Monday, May 7, 2018
By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI
jgrzelewski@vindy.com
LORDSTOWN
The village’s zoning and planning commission tonight will again take up a proposal to rezone 300 acres of residential land to industrial for a HomeGoods Inc. project.
The meeting follows the announcement Friday by HomeGoods the company again intends to pursue plans to develop a $160 million, 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center in the village after previously backing away from the proposal.
HomeGoods is a division of TJX, which owns TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls.
The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the village administration building on Salt Springs Road.
In March, the planning commission first was presented with zone change requests for seven parcels located where HomeGoods would like to build its warehouse. The proposal drew the ire of some village residents who protested the use of residential land for the project.
The outcry caused HomeGoods to announce it was backing away from the proposal, but the company reversed course Friday, citing a showing of community for the project. A recent rally in support of the project drew more than 600 people.
Village Mayor Arno Hill said he expects some residents who are upset about the project will attend tonight’s meeting and continue to voice their concerns.
“Maybe some minds are changed, but the people who are adamantly against it, I don’t think you’re going to change their minds,” he said.
It remains to be determined if there will be a vote tonight.
Asked Monday about tonight’s presentation and about lingering concerns about the project among some residents, a HomeGoods spokeswoman declined to comment.
A member of the “Residents for the Right Project on the Right Property” group, which opposes the use of residential land, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Actionable Insights, a Sharon, Pa.-based marketing firm that created a Trumbull4TJX campaign, on Monday put out a statement urging community members to continue showing support for the project.
“The company is once again pursuing the building site in Lordstown, which is set in bring approximately 1,000 new jobs to the area,” the statement said. “But in order to bring this home, we need to let the Lordstown City Council members know that this is what the community wants. They need to vote to accept TJX’s zoning application, or TJX won’t come to Trumbull County. We encourage everyone to take the time to reach out to the city council members and make clear your support for the distribution center.”
In other HomeGoods-related news, the company recently purchased one of the seven parcels in question.
According to Trumbull County Auditor records, the sale of a property at 2547 Hallock Young Road went through Friday. The property, valued at $80,300, was purchased by HomeGoods for $250,000 from Bertha Kaloci.
Earlier last week, HomeGoods purchased another one of the parcels, also located on Hallock Young.
The other parcels, located on Hallock Young and Ellsworth-Bailey roads, are owned by Harvey and Dolly Lutz; DBR of Ohio (which owns three of them); and Ronald and Cynthia Radtka.