New Menards off state Route 18 gets go-ahead as part of Granger Township retail site

New Menards off state Route 18 gets go-ahead as part of Granger Township retail site

Menards got the go-ahead from Granger Township.

The family-owned, Wisconsin-based home improvement chain now has permission to build a Menards store that will anchor a new large retail development off state Route 18 at the Medina and Summit county line. The project, when fully built out, will stretch for nearly a half-mile along the road and be called The Market at Medina Line.

Menard Inc. declined to comment on the development of the 125-acre site, including when construction will begin, other than to say via a spokesman, “At this point in time ‘we have nothing to report’.”

The project, first announced in 2019, has passed township and Medina County reviews and refinement. Granger Township trustees last week approved the first phase of the development plan, which will allow construction to start.

Public officials have estimated the built-out cost and value of the development at $40 million, but the actual cost could be lower or higher than that.

The timeline to start developing the land is now up to Menard Inc., said township trustee Richard Pace.

“I don’t know when they will start the project,” he said.

That’s because the company has not told public officials when work will begin or other details, he said. A small part of the development plan involving water retention basins is still being reviewed by county officials.

The development is in Granger Township’s planned development district, which was set up in the mid-2000s. Township residents at that time wanted public officials to improve the township tax base by leveraging state Route 18; the planned development district accomplished that, Pace said.

Plans filed with the township and county show a 157,000-square-foot Menards store, a 38,000-square-foot warehouse area, a garden center and more on a nearly 23-acre parcel inside the 125-acre site.

These latest plans show an undeveloped 16-acre parcel adjacent to the Menards store. Initial concepts in 2019 placed a second large big box store on that site. Another part of the undeveloped land is earmarked for light industrial use.

“Menards is the only larger retail establishment we are aware of,” said Denise Testa, director of planning services and fair housing for Medina County.

The Menards project does not involve local tax abatements or similar incentives.

Other parcels along Route 18 are set aside for retailers. Each subplot owner that wants to build on one of the undeveloped parcels will need to submit plans for review to Granger Township, Pace said. No one has come forward with plans for parcels other than Menard, he said.

Entry and exit to the development will be via a single light/signal indicator off of Route 18, Pace said. Pinnacle Sports, which borders the property to the west, also will make use of the signal, he said. Medina Line Road on the other side of the development will not be used for vehicle access.

About half of the 125 acre site will remain open space as part of an agreement with the developer, Pace said.

He acknowledged there also was public opposition to the Menards project.

The new Menards will bring in about $70,000 in new tax revenue to the township and an additional $460,000 annually to local schools, based on the $40 million development estimate, Pace said.

The development will create new local jobs, and construction will also have an economic multiplier effect, he said.

Jim Mackinnon covers business. He can be reached at 330-996-3544 or [email protected]. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.