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Sprint car brings in 2019 Despite high winds and canceled fireworks, the city of Fremont rang in the New Year by raising a sprint car to the heavens amid a crowd of celebrating race fans. (Photo by Rick Sherer)
Northwood
Still no takers to develop former mall site By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Northwood hopes a developer this year will show a strong interest in the site of the former Woodville Mall on Woodville Road (St. Rte. 51) after the city spent millions to tear down the old structure last year. Residents, mostly living near the mall, listened to economic development ideas for the site at a public meeting in Northwood City Council chambers last January. They were given options as to whether they would like to see commercial, industrial or residential development. A majority wanted a combination of commercial and residential at the site. The city later hired Brian McMahon, a real estate broker at Danbury National, to market the site. City Administrator Bob Anderson told The Press last week that the city supports what the public prefers – a commercial/residential development on the 100 acre site. “We are talking with people who are interested. Brian McMahon is still working on a larger commercial side,” said Anderson. “In the meantime, we’re making contingency plans. We really don’t want the property to sit there for years. I don’t think any Northwood official wants to wait several years for something to happen.” Strip mall The contingency plans include talking
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We’re looking at everything – from banks, small grocery store, a single movie theater.
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A group of environmental activists is asking the Northwest Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council why it has taken a stand against a ballot initiative known as the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie said it sent a letter to Shaun Enright, executive secretary of the council, asking why the coalition of skilled building trades unions opposes the initiative and proposed a joint effort with the environmentalists to protect the lake and create jobs. The letter contends the council has opposed the ballot initiative on three occasions with legal motions and joined with “a dozen corporate lobby groups” in asking the Ohio Supreme Court to keep it off the Lucas County ballot. A member of a local building trades union filed a complaint prior to a recent hearing of the Lucas County board of elections and filed another complaint after the board ruled the initiative is to go on the ballot this year. “Many of us are current or former union members and believe unions benefit working people and our community as a whole. We also believe that protecting the environment not only sustains the systems that support life, it also creates jobs,” the letter says, citing construction projects on Toledo sewage infrastructure as examples. “Similarly, upgrades at local refineries and manufacturing plants are often driven by environmental requirements as well.” LEBOR supporters are waiting for a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court on the second complaint filed by building trades member, Josh Abernathy, to keep the citizen initiative off the ballot. Environmental groups gathered more than 10,000 signatures to commence the initiative process. On Feb. 26, another citizen initiative on the county jail will be decided in a special election. The letter to Enright also notes union members would benefit if there were stricter controls on Concentrated Animal Feeding Organizations.
to small commercial and residential developers who may be interested in the property. “It would be a small strip mall type of thing,” he said. An access or frontage road between State Routes 579 and 51 could also be an option for the area. “51 goes to the southeast, and 579 kind of heads to the northeast, creating a little triangle. So we were thinking about putting a road between the two of them, then try to create some commercial buildings along that new road,” he said. “In back of that, to the north, maybe some residential units could go in.” McMahon, he added, will still be trying to find a larger scale commercial busi-
ness that might want to relocate there, said Anderson. “We’re looking at everything – from banks, small grocery store, a single movie theater. There’s all kind of ideas floating around,” he said. Ready for development The Woodville Mall was Northwest Ohio’s first enclosed mall built in 1968. Over the years, it fell into disrepair. The main mall structure was razed in 2014 due to structural issues. The city acquired the property at a sheriff’s sale in February, 2016 for $200,000. The plan was to demolish the buildings, but remediation of the site was required due to a variety of environmental issues: The site included 50,000 square feet of asbestos containing material tiles, and 771,844 square feet of spray on asbestos containing material insulation covering the entire footprint of the buildings, concrete walls, I-beams, ceiling tiles, hard plaster ceilings and floors. Last year, the city removed the asbestos and razed the buildings. Now the property is ready to be developed. The property has all the utilities – water, sewer, storm retention and electric. The electric capacity at the site could even service a steel facility. The site is also close to major highways, such as state highways, I-280 and the turnpike. It is also close to Toledo, the Jeep facility and the airport.