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Former schools open for business
GREENFORD
The local communities are breathing new life into two former South Range school complexes, which now are business incubators.
Edward Schaefer and John Monroe, both lifelong Greenford residents, bought the former South Range Middle School in Greenford and the former South Range High School and Elementary School complex in North Lima at auction after the South Range schools moved in 2010 to a new complex on state Route 46.
Schaefer said his goal was to prevent the demolition of the former schools and provide affordable space for startup local businesses, which he does by keeping rents to about $6 per square foot per year.
“We try to hold our prices lower on it and make it available,” he said of the business-incubator space. “It just gives a chance for some of these people to start to do some things close to home in their own community, running a small business,” said Schaefer, whose grain and beef farm is adjacent to the Greenford building.
The 36-room former South Range Middle School, 7600 W. South Range Road, known as the Greenford Bobcats Space Center, is home to the popular Smokehouse barbecue restaurant, which typically attracts 125 to 150 people Friday and Saturday evenings, when it features live entertainment.
Besides the entertainment it already features on stage, the restaurant, located in the former school cafeteria, soon will offer line dancing and square dancing, a model- railroad display and Thursday evening jam sessions featuring local musicians, said Matt Baird of Green Township, restaurant owner.
“We do everything from oldies to country-western to gospel music,” Baird said of the restaurant entertainment.
The Smokehouse, which began operating two years ago, is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and features locally raised pork and beef and locally grown produce.
Also located in the Greenford building, which is about 40 percent occupied, are the Small Wonders day care center enrolling about 65 children; the TLC Insurance Group; the office of the Green Harvest Rail Line’s Gateway Terminal, a Struthers rail-to-truck freight transfer center; an office of the A.P. O’Horo construction company; and the Associated Landowners of the Mahoning Valley — a non-profit organization devoted to protecting the rights of landowners who sign oil- and gas-drilling leases.
“There are some common services that can be shared amongst the tenants,” such as photocopying and bookkeeping, observed Jean Holt, the railroad’s business manager.
Occupying the former home-economics room on the first floor of the Greenford building since last summer is the TLC Insurance Group’s branch office operated by Jim and Ann Myers of Green Township, who previously worked in TLC’s Warren office.
Jim Myers said TLC’s new location is convenient for the couple because they live nearby and because their children attend the Small Wonders day-care center in the same building.
“It’s a lot more of a family atmosphere here at this building than at other spaces,” he said, adding that the building is easy to get to and easy to find, has plenty of parking and is well-maintained.
“It’s easy access for our clients” and eliminates the need for local customers to drive long distances, Myers said.
The 46-room former South Range High School and Elementary School complex, whose buildings are interconnected, and which is known as the North Lima Business Complex, is about 85 percent occupied, Schaefer said.
Featuring a mix of for-profit and nonprofit tenants, the North Lima complex enjoys a central location at 11836 South Ave. (state Route 164) near the intersection between South Avenue and Market Street (state Route 7). It also is near South Range Road (state Route 165).
The complex’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
The North Lima complex is a thriving center of community activity, featuring the Gate Church, which conducts services in the former high-school auditorium and Sunday school in the former classrooms; the Multiple Sclerosis Service Agency; the Open Arms Community Outreach Donation Center; and Diva Donations, a wedding and prom-dress-lending organization.
Among its other occupants are two auctioneers conducting auctions in the former high-school gym; craft, antique and women’s clothing and purse vendors; hair and nail salons; a dog and cat grooming business; an iPhone and iPad repair shop; a fitness center; a used-educational materials shop; a uniform, safety gear and gun shop for emergency responders; and a shooting pro shop that offers classes for those seeking concealed gun-carrying permits.
Nichole Rogers established her Jeweled Expressions Nail Salon and Boutique in the former high-school principal’s office in June 2013 after having previously rented a booth in another North Lima salon.
“My clientele was already here, so this was a good opportunity for me to venture out into my own salon,” Rogers said.
One advantage of her new high-visibility location is that it is easy to direct customers to because the former high school is a well-known local landmark, she said.
Helen Prest cited low rent and high visibility as reasons she opened her Bella Maria purse shop a month ago in the former elementary school. Her business features “purses that are hard to find that have the rhinestones and the bling,” she said.
Prest sold her merchandise online through her website before opening her shop, and still does online sales. The North Lima store is the first retail-shop venture for Prest, who was a real-estate sales agent for 15 years.
“I originally came here because the rent was reasonable, and I’d be able to afford to try to start a business,” said Linda Smith, owner of Use It Again Educational Materials, which has been in the former high school for two years.