From the 5/25/05 Toledo Blade:

 

2 plans under study for Westgate

Either could mean razing of part, CEO of owner says

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

LAS VEGAS -The owners of Westgate Village Shopping Center are trying vigorously to shore up tenants for a major redevelopment of the aging West Toledo center.  A top executive of Abbell Credit Corp., of Chicago, told The Blade yesterday her company is studying two plans, and either could mean demolishing part of the 48-year-old center, moving existing tenants, and adding buildings.

 

Elizabeth Holland, chief executive officer of Abbell, declined to disclose many details in an interview at the spring convention here of the International Council of Shopping Centers.  She was meeting with prospective anchors and other tenants, but said it was unlikely a deal for a new anchor tenant would be finalized this week.  Mentioned by local real estate experts as a possible new anchor is a gourmet grocery store.

 

Westgate, which has struggled recently with the departure of key tenants such Thackeray's Books and Toledo Museum of Art store, has several empty storefronts.  The owners of the complex renewed leases only for short periods for many tenants as the redevelopment plans take shape.  Tenants have said they have been told little about what is planned.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050525/BUSINESS10/505250496/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 8/9/05 Toledo Blade:

 

REDEVELOPMENT IN WORKS

Costco aims to set up shop in Westgate Village

BLADE STAFF

 

Costco Wholesale Corp., the nation's fifth-largest retailer, expects to have a store within two years in a redeveloped Westgate Village Shopping Center in Toledo.  The move would be a radical departure for the 48-year-old strip center at Central Avenue and Secor Road, and would probably entail tearing down part of the existing center.

 

Owners of the struggling center yesterday insisted that no decisions have been made on how to redevelop the center, but last evening a Costco executive told The Blade otherwise.  "Yes, we are looking to go there," said Doug Schutt, chief financial officer for the West Coast company.  "We hope to have the building open there in a couple of years, if not sooner."

 

Mr. Schutt, of Costco, however, said his Issaquah, Wash., company is conducting financial due diligence on the Westgate site.  The company, a bigger warehouse retailer than Wal-Mart's Sam's Club, should complete the deal in about a month and open its first Toledo area store in about 18 months, he told The Blade.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050809/BUSINESS10/508090348/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 8/10/05 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: A Costco warehouse store would be a major departure from the small, specialty shops at Westgate Village Shopping Center.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

CAPSULE: What local residents say

 

Reactions mixed to plans for Costco in Westgate Village

Optimism of having new retailer clashes with fear of 'big box' store

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Warehouse-format stores are not eye candy, concedes jeweler Jeffrey Hoffman.  Still, he won't be sorry if Costco Wholesale Corp. proceeds with plans to locate in Toledo's once quaint Westgate Village Shopping Center, where residents of tony areas such as Old Orchard and Ottawa Hills used to go for everything from the newest John Grisham novel to the latest Calvin Klein jeans design.

 

A day after a top executive of America's fifth-largest retailer confirmed in an interview with The Blade that the chain is near a deal to open a giant Costco warehouse store in Westgate, merchants, neighbors, and shoppers offered mixed reviews.

 

"We wouldn't like to see a big box store go in there," said Harry Ward, a member of the steering committee of the Westgate Neighbors organization.  "We don't think that kind of business fits the area. We would like to see small independent businesses as have been in there in the past."  However, he said the neighborhood organization was unlikely to actively oppose construction of the store unless Costco sought taxpayer assistance.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/BUSINESS10/508100405/-1/BUSINESS

From the 8/14/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: If a Costco deal occurs, the warehouse club likely would replace this west section of Westgate.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

PHOTO: Costco stores, like this one in Livonia, Mich., usually occupy three acres of land and use 10 acres or more for parking.  ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

PHOTO: Barbara Gingell eyes a receipt while Costco clerk Kem Horton loads her cart in Livonia, Mich.  ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

Costco as a catalyst

Experts say Westgate, area would rebound

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

A 150,000-square foot Costco store would overhaul the look of Westgate Village Shopping Center, but more importantly it would divert the decades-old center from being an enclave for neighborhood stores.  But Costco's broad shopper allure could rejuvenate retail throughout the Westgate area of Toledo.  That's what the experts say would happen to the struggling 48-year-old center if a Costco Wholesale Corp. store is built, as planned, in the Central Avenue and Secor Road complex.

 

A top Costco executive told The Blade last week the Washington company expected to have a deal within a month to build there and to open its warehouse club store in about 18 months.

 

"From the retail community's perspective, there's a tremendous desire to be located near a Costco," said Dave Long, a commercial real estate agent with CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein in Maumee.  "With Secor Road, you're talking about a trade area that has had a difficult time competing with the Franklin Park area.  Now, that's no longer an issue."

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050814/BUSINESS10/508130351/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 8/17/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: If Costco Wholesale Corp. inks a deal to locate its first Toledo store in Westgate Village Shopping Center, these buildings would be torn down in the first phase of the project.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

PHOTO: Ford, Wozniak, Grachek

 

Ford throws support to Costco at Westgate

By JIM TANKERSLEY

BLADE POLITICS WRITER

 

Mayor Jack Ford has endorsed a plan to bring Costco Wholesale Corp. to the Westgate Village Shopping Center, predicting it will "pleasantly surprise" critics of the warehouse retailer's proposed move to West Toledo.  The move distances the mayor from his three main rivals in the Sept. 13 primary election, who all oppose placing Costco in the wilting shopping center.

 

Once a bustling Toledo landmark, Westgate has deteriorated in recent years and seen several storefronts go vacant.  Its owners detailed a two-part redevelopment plan in a 40-minute meeting yesterday with Mr. Ford.  They told city officials they would show the proposal to Westgate tenants today.  Mr. Ford said yesterday the plan fits with the pedestrian-friendly shopping vision outlined in the "Walk Westgate" plan community leaders drafted five years ago.

 

Workers in the first phase would replace Westgate's L-shaped buildings on the southwest corner of Secor Road and Central Avenue with a large store flanked by two smaller buildings, Mr. Ford said.  One building likely would hold two larger stores or restaurants, and the other would hold five to seven, he said.  The second phase, which Mr. Ford said was still in conception, would include building new roads and more shops on the other side of Central, which currently includes vast and largely vacant parking lots.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/NEWS16/508170420

 

From the 8/25/05 Toledo Blade:

 

RENDERING: Tiny rendering of renovated Westgate

 

Early $30M plan for shopping center calls for 4 buildings, less retail space

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

A redeveloped Westgate Village Shopping Center would have less retail space, more landscaping, and be divided into four new structures spread around the 21-acre site, the first artist rendering released by the owners shows.

 

The project would cost more than $30 million and likely take 12 to 18 months to complete, said the top executive of Abbell Credit Corp., the Chicago firm that owns the aging West Toledo strip center.  When it is finished, Westgate would have one large anchor that most likely will be a Costco wholesale club store, a building with two or four smaller anchors, and room in two other buildings for up to 14 small shops, said Elizabeth Holland, chief executive of Abbell.

 

"The thing is, it's all still very much in flux," Ms. Holland told The Blade in her first public disclosure of how the new center might look.  She has been guarded in commenting on the plans, even after a top Costco Wholesale Corp. executive told The Blade this month that his West Coast firm was certain it would have a store open in Westgate within two years.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/BUSINESS10/508260349/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 11/23/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Proposal to revamp Westgate submitted

Costco, other retail in $35M overhaul

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo Mayor Jack Ford's staff yesterday submitted a proposed development agreement for Westgate Village Shopping Center, raising hopes of new stores in place by next year's holiday shopping season.  The plans call for about $35 million worth of development in new retail stores and a Costco Wholesale Corp. anchor in place of the present 1956 strip at Central Avenue and Secor Road.

 

District 5 Councilman Ellen Grachek said the owner is remediating a brownfield and replacing retail structures that are obsolete.  "I am delighted they're stepping up to the plate," she said.  "Costco is a sought-after retailer."  The city has budgeted $500,000 for infrastructure improvements, such as new sanitary sewer and water lines.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051123/NEWS16/511230354/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/6/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

GRAPHIC: Westgate site plan

 

Washington Local to get $300,000 from the city

Payment a condition of Westgate project

By ERICA BLAKE

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

The city of Toledo will pay Washington Local schools about $300,000 over the next five years to help pave the way for the Westgate Shopping Center redevelopment project, according to a tentative deal worked out between city and school officials. 

 

Members of the City Council's economic development committee recommended that the city move forward with a proposed tax abatement for the 22-acre development at Central Avenue and Secor Road.  Developers of the shopping center say the 15-year abatement is needed to rebuild the site and attract tenants, such as Costco Wholesale Corp., to the project.

 

And to avoid slighting the school district, the city will make up those tax dollars.  The issue likely will be brought before the full council Dec. 13.  "We're making sure that we're not doing the development at Westgate or anywhere else on the backs of schoolchildren," explained John Loftus, a special assistant to Mayor Jack Ford.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/NEWS16/512060424/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/14/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Joe Birmingham’s family lends support after he was sworn in as councilman to represent District 6. At left is his wife, Danielle, tending to their son, Jordan, who is 16 months old.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

Council approves Westgate proposal

Finkbeiner's plea to wait not heeded

 

Despite an appeal from Mayor-elect Carty Finkbeiner to wait, Toledo City Council last night approved a tentative agreement for a $35 million redevelopment of Westgate Village Shopping Center.  The centerpiece of the project is a new Costco Wholesale Corp. store.  The agreement is expected to be signed promptly by Mayor Jack Ford.

 

The Westgate project was one of numerous pieces of legislation adopted in the last meeting before a new council and mayor take office next month. 

 

In a letter to council members, Mr. Finkbeiner requested a hold on the Westgate project until he takes office. Councilman Rob Ludeman moved to delay the vote, but the motion failed 10-1.  Councilman Ellen Grachek, whose district includes Westgate, said the project needed approval so the owners could apply for a $750,000 state brownfields grant before the money disappears.  The money would be used for demolition of the vacant Dillard's store and asbestos abatement.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/NEWS04/512150428/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/23/05 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Ford inks Westgate development deal

Costco part of $35 million project's 2nd phase; only 5 to 7 retailers to stay

By JON CHAVEZ

Blade Business Writer

 

Plans for a $35 million makeover for the Westgate Village Shopping Center became clearer yesterday, as a two-phase project was revealed showing a Costco warehouse store and three other buildings.  Elizabeth Holland, CEO for the center's owner, said only five to seven of the 20 tenants will remain after the redevelopment, and Toledo Mayor Jack Ford signed a deal committing to street improvements and help in obtaining state aid for the demolition of the former Dillard's store.

 

Standing in the cold outside Barry Bagel's restaurant in the West Toledo shopping center, Mr. Ford and Ms. Holland of Abbell Credit Corp. signed a document sealing the deal.  Mr. Ford described the act as possibly his last official one as mayor.

 

"Since 1998, we have been trying to get a redevelopment done. We feel like we are finally there," Ms. Holland said.  Yesterday marked the first time the chief executive of Abbell confirmed that Costco was coming and that relatively few of the tenants will stay.  Expected to remain are Stein Mart, Barry Bagel's, Honey I'm Home, Frames Unlimited, and possibly Rite Aid. The other retailers that might stay were not identified.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/BUSINESS06/512230354/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 12/27/05 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Mayor-elect Carty Finkbeiner says a proposed Costco store and gas station is a bad fit for Westgate Village Shopping Center.  ( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )

 

PHOTO: Holland

 

Finkbeiner gives boost to critics of Costco

Westgate developer defends store plans

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Mayor-elect Carty Finkbeiner rallied opposition to redevelopment plans for the Westgate Village Shopping Center yesterday when he urged Costco Corp. and the plaza's owner to look nearby for an alternative site for the big-box store.  "The proposed Costco warehouse simply does not fit this site, and the gas station simply is not wanted, or needed, at all, period," Mr. Finkbeiner said during a news conference he scheduled.

 

The store and accompanying smaller buildings run contrary to the "shopping village" concept advanced two years ago by "Walk Westgate," a consultant's report that suggested reconfiguring streets and allowing denser development to support small businesses and a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.

 

While the mayor-elect said he was impressed by what he saw during a recent tour of a Costco store in Brighton, Mich., he argued that such a store would be much better suited on the north side of Central Avenue opposite from the struggling Westgate Village complex, or at the former movie theater complex farther north on Secor Road near I-475.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051227/NEWS16/512270408/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/29/05 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Harry Ward, left, and Ken Pfaff, members of Westgate Neighbors, go over details of a plan for Westgate Village Shopping Center during a press conference. The group is calling for the implementation of a more pedestrian-friendly plan for redevelopment of the shopping center, and opposes the construction of a Costco big-box store and a gas station.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

Group attacks Westgate details

Grievances include plan's aesthetics, tax abatements

By TAD VEZNER

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

A West Toledo community group yesterday attacked a proposal for the struggling Westgate Village Shopping Center, criticizing the aesthetics of the plan and the use of taxpayer money.  About 50 members of Westgate Neighbors voted Tuesday night to adopt a "position paper," which said citizens received nothing in return for tax dollars to be spent on the development project, and that it was a bad precedent for deals to come.  The paper was released at a press conference yesterday.

 

Though Toledo City Council had unanimously approved several funding sources for the project earlier this month, the group made several demands for city officials to improve the plan's layout, aesthetics, and how it fit with the "Walk Westgate" plan to promote foot traffic in the area, including:

 

● Positioning all buildings in the 22-acre Westgate village site - including the proposed anchor, a Costco warehouse store - so they were adjacent to and facing public roads, such as its cross streets, Secor Road and Central Avenue.

● Eliminating a proposed gas station at the site.

● Supporting the Walk Westgate plan for the entire area around the village.

● Granting the city a north-south easement between the Sears and Elder Beerman stores just north of the village.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051229/NEWS16/512290351/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/30/05 Toledo Blade:

 

Finkbeiner has change of position on Costco

Mayor-elect: Project must be done right

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

In the same week Mayor-elect Carty Finkbeiner blasted plans to bring a Costco to Westgate Village Shopping Center, he flipped his position.  He said yesterday he now supports the $35 million project, but only if all involved agree to a visually pleasing store in a plaza with lampposts and other eye-catching amenities.

 

Mr. Finkbeiner stood with Lucas County Commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak in the shopping center to discuss their plans for it.  "Isn't this really what it's about - making our land more valuable tomorrow?" Mr. Finkbeiner said at a news conference at the shopping center - his second this week.  "If the owner and the developer are insistent on doing it here, then I will hold out for doing it right," he said.

 

Forty-nine-year-old Westgate - at the corner of Secor Road and Central Avenue - sits between the high-income neighborhoods of Ottawa Hills and Old Orchard and provides a rich commercial opportunity if redeveloped with aesthetics in mind, he said.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051230/NEWS16/512300423/-1/NEWS

 

From the 1/17/06 Toledo Blade:

 

SITE PLANS: Developer's plan and Finkeiner/Wozniak plan

 

CITY OF TOLEDO GOVERNMENT

Amended Westgate vision is proposed

Developer says plan for Costco won't work

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

A new Costco would be part of a transformed Westgate Village Shopping Center with a road running through the property and public areas to give it a neighborhood feel, if powerful elected officials have their way. 

 

Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and Tina Skeldon Wozniak, president of the board of Lucas County commissioners, do not like the current Westgate plan to be reviewed by the Toledo Plan Commission Feb. 2.  That plan calls for a Costco with a gas station, a parking lot, and two wings of shops.  So they came up with their own blueprint, which was released yesterday to criticism from Westgate's owners.  "I still think it's shoe-horned in there. But let's make the best of the situation, [because] it looks like Costco's in," Mr. Finkbeiner said yesterday.  "The small town flavor people love."

 

Drawn with the help of failed mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski and Douglas Kelbaugh, who is the dean of architecture and planning at the University of Michigan, the new proposal would break up the wings and move some shops around.  It would add a street cutting through Westgate from Secor Road.  They plan to spend up to $15,000 in public economic development money on re-planning the project.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060117/NEWS16/601170310/-1/RSS

 

From the 1/19/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Todd Valentine, chief operating officer for Abbell Credit Corp., owner of Westgate Village Shopping Center, addresses the proposed redevelopment of the 50-year-old site at last night’s forum.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

Critics decry mayor's Westgate vision

Center's owner defends need for tax relief

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

A plan to build a Costco store in the Westgate Village Shopping Center riled Toledo’s new mayor, sparked a war of words with the owners, and last night brought more than 200 residents to a meeting to ask questions.  Some questioned why Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and other elected officials criticized the plans of the shopping center’s owners and spent taxpayer money to hire a University of Michigan planner to come up with an alternative.

 

“I don’t want Mr. Finkbeiner coming in the middle of this and start grandstanding and mess it up,” said Rick Heyne, who had questions about truck noise but said he supports the project.  “No more grandstanding,” he said.

 

The community meeting was the latest chapter in a lengthy story about what should happen to the flagging area around the Secor Road-Central Avenue intersection, which appears to critics to be a sea of asphalt with declining appeal.  Though losing its luster, the area could be a treasure trove because it sits adjacent to the wealthy Ottawa Hills and Old Orchard neighborhoods.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/NEWS16/60119015/-1/RSS

 

From the 1/21/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Westgate plan divides economic developers

County panel fears scaring off retailers

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Lucas County's newest economic development board, designed to unify the county's cities and townships, was divided yesterday over whether politicians should interfere with Westgate Village Shopping Center's plans to bring in a Costco store.

 

The LCIC, a board recently given new power to bring life to the county's economy, is considering paying the $9,000 bill for creating an alternative Westgate Village Shopping Center plan, one the owner does not want or agree with.  The money would pay for work completed by lawyer and former mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski and University of Michigan planner Douglas Kelbaugh.  They were hired to draw the plan, which was released Monday by Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and county Commissioners Tina Skeldon Wozniak and Pete Gerken.

 

Liz Holland, chief executive officer of Abbell Credit Corp., the Chicago firm that owns the shopping center at Central Avenue and Secor Road, already has submitted a plan, more than a year in the works, which the Toledo Plan Commission could consider at its meeting Feb. 2.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/NEWS16/601210465/-1/RSS

 

From the 1/24/06 Toledo Blade:

 

TOLEDO DEVELOPMENT

Finkbeiner keeps focus on plans for Westgate

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner called out the Westgate Village Shopping Center owner by name in his State of the City address last night, saying the Chicago resident whose grandfather built the shopping center 50 years ago needed "to support the neighborhood principles at Westgate that have so enhanced property values in her hometown."

 

The subject of his statement was Liz Holland, the chief executive officer of Abbell Credit Corp., the firm that owns the shopping center at Central Avenue and Secor Road.  She lives in Chicago.

 

"The urban neighborhoods that have increased in value in this country have done so because their planning and elected officials set high standards. Quality development is characterized by high design standards," the mayor said.  "Today such standards mean pedestrian-friendly environments; places where people enjoy getting out of their cars and spending time moving from shop to shop. I point to Levis Commons as a prime example."

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS16/601240442/-1/RSS

 

City planners attack mayor's Costco claims

Panel denies it's intimidated

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK and ROBIN ERB

BLADE STAFF WRITERS

 

Some Toledo Plan Commission members were angered by Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's contention Costco and big-money developers could influence their votes.  The board, which is to review plans Feb. 2 for a Costco store at the Westgate Village Shopping Center, had angry words for Mr. Finkbeiner yesterday.

 

On a radio morning call-in show Tuesday, a day after his State of the City address, the mayor said threats that Costco Wholesale Corp. might scrap its plans if it does not get its way might sway members.  He said it was his job to make sure Westgate was protected against "intimidation."

 

Mr. Finkbeiner and Lucas County Commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak thrust themselves into the controversy by hiring an urban planner and a lawyer, against the owners' wishes, to come up with an alternative to the plan submitted for the shopping center development through the normal planning process.

 

FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/NEWS16/601260361

 

From the 1/31/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Urban village at Westgate not city law

Master plan overruled by zoning, opinion says

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

An opinion from the Toledo Law Department goes against Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's push to alter plans for the redevelopment of the Westgate Village Shopping Center.  Westgate owners want to bring a Costco store to the aging shopping center at Secor Road and Central Avenue and redevelop the shop space.

 

Meanwhile, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce sent Mr. Finkbeiner, Toledo councilmen, and Lucas County commissioners a letter protesting the elected officials' opposition to the Westgate plans.  The plans, approved by city staff and by previous Mayor Jack Ford, have drawn the ire of Mr. Finkbeiner for not doing enough for aesthetics or pedestrians.  The Toledo Plan Commission is set to debate the proposal Thursday.

 

Yesterday, the plan commission released a report that included the legal opinion stating that the city's zoning code trumps a master development plan, which only recommends that the area become an urban village.  Mr. Finkbeiner contends the master plan, created about a decade ago, calls for different areas of Toledo, including Westgate, to become urban villages.  That, the mayor believes, should override the current plans for Westgate, which follow the city's revised zoning code.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/NEWS16/601310384/-1/RSS

 

From the 2/1/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Mayor says Westgate plan could go to court

Finkbeiner criticizes shopping center owner

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner said yesterday he'd be willing to go to court over the Westgate Village Shopping Center redevelopment, criticized recommendations by the executive director of the Toledo Plan Commission, and said Westgate owner Liz Holland was obstinate in her dealings with the mayor's administration.

 

Mr. Finkbeiner, since before taking office Jan. 3, has criticized the redevelopment, which includes a Costco store, saying the new Westgate must have a road through it with shops on either side and should be more pedestrian-friendly.  Yesterday, he added tax incentives associated with the plan to his list of complaints.

 

He said Ms. Holland rejects ideas "out of hand."  He said he is hoping for a compromise with her before the plan commission's meeting Thursday, when the matter is scheduled for debate and perhaps a vote.  "We accept there will be some compromises made," he said.  "I am not going to back down."

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/NEWS16/602010448/-1/RSS

 

From the 2/3/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Commission delays vote on Westgate development

Drive-through, parking noted as sticking points

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

In the end, it came down to parking spaces, a Starbucks drive-through, and another week's delay.  The month of negotiations about the $35 million redevelopment of Westgate Village Shopping Center left Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and owner Liz Holland yesterday at a stalemate over whether a drive-through planned for a new Starbucks would completely circle the building.

 

A Costco store is planned for the new redevelopment, which has become controversial.  Neighborhood residents and the new mayor oppose it.

 

The Toledo Plan Commission, which will vote on the Westgate plan but probably won't have the last word, yesterday heard from about 50 people on both sides of the issue.  The five-member commission voted to delay a decision for a week so it can digest the new information about Ms. Holland's plans.  It was an anti-climactic ending to a packed meeting in Toledo City Council chambers that lasted 5 1/2 hours.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/NEWS16/602030406/-1/RSS

 

From the 2/7/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Mayor asks to stop new Westgate development

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner plans to ask Toledo City Council today for a 180-day moratorium on new development in the Westgate Village area so rules that demand pedestrian amenities can be added to the zoning code.  Such a plan is known as a "pedestrian overlay district" and would become part of the city's zoning code for the Secor Road and Central Avenue area near Westgate Village Shopping Center.  A moratorium wouldn't affect controversial plans in the works to redevelop the shopping center and bring in a Costco store.

 

Westgate owner Liz Holland's Costco plan has been approved by the plan commission's staff, and a final vote by the Toledo Plan Commission is scheduled for Thursday in council chambers in Government Center.

 

The redevelopment plan has been criticized by Mr. Finkbeiner and others.  They say the city's 20/20 master plan, created last decade as a road map for future development, demands an urban village with pedestrian walkways and greenspace for Westgate.  The current Costco plan does not meet the standard, the mayor has argued.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060207/NEWS16/602070397/-1/NEWS

 

From the 2/8/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

180-DAY PERIOD PROPOSED

Council decides to wait on Westgate moratorium

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo City Council President Rob Ludeman yesterday delayed introducing Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's proposed 180-day moratorium on new development in the Westgate area to allow the area's district council representative to review the plan.

 

Some council members expected to see the moratorium proposal in yesterday's agenda review session, where council decides which legislation to vote on at the next council meeting.  But Mr. Ludeman said he wanted District 5 Councilman Ellen Grachek to see the plan first.  Ms. Grachek said she appreciated Mr. Ludeman's gesture.  She said she's leery of imposing a six-month moratorium on one of Toledo's busiest commercial districts.

 

Mr. Finkbeiner and a group of Westgate-area residents called for the moratorium Monday as the first step in establishing a pedestrian overlay district that would ensure that future developments at Westgate would have an "urban village" character.  Such a district would have to be recommended first by the Toledo Plan Commission and then adopted by council.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/NEWS16/602080405/-1/NEWS

 

From the 2/9/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

MAP: A jigsaw of ownership

 

Council to review Westgate rezoning

Ludeman rejects mayor's moratorium

By TOM TROY and CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITERS

 

Toledo City Council will consider new zoning rules to give the Westgate area more of an "urban village" feel, but it won't take up Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's call for a six-month moratorium on development there, council President Rob Ludeman said yesterday.  "I think the word moratorium sends a bad message to the community," Mr. Ludeman said.

 

A proposed resolution the council president circulated to his council colleagues last night instructs the plan commission to create an "urban village redevelopment overlay" in the Secor Road-Central Avenue area, which is home to a commercial district adjacent to a residential neighborhood.

 

An urban village would require rear-parking only, large store windows facing public sidewalks, a public street grid, and narrow drive lanes.  By contrast, typical shopping centers involve large parking lots in front of stores, drive-throughs around restaurants and banks, and wide setbacks from streets.  Shoppers typically don't walk from store to store as if on an old-fashioned main street.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060209/NEWS16/602090417/-1/RSS

 

From the 2/10/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Liz Holland, CEO of Abbell Credit Corp., and chief operating officer Todd Valentine are all smiles following approval of the design for rejuvenating their Westgate Village Shopping Center.  ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

IMAGE: Approved site plan

 

PHOTO: Mayor Carty Finkbeiner is critical of the tax abatement for the site.  ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

Plan commission dismisses critics, blesses Westgate design

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

The remaking of the Westgate Village Shopping Center with a Costco Wholesale Corp. store, gas station, and drive-through Starbucks was approved yesterday after a month of political theater and criticisms between Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and owner Liz Holland.  But even with the 5-0 approval from the Toledo Plan Commission, another controversy, this time over taxes, again placed Mr. Finkbeiner as a critic of the project. 

 

The plan commission praised the new design as one of the finest they had approved and a watershed moment for the flagging commercial Westgate area, near Ottawa Hills and Toledo's Old Orchard neighborhood.  "This will be the best development we've ever approved," commission member Rey Boezi said.

 

Even with the verbal high-fives and glowing assessments, Mr. Finkbeiner said he was concerned about setting the precedent of the city's paying $300,000 to the Washington Local School District as part of a tax-incentive package.  That still-unsigned deal was approved under the administration of Mayor Jack Ford.  Mr. Finkbeiner now has final say.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060210/NEWS16/602100358/-1/RSS

 

From the 2/19/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC

Westgate debate asks: Whose rights are right?

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Former Toledo city attorney Keith Wilkowski stood in council chambers and quoted legal precedent from 18th-century colonial America - not to argue a court case, but to stop a future drive-thru from completely encircling a Starbucks at the proposed Westgate redevelopment.

 

Though not about eminent domain, the Westgate shopping center case, which involved Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's attempt to impose stricter zoning rules onto a proposed development, is about the grayed limits of government authority over private property.  "It's a fascinating area, and one that clearly is implicated in this whole discussion about Westgate," said Mr. Wilkowski, who was hired by the mayor to help create an alternative plan for Westgate's redevelopment.

 

"I don't see this as a privacy issue; it's about economic regulation.  But you could group the cases together under the heading of conservative [issues] - the limiting of government's right to regulate property," he said.  A private property movement has gained steam across the country as activists claim government actions against property rights are on a disturbing rise, especially those involving eminent domain property "takings."  Those include a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving the Toledo Jeep Assembly plant and the "taking" of Kim's Auto to build it.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS08/602190301/-1/RSS

 

From the 3/16/06 Toledo Blade:

 

WASHINGTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

Board revises tax abatement for Westgate

 

The Washington Local Board of Education yesterday adopted a new tax abatement resolution for the proposed redevelopment of Westgate Village Shopping Center in West Toledo.  Board members voted 4-0, with board member John Adler abstaining, to approve a 50 percent tax abatement for 15 years of the current assessed valuation of the land and buildings at Westgate.  As part of the resolution, the board also approved a 100 percent tax abatement for 15 years of the increase in the assessed valuation of the real estate after the project is completed.

 

Under yesterday's resolution, board approval of the tax abatements is subject to payment of $300,000 to the school district over the first five years of the abatement period by the City of Toledo or its designee.  In exchange for the money, the board agreed to waive and release any and all of the rights it may have to share in the increased income tax revenue collected by the city and resulting from the project.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/NEWS16/603160426/-1/NEWS

 

From the 4/11/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Barry Bagels is to relocate to temporary quarters near Stein Mart in the center's main strip.  ( THE BLADE )

 

WESTGATE CENTER

Preparation for rehab to start within three weeks

Three retailers to clear way for demolition

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Preparations for a $35 million redevelopment of Westgate Village Shopping Center are to start in the next three weeks as three retailers move to temporary locations.  Rite Aid and Barry Bagels will move near Stein Mart on the center's main strip facing Central Avenue, and Fiesta Hair & Tanning will relocate to a site in the west wing facing Secor Road.

 

City council on March 28 approved a tax abatement for the Westgate development and a special-use permit for a 12-pump gas station for a planned Costco Wholesale Corp. store that would anchor the shopping center.

 

A meeting is set for next week between Toledo building inspection officials and Abbell Credit Corp., owner of Westgate, to discuss a demolition and building timetable.  Hussein Abounaaj, head of building inspections for the city, said that once the retail center owners can prove they have cut off utilities, demolition of a section of Westgate can begin immediately.  Approval of building plans and issuing of construction permits usually take about a month if there are no complications, he said.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/BUSINESS10/604110361/-1/RSS04

 

From the 4/13/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Council to take up pay waiver for Costco

City's living-wage law, firm's salary are close

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo City Council will convene in a special session at 3:30 p.m. today to approve a waiver from the city's living-wage law for a Costco store after Mayor Carty Finkbeiner refused to grant one.  Council President Rob Ludeman said he supports the waiver, and said he hopes council passes it with a veto-proof majority of at least nine members.

 

Mr. Finkbeiner did not respond to a request for an interview left yesterday with his chief of staff, Robert Reinbolt.  The mayor previously said he believes the incentive package, worth about $3 million, counting city, state, and school district elements, is the most generous ever given a retailer in Ohio.

 

Mr. Reinbolt said earlier this week that given such an incentive, Costco and Westgate should live up to the living wage law.  Westgate has said it is investing up to $35 million to upgrade the aging shopping center at Secor Road and Central Avenue, and future tax revenues will more than make up for the incentives.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060413/NEWS16/604130355/-1/RSS

 

From the 4/14/06 Toledo Blade:

 

In 8-2 vote, council approves living-wage waiver for Costco

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK and TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITERS

 

Praising wholesale giant Costco and at times blasting Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, a majority of Toledo City Council approved a waiver yesterday of the living-wage ordinance for a planned store at Westgate Village Shopping Center.  The vote was 8-2 at the hastily called special council meeting. Voting against the measure were Councilmen Taylor Balderas, who is an appointee of the mayor and seeking election to the District 3 seat in the May primary, and Michael Ashford, who said the ordinance needed to be followed even if there were only a few pennies per hour involved.

 

Ms. Balderas said Toledo’s problems extend beyond “economic development.”  “We want to have high job creation. I don’t want to send a message that we don’t want Costco, because I think that would be great,” she said.

 

At issue are the lowest wages for two positions.  For example, a service assistant after a full year of service would make $21,380 a year or $10.50 an hour.  The living wage, equal to 110 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, is $10.57 an hour with benefits beginning after 60 days.  Costco’s benefits begin after 90 days.  The ordinance applies to Toledo companies with more than 49 employees.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS16/60414012/-1/RSS

 

From the 4/25/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Council chief urges override of Costco veto

Toledo has given too much, mayor argues

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo City Council and Mayor Carty Finkbeiner face off today over a waiver of the living wage for Costco and the Westgate Village Shopping Center, with the mayor waging a lonely battle in opposition.  Mr. Finkbeiner said yesterday that he vetoed council's April 13 waiver of the living wage for Costco because the city has given Costco too much.

 

Council President Rob Ludeman said he has urged his fellow council members to vote unanimously for the override when council meets today at 4 p.m.  No councilman publicly sided with the mayor yesterday, and the two who cast no votes April 13 said they didn't know how they would vote today.

 

The waiver had eight votes in support and needs only one additional for the veto to be overridden.  Yesterday, Councilman Phil Copeland, who was absent from the earlier vote, said he was leaning toward voting yes.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060425/NEWS16/604250440/-1/NEWS

 

From the 4/26/06 Toledo Blade:

 

WESTGATE SHOPPING CENTER

Council overrides mayor to clear the way for Costco

By TOM TROY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Toledo City Council yesterday gave the green light to a new Costco store at the Westgate Village Shopping Center, overriding Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's veto of a living-wage waiver.  The override means Costco doesn't have to comply with the city's minimum "living wage" of $10.57 an hour.

 

Council members have said Costco's wages and benefits are "substantially" within compliance or exceed the minimum.  Costco's starting salary for a full-time service assistant is $10.50 an hour, according to information provided yesterday.  A part-time service assistant starts at $10.25 an hour.

 

The waiver passed council 8-2 on April 13 but was vetoed late Sunday by Mr. Finkbeiner.  Yesterday's override vote was 11-0 - two more than the nine needed. Council members Michael Ashford and Taylor Balderas changed their votes from no to yes, and Councilman Phil Copeland added his yes vote after being absent April 13.  Councilman Bob McCloskey was absent April 13 and again yesterday.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/NEWS16/604260427/-1/RSS

 

From the 5/10/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Finkbeiner gets critical letter from Costco

Firm's chairman calls mayor's comments 'wrong' and 'unfair'

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Tired of negative public comments by Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, the chairman of Costco sent him a critical letter last week that said the mayor made inaccurate statements about the firm and did not understand the store's benefits to the community.

 

The wholesale giant is trying to open a store at a redeveloped Westgate Village Shopping Center.  The mayor, since taking office this year, has tried to change or block the deal because of concerns about location, design, wages, and tax incentives.

 

"Not only are suggestions that Costco is a greedy corporate citizen wrong and unfair, the truth is that Costco has acted as a facilitator of a redevelopment project that will be mutually beneficial for Costco and the citizens of Toledo," Costco Chairman Jeff Brotman wrote in the letter.  "Your statements implying that Costco will be reaping up to $10 million in benefits are wholly inaccurate."

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060510/NEWS16/605100395/-1/NEWS

 

From the 5/25/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Demolition ( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT )

 

WESTGATE REDEVELOPMENT BEGINS

 

The first major step in the $35 million redevelopment of Westgate Village Shopping Center, razing of the east end of the center, closest to Secor Road, is under way. Once demolition is complete, construction will start on a building on that site and on two buildings to parallel Secor. After that, the rest of the current West Toledo center will be leveled and a Costco Wholesale Corp. store will be built.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/BUSINESS05/60525005/-1/RSS04

 

From the 6/2/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Westgate holds groundbreaking

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Amid threatening skies and nearby demolition work, the owners of the Westgate Village Shopping Center yesterday had a ceremonial groundbreaking for a $35 million redevelopment project that is already under way.  Still, they admitted there’s a lot of behind the scenes work that must get done.

 

“There is no doubt Westgate needed to change with the times,” Elizabeth Holland, chief executive of Abbell Credit Corp. of Chicago, said minutes before turning a shovelful of dirt in the first phase of the project.  That phase is to have three new buildings and its first tenants by Jan. 1.

 

A somewhat surprising guest to the event was Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, who said he now supports the project, saying, “May it be the best ... Costco store in all of America when all is said and done.”

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060602/BUSINESS10/60602012/-1/BUSINESS

 

A couple of pics were posted in the 8/23/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: The masonry walls are in place for one building and the framing is going into place for another on the east end of the Westgate Village Shopping Center, which is undergoing a $35 million redevelopment.  ( BLADE PHOTOS/HERRAL LONG )

 

PHOTO: The building nearer completion, at the southeast corner of the center, is to house Stein Mart and possibly a gourmet grocer. The other is to be home to Barry Bagels and other smaller retailers. The first tenants are to move in after Jan. 1.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060823/BUSINESS10/60823001/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 10/3/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Natalie Vostelman and owner John DuVall pack for Honey I'm Home's move from Westgate to Westfield Franklin Park.  ( THE BLADE/MOLLY CORFMAN )

 

PHOTO: Vicky Johnson prepares for a move from Papaya Island.  ( THE BLADE/MOLLY CORFMAN )

 

Westgate merchants in midst of space race

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

John DuVall built his home decor business, Honey I'm Home, in the cozy confines of the Westgate Village Shopping Center in West Toledo.  But as a $35 million redevelopment of the 50-year-old retail complex moves forward, Mr. DuVall said it became clear to him that his business future lay elsewhere.

 

With the addition of a Costco store to Westgate, the center will become a destination for many grocery shoppers.  But Mr. DuVall said he believes most customers seeking leisure and lifestyle merchandise will head to Westfield Franklin Park, prompting his decision to sign on with a new strip center to be built nearby, on Sylvania Avenue at Talmadge Road.

 

Most of Westgate's retailers, however, have tried hard to stay in the Secor Road-Central Avenue vicinity.  Joe Belinske, a principal with Michael Realty Co. in Toledo, has helped relocate a half-dozen Westgate tenants.  "They all have told me, 'Keep us as close as you possibly can to Westgate,'" he said.  "But their choice of spaces was somewhat limited."

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061003/BUSINESS10/610030380/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 11/21/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Most space in Westgate spoken for, owner says

BLADE STAFF

 

Most space in Westgate Village Shopping Center’s ongoing $35 million revitalization has been spoken for, and officials are hopeful that a gourmet grocer will occupy most of what remains to be filled, said the owner’s chief executive.  The redevelopment is to add Costco, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and other stores, and retain space for Westgate favorites such as Stein Mart and Rite Aid.

 

When the shopping center project is finished, owner Abbell Credit Corp. of Chicago plans to focus efforts north of Central Avenue as it works to revitalize that corridor, Liz Holland said yesterday during a visit to Toledo.  Abbell wants to develop a mix of retail, office, and residential space where it owns or leases parking spaces, an office building, two former restaurants, and ground near Sears and Elder-Beerman, Ms. Holland said during a Toledo Rotary meeting.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/BUSINESS03/61121015/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 1/17/07 Blade:

 

Westfield 'lifestyle center' approved

Council also reviews possible budget cuts

 

A proposed expansion of Westfield Franklin Park with a new freestanding "lifestyle center" on Sylvania Avenue received Toledo City Council approval yesterday.  Council members and city employee unions also began to weigh in on personnel cuts and tax increases being considered to stave off deficits in the city's operating budget.

 

Council approved an appeal from Westfield Franklin Park LLC to approve the site plan with a new entrance from Royer Road, which would permit traffic to enter from Sylvania and Monroe Street.  The vote was 11-0, with Councilman Betty Shultz absent.

 

Transportation Commissioner Michael White had urged council to reject the curb cut on Royer, saying the proposed left turn from Sylvania would be unsafe, and that Royer is inadequate for the amount of traffic expected.  He said shoppers should be expected to access the new retail center from the mall's existing traffic entrances.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070117/NEWS16/701170383/-1/NEWS

 

The Ohio Office of Redevelopment - Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) Projects section posted photos of asbestos abatement, demolition, and soil and groundwater remediation activities at the Westgate Village Shopping Center - which was developed in 1956.  Remediation of the property is complete and the site has been redeveloped as a shopping center.  The current end users include Rite Aid, Stein Mart, Starbucks, Chipotle, and Costco.

 

Flickr Photo Page - Toledo-Westgate Redevelopment Project (COAF)

Hotel-retail project may be near

Feb. groundbreaking possible for $25M complex on Secor Road

BY JON CHAVEZ, BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Published: 1/22/2013

 

Developers of a hotel and retail project on Secor Road where a theater complex once stood say they could break ground on the $25 million plan as early as next month.  Joe Swolsky of RL West Properties, who is working with Steve Roumaya, a partner with Key Hotel and Property Management Inc., said the two men have applications pending with the Hilton chain and the Holiday Inn chain for affiliations for the hotels they are developing on the 13-acre property at 3500 Secor Road.

 

“Hilton told us we’d hear from them by the end of this month,” Mr. Swolsky said. If approval comes, as expected, the developers plan to break ground for a five-story, 123-room hotel room that will operate in the $100-a-night price range.  “We’re planning to have a groundbreaking in February or March on the first [hotel] and then breaking ground a year later on the second one,” Mr. Swolsky said.  The second hotel also is to be five stories with about 100 rooms, he added.

 

Mr. Swolsky provided details of the development project on Thursday to Toledo City Council members.  The developers are asking the city to extend Executive Parkway across Secor Road and along the development project’s southern border.

 

READ MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/Real-Estate/2013/01/22/Hotel-retail-project-may-be-near.html

http://m.toledoblade.com/Retail/2016/04/27/New-Westgate-strip-signs-tenants.html

 

New Westgate strip signs tenants

https://www.13abc.com/content/news/TJ-Maxx-and-furniture-store-planned-for-old-Elder-Beerman-on-Secor-Road-566688021.html

 

TJ Maxx and furniture store planned for old Elder Beerman on Secor Rd

On 1/5/2020 at 12:26 PM, TwoStickney419 said:

https://www.13abc.com/content/news/TJ-Maxx-and-furniture-store-planned-for-old-Elder-Beerman-on-Secor-Road-566688021.html

 

TJ Maxx and furniture store planned for old Elder Beerman on Secor Rd

 

Since everything else in the Westgate district is basically just strip malls, this new development makes sense I guess.

I always feel like theres a ripe opportunity to do something a little more ambitious at Westgate though. If you look at the Elder Beerman and Sears properties and the vast expanse of parking around them....theres a lot of land. Lots of possibilities.

 

For not being a brand new, edge of the metro area, business district like Central Ave in Sylvania, Spring Meadows in Holland, Dussel Dr in Maumee, or Rt 25 (DixieHwy) or Rt 20 (FremontPike) in Perrysburg......Westgate has held it own while being more centrally locate. Between having the captive customer base of the University of Toledo and the still kickin Franklin Park mall both in close proximity....as well as many well established, some historic, neighborhoods with some decent wealth...and lots of apartment complexes as well....there's a lot of dollars that get spent at Westgate.

 

I've always envisioned something resembling Levis Commons, Easton, or Crocker Park, in that location, but a little smaller, with maybe less emphasis on the shopping (we already have Franklin Park right there, and with internet shopping, etc)...and more emphasis on creating an entertainment district. I could see having a single street that runs from the intersection where Costco and Rite Aid and Piada Italian are on Central....back through the property, curving over to the intersection on Secor where Hallmark and Chik-Fil-A are. Maybe have an drive that cuts over to Executive Parkway to have a little escape route to alleviate some traffic. I would have this development be all streetfront buildings though so it actually has the downtown/village vibe of a lifestyle center. Offices and/or apartments above the retail. Plenty of room for parking behind the buildings.

 

Just like a collection of restaurants and bars, cafes, etc. I think it would go over well there. Any residential would easily fill up if it's not over priced.

https://www.toledoblade.com/business/development/2020/02/18/tax-exemption-debated-for-development-former-elder-beerman-site-toledo-city-council/stories/20200218147

 

Tax exemption debated for development at former Elder Beerman site

https://www.wtol.com/mobile/article/news/local/toledo-city-council-denies-tax-exemptions-for-elder-beerman-development/512-b7a5aad3-0743-48a0-a02e-0eb057e33b84

 

City council denies tax exemption for former Elder Beerman development