Small community of Seven Hills sees big boom
Seven Hills sees opening of Meijer and groundbreaking for bank headquarters in one month
SEVEN HILLS, Ohio (WOIO) - Cars merge to one lane westbound on Rockside Road at Lombardo Center as construction has begun for a regional headquarters of Erie Bank. The project will mean about $1.5 million in payroll annually once it opens later this year.
This is in addition to Meijer opening its first location in Cuyahoga County, on Broadview Road, also in Seven Hills. That means more than 350 jobs.
“Seven Hills is on a roll,” says Mayor Anthony Biasiotta. “It means to our residents we can keep the same services, add some amenities, and I intend to put a vast majority of this money into our infrastructure, streets and sewers.”
A vacant lot across the street on Rockside had an office building and 100,000 square feet of retail space planned, but it’s slowed due to COVID, but Konica Minolta has moved into an office building behind the bank and Vitalia, a new active adult community, sits across the way.
Seven Hills has a population of fewer than 12,000 people and it’s the second oldest population in Cuyahoga County, so the feel of the suburb is changing.
“As long as it’s progress and it attracts people to business and commerce and jobs, as long it’s not in the residential neighborhood, I’m all for it,” says neighbor Janis Bokar.
All the projects bring about $600,000 of annual income tax impact plus $6.8 million in property taxes over 15 years.
“The concerns have come from the people in closest proximity to the project and the top two concerns are lighting emanating from the project and traffic.”
Developers have offered to buy a house next to the property to provide a buffer from the new business, but the owner has declined the offer. Developers will put up a privacy fence to protect the residents.
“The money these new businesses are going to bring into the city is going to cure of financial culture for decades to come,” says Biasiotta.
Erie Bank is scheduled to open its regional headquarters in November or December of this year.
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