Plaza being built at Mahoning and Route 46

Tenants will include Panera Bread and Rotelli Pizza and Pasta.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Construction has started on the Weston Center, a 68,000-square-foot plaza to be located just south of Walgreens at state Route 46 and Mahoning Avenue.
Michael Camacci, president of Landmark Real Estate, the plaza's developer, said contractors began pouring concrete for the base of the plaza last week. Landmark received township zoning permits needed to build the $3 million plaza two weeks ago.
When complete, the plaza will have 12 retail tenants and four or five offices, Camacci said. He expects stores to begin opening in the plaza in October or November.
Township Zoning Inspector Michael Kurilla Jr. said Weston Center is the largest retail structure to be built in Austintown since the 126,000-square-foot Wal-Mart opened on Mahoning Avenue in January 1994.
The plaza now at Mahoning Avenue and state Route 46 will be demolished and its three tenants -- Landmark Real Estate, Dutchess Dry Cleaners and Colla's Market -- will be moved into Weston Center, Camacci said.
"They've made a commitment to this area and they're going to stay in this area," he said.
More on tenants
Other tenants slated to open in the Weston Center include Panera Bread, a bakery and restaurant that also has locations in Boardman, Warren, and Hermitage, Pa., and Rotelli Pizza and Pasta, an Italian restaurant based in Florida. A Sprint PCS wireless store also will be located in the plaza, Camacci said.
The Austintown Panera, like the three other local Panera restaurants, will be owned and operated by Covelli Enterprises of Warren. Vikki Kaiser, Covelli's director of marketing and public relations, said Weston Center was selected as a location for Panera because the plaza will have good accessibility to state Route 46 and Mahoning Avenue.
Traffic counts from the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments show that about 24,000 vehicles pass through the Mahoning Avenue-state Route 46 intersection on Mahoning Avenue each day, while about 23,000 vehicles pass through the intersection on state Route 46.
What's planned
The Ohio Department of Transportation is planning to begin widening state Route 46 south and north of the intersection from two lanes to five lanes in 2006.
Camacci said the traffic in the area was part of the reason Landmark decided to build Weston Center, and he added that the plaza will provide a new, modern facility for businesses.
Some residents have questioned why new plazas should be constructed when there are vacant buildings in the township.
"It's really driven by the fact that businesses want new locations, new stores. They want a modern look. This is offering them that," Camacci said.
Camacci said Rotelli restaurant expected to be located in the plaza is the first of several slated to be built in the Mahoning Valley. Rotelli's representatives could not be reached to comment. The only other Rotelli restaurant in Ohio is in Gahanna, near Columbus.
Landmark also developed the Ruby Tuesday restaurant and Walgreens near Mahoning Avenue and state Route 46.
Despite the similarity in names, Weston Center is not related to the Westford Centre, a multiuse development under construction on U.S. Route 224 in Canfield.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;