, that the closed KFC site has drawn multiple interested tenants or buyers, and that building plans for a proposed Jimmy John’s are under review by the city’s Engineering Department.

Jordan said a 118-acre site north of the turnpike on Abbey Road has become a dumping site (broken concrete, tires and truck parts) but is scheduled for cleanup and marketing by the third quarter of 2026. He reported the former Taddie’s Auto Body was sold to Straightline Auto Body and that the Gray Matter building, previously in foreclosure, has a new owner working to complete building permits and finish construction.

On housing, Jordan said the final plat for the Valley Vista subdivision has been submitted; once council approves the plat and the county records it, lots may be sold and construction can begin. He added that infrastructure work has begun for Chesapeake Drive, while Albion Road is awaiting a wetland delineation and engineering work.

Jordan reported grant and sidewalk activity: the city was awarded a $150,000 CDBG grant to extend sidewalks from prior construction toward the turnpike and is applying in a special solicitation for leftover CDBG funds for a section of State Road around the Royalton Road intersection. He said North Royalton also received $230,000 from NOACA for a sidewalk from the turnpike to Valley Parkway, with a city match of $57,744; because of state processes he anticipates construction will not occur until 2027. Jordan also said the city applied for the CDSG grant and did not receive it this year.

The director described utility work related to telecommunications: “AT&T is moving away from the copper land lines and moving towards fiber installations,” Jordan said, and the initial fiber work is planned for the city’s southern area. He said the city has been pursuing removal of old and damaged utility poles and addressing more than 80 locations with dropped cables; six poles have been removed in recent months after complaints to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Department of Commerce. Jordan asked council members to report pole numbers or nearby addresses for additional problem sites.

Committee members asked several clarifying questions. Chair Kaylee Green asked who would handle permits and inspections at the Pavilion Nursing Home following its closing; Jordan said he would obtain that information and noted facilities typically have both an owner and an operator. Vice Chair Matt Coleman asked whether AT&T’s work would require visiting individual homes or only involve the right-of-way; Jordan said current plans focus on removing right-of-way infrastructure and that extended work there would require a traffic management plan approved by the city. Council Member Mary Gorjanc asked whether sidewalks on State Road would be installed on both sides; Jordan said the current funding covers only the west side and that steep grades, drainage improvements and tree removal complicate adding sidewalks on both sides.

Jordan also noted he has not received a construction update from ODOT on a sidewalk near Wallings Road and that he has not heard from the Metroparks about the Elek Springs project timetable.

The committee did not take formal action on the development report; items discussed will proceed through the usual permitting and council-review processes.

The committee is scheduled to hear related Planning Commission items on May 7, including a conditional use permit and preliminary site plan for an assisted-living proposal.