Taken from the News Herald Site See the original article here:
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/03/05/news/nh2184903.txt
By David W. Jones
The Perry Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) is a major step closer toward seeing at least two more jobs-producing projects in their section of Lake County. On Thursday, the Solon-based Davis Development Group Inc. and JEDD announced plans for the firm to buy 82 acres in Perry Township from the JEDD, mainly for commercial or light industrial use but also for an assisted-living residential center.
The company will pay $750,000 for the acreage, which is what North Perry Village paid for it two years ago for work that didn’t get started, said Davis Development President Jeffrey Davis and township Administrator Walter R. Siegel.
“We looked at the Perry area 10 years ago when my father (Lawrence Davis) was alive, and we were unable to purchase a certain piece of property,” Davis said in a news release. “When this new opportunity came up, we’re happy we could reach an agreement.”
Siegel and North Perry Village Council President Richard C. Shreve agreed.
“We absolutely have some groups, most affiliated with churches, that are interested in assisted-living homes near the (Perry) Senior Center, and we think Davis Development has parties interested in the other JEDD acreage,” Siegel said.
“It’s what we hoped,” Shreve said. “The township and JEDD can now go forward, get some development and get some jobs.”
Pending the purchase, all sides said planning costs, specific new JEDD entities and timetables aren’t yet available.
“Now we need to sit down and go through all plans and find out who’s looking at sites,” said Al Wangenheim, a Davis Development architect and executive.
“Our work could be a light industrial machine shop or maybe warehousing,” Wangenheim said.
“It would be something to bring tax dollars to the township, and we will be working with the township engineer on it.”
His company is also overseeing CT Consultants’ new headquarters in Mentor and is the developer of such projects as Landerhaven Corporate Center in Mayfield Heights.
Currently zoned for heavy industrial projects, the township site is on the southwest corner of Perry Park Road off Clark Road.
The assisted-living center would be on the north end of the acreage about 1,000 feet from the Perry Community/Senior Center at 2800 Perry Park Road.
The remaining 70-plus acres are part of a potential 460-acre JEDD site mainly off Route 20 at Lane Road and linking the township, North Perry and Perry Village.
Comprehensive plans suggest the area north of Route 20 is a strong and growing economic base.
The JEDD sites include 25 businesses which have purchased $13.31 million worth of properties. The district started in 2001, but it had to wait three years for a pumping station and utilities project to be completed before any companies could open on vacant nursery and farm land.
In 2008, JEDD companies had about 600 employees paying about $120,000 in payroll income taxes shared by the three Perry communities.
Siegel said the figures are still about the same.