SouthPark Mall owner donates $10,000 toward proposed $3 million makeover of Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – The city has received the first business donation toward its proposed $3 million Town Center Enhancement & Walkability Initiative.

Spinoso Management Group – a Syracuse, New York-based real estate firm that with Kize Capital LP purchased SouthPark Mall in May – has contributed $10,000 toward the project. City Council accepted the donation Monday night.

Also, the city has applied for, and may have already received, a grant for a $114,144 grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council that would help fund the town center initiative.

Last month, Mayor Thomas Perciak said the city will seek grants and donations from government agencies, nonprofits, local businesses and civic groups to pay for the plan’s construction.

Strongsville developer Michael Catanzarite has agreed to lead the fundraising effort among area businesses, Perciak said.

NOPEC – a regional nonprofit that buys electricity and natural gas in bulk and passes savings to consumers – would provide funding through its Energized Community Grant Program. To meet program requirements, the city would have to spend the grant on energy-efficient materials or equipment when building the town-center improvements.

For example, grant recipients can use NOPEC grant money when buying electric vehicles, LED signs, new traffic signals, insulation, energy-efficient windows and air conditioners and generators.

On Monday night, council passed an ordinance that states, “NOPEC has agreed to provide funding to the city in the amount of $114,144″ and that Perciak “is hereby authorized and directed to enter into a grant agreement with NOPEC.” The grant agreement was attached to the ordinance and signed by Perciak.

However, on Tuesday morning, Brent Painter, the city’s economic development director, said the city had only applied for, and had not yet been awarded, the NOPEC grant.

As for Spinoso, the company was founded in 2009 and specializes in mall management. Spinoso owns more than 30 malls in several states.

The town center improvements are targeted for 81¾ acres just west of the Walter F. Ehrnfelt Recreation and Senior Center. The general area, northeast of the Pearl Road-Westwood Drive intersection, includes the Strongsville branch library, Castletown Playground and the city commons at Pearl and Ohio 82.

The project is slated to include construction of an interactive fountain/splash pad, playground, pavilion, restrooms, public green space, new walking trails and a roundabout at Westwood Drive and Zverina and Roe lanes.

The town center plan will also include a refurbishing of Castletown Playground on Westwood near Roe, as well as new signs to help residents find their way.

Perciak said the plan’s purpose is to provide downtown amenities for Strongsville’s young families and older residents, connect those amenities with safe walking paths and keep residential property values high.

Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

The town center proposal is based on recommendations in the city’s 2019 master plan done with Cuyahoga County, a 2021 survey of more than 1,000 Strongsville residents, a 2019 Wayfinding Analysis Report that demonstrated how signs can help people can navigate the city, a 2015 Town Center District Redevelopment Plan prepared by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and a 2009 Strongsville Walkable Community Workshop Report by NOACA.