If plans are approved, the site would be called Blue Devil Plaza.
ALLIANCE Bricks, mortar and pavement stand to replace what until
recently was a rustic patch of brush growth.
City officials soon will consider a proposal for a new office/retail plaza slated for the east side of the 1300 block of S. Sawburg Avenue.
The site, if plans are approved, would become Blue Devil Plaza. Plans call for construction of a 10,535-square-foot rectangular commercial building.
Those involved with the project are saying local insurance agent, Julie Runk-Coffelt, plans to relocate her State Farm Insurance agency into a portion of the new building.
“Three quarters of what is there will go to them,” said Douglas Berry, an Akron architect working on the project. “They will have some space to lease to someone else.”
The Alliance Planning Commission, at its 4:30 p.m. May 20 meeting, will review a site plan for Blue Devil Plaza.
‘Welcome activity’ for city officials
“This is welcome activity there,” Joseph Mazzola, the city director of planning and development, said. “This is something that we encourage.”
Currently, Runk-Coffelt has her State Farm Insurance agency at 1840 W. State St.
“We are just in the beginning stages of the plaza, and I don’t know exactly what we are doing with it yet,” Runk-Coffelt said in an email. “We aren’t sure what businesses will be there. We haven’t even gotten pricing back yet from the builder. A lot of things may change after we get that information.”
The proposal for an office/retail plaza on Sawburg Avenue fits in with city officials’ desire to foster development along that street which runs in a north-south alignment.
Mayor Alan Andreani pointed out that Arch and Union avenues are other north-south thoroughfares that host businesses and commercial outlets.
“It was kind of logical that the next one would be Sawburg,” Andreani said. “I see it as available for development. I think it is a viable place. One of the issues is part of Sawburg is (Lexington) township on the west side. We would be working with the township.”
Sawburg Avenue, which is on the west side of this city, still has patches of undeveloped lots covered with trees and brush growth.
“These are sites available,” Mazzola said. “Those are all development sites. What is happening is it is gradually filling in. It builds on what is already there.”
New credit union office opened nearby
For example, Mazzola mentioned the recently constructed Stark Federal Credit Union office at 1281 S. Sawburg Ave. It opened a year ago.
“They may have (additional) development plans in the future,” Mazzola said. “I think they are using about an acre. I think the site is four acres total.”
The Blue Devil Plaza proposal includes plans to construct a basin on the east of the lot to collect storm water.
Construction could begin, “as soon as we get plans approved by the Planning Commission and the city Building Department,” said Berry, the architect. “The project is steaming ahead. It is an area that needs some new things to help it move forward. Any time you can bring new construction, it is an aid to the local economy.”
