Work progressing on stores, hotel, plaza

Officials say each project will increase the area's visual appeal.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- Township officials say the outlook for new ventures along Belmont Avenue is good with several projects in the works along the business corridor.
Patrick Ungaro, township administrator, said a new grocery store, renovated hotel and a new shopping plaza along Belmont are in the works. These projects follow Wal-Mart's confirmation this week that it is negotiating for space at the Liberty Plaza.
At the Belmont Plaza, a fence runs along the front of all three storefronts. Work crews are making adjustments to the outside of the building.
Ungaro said the Belmont Plaza is ultimately slated for a $1.6 million face-lift. "They are going to do a whole new facade, not just paint," he said. "There will be a whole new front on that building."
With the new facade, said Ungaro, will also come a new grocery store. ALDI grocery store will soon occupy a corner of the plaza that has been vacant for some time.
Ungaro said other projects are being considered for a section of the plaza that once housed U.S. Factory Outlets -- a store that left the plaza some months ago. The Big Lots store now in the plaza will remain, Ungaro said.
The former Econo Lodge on Belmont is also headed for a face-lift and new name. The hotel has been closed for several years after a fire that damaged part of the building.
Now, the Econo Lodge signs have been covered. The windows in the building are being replaced, and construction crews can be seen working on the building daily.
Ungaro said every room in the building will be remodeled, with an expansion to the rear of the building that will include a swimming pool. When it is finished, he said, it will reopen as a Days Inn.
The project will cost about $2 million, Ungaro said.
The renovations at the hotel will go a long way in improving the image of the township to those coming through the area and exiting nearby freeways, he said.
"People would get off the freeway there and see that building all boarded up. I think it hurt business all the way around," he said. "This is a good project. It is going to look nice. It is going to be upgraded and help the overall development of Belmont Avenue."
A short distance away, at the corner of Belmont and Church Hill Road, construction crews are beginning the work on a new Pelican Park Plaza shopping plaza. That project, Ungaro said, is estimated at about $1 million.
The land at the intersection has been cleared, and cement blocks are being placed where the building will stand.
Ungaro explained that the plaza will contain seven or eight units available for lease. He said three or four of those spaces have already been leased.
jgoodwin@vindy.com