CUYAHOGA FALLS: A spokesman for Menards Inc. has told the city the company intends to break ground on its long-awaited Graham Road store in 2017.
Thomas O’Neil, who represents the company’s real estate acquisitions, said construction should be completed in 2018.
“We are excited that Menards has stated that they will be moving construction efforts forward next year,” Mayor Don Walters said. “We commend their continued commitment to bringing their business, creating new jobs and investing in the city of Cuyahoga Falls.”
Last year, O’Neil said in a public hearing that the Cuyahoga Falls home improvement store would employ at least 125 people — about 40 to 45 of them full time — and that the total investment in the retail space, an adjoining 47,000-square-foot warehouse and a 414-spot parking lot would be about $21 million.
In 2015, Menard purchased the former Giant Eagle property on Graham Road, a 10-acre parcel it acquired for $1.4 million.
The old grocery store was demolished to make room for a 172,740-square-foot building, with expectations of a grand opening in the spring of 2016.
But the project has been met with a series of delays, including a decision by the company to halt all new construction this year. A company spokesman blamed the Obama administration.
“We decided not to risk expansion until things are more settled,” the spokesman said in published reports.
Now that the Cuyahoga Falls project is finally moving forward, O’Neil said trees on the property will be coming down during the winter to meet federal EPA requirements regarding endangered species.
The actual date for the groundbreaking is dependent on existing projects being finalized throughout the country.