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Giant Eagle moves forward with plan for new Boardman GetGo location
BOARDMAN
Giant Eagle is moving forward with a plan to bring to the township a new GetGo location that will feature a restaurant, convenience store and fueling station.
Last year, the township zoning board of appeals approved the permit required for the Pittsburgh-based company to operate a fueling station in the township. After a brief stall in the process, according to the township zoning department, the company now is moving forward and is in the process of working on design plans with the township.
“We are excited to eventually bring Boardman, Ohio, the best of what the GetGo cafe + market has to offer,” said Dan Donovan, Giant Eagle corporate communications manager, in a statement Tuesday. “Although we cannot yet confirm many details regarding plans for the California Avenue and Southern Boulevard property, we look forward to bringing a similar experience to what other Northeast Ohio customers have recently encountered with new locations in Alliance, Avon and Macedonia.”
The plan for the new township location represents an expansion of what’s offered at the other township GetGo locations, on South Avenue and U.S. Route 224.
At the Nov. 2014 hearing before the zoning appeals board, a Giant Eagle representative told the board that the new location will be roughly three times larger than one on South Avenue.
“We’re rebranding the GetGo brand, and making it a much bigger building,” Pasquale Avolio, director of real-estate development and construction for Giant Eagle, said at the time.
GetGo cafes offer options such as sandwiches, hot dogs, wraps, smoothies, coffee, salads and more. GetGo markets offer grab-and-go options such as bakery items, according to the GetGo website.
The company has submitted the first draft of its design, township officials said.
“Now GetGo is working on some revising,” said zoning inspector Sarah Gartland. “We’re talking the nitty-gritty of the design.”
The site-plan review board has reviewed the design, and marked some changes it would like the company to make. The next step will be for the company to come back to the table with revised drawings, get approval for them and then get any variances it might need from the zoning appeals board.
As the township has worked with Giant Eagle to bring the plan to fruition, Gartland said she’s frequently gotten the same question from residents: What will happen to Ben and Emma?
Ben and Emma are characters that sit atop the Farmers National Bank billboard, located on the property where GetGo will be built. Gartland said the billboard likely will be taken down.