FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Nearly four years removed from completing a Lorain Road streetscape project, Fairview Park is once again looking to improve the busy thoroughfare.
This time, the effort centers around economic development, with a Lorain Road Business District Plan related to the possibility of a 2022 Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Planning Grant.
“Lorain Road is the backbone of our community,” Mayor Patrick Cooney said. “On the east, we have somewhat residential apartments. As you get from Wooster Road to West 210th Street, you get offices, and then the civic district from West 210th Street to West 220th Street.
“Then, from West 220th Street to North Olmsted, it’s more businesses. We’re looking at ways to tie that all together and make it more user-friendly and more profitable for the businesses.”
Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Executive Director Mary Cierebiej said this month, the board will be voting on the project, which if approved will require a $10,000 contribution from the city.
“To get this for a cost of $10,000 is a bargain,” Cooney said.
As for the county’s cost of the Lorain Road Business District Plan, that hasn’t been announced.
If completed, the plan will identify short- and long-range goals and priorities for business needs; prepare residents, businesses and the community for future development; provide opportunities for community input and engagement; and give a competitive advantage when the city applies for grants and funding projects for implementation.
“We have a lot of projects that we worked on there,” Cooney said of Lorain Road. “We had a corridor study done a few years ago, and we were looking at our Safe Routes to Schools right now.
“We recently enacted some tax-increment financing to fund some projects there. There’s just so much going on, so we need a group that has the expertise and time to help tie it all together.”
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