NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- A new McDonald’s at the southeast corner of West 130th Street and Bennett Road has received final approval by the North Royalton Planning Commission.
According to Assistant City Engineer Brian Binsley, approval came Sept. 4 after a traffic study determined that the new restaurant would not cause traffic problems near the intersection.
The traffic study was done by McDonald’s and the project applicant, Larson Architects, a Lakewood firm designing the new restaurant.
Nevertheless, Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz said he wanted McDonald’s to post a sign prohibiting left turns out of the restaurant onto Bennett during peak traffic hours.
“I know you guys told us that you didn’t think there would be a lot of traffic coming out that way because most of your stuff is toward West 130th,” Antoskiewicz told representatives from Larsen and McDonald’s on Sept. 4.
“But ... I know what it gets like during the two peak times from 7 to 9 (a.m.) and 4 to 6 (p.m.),” Antoskiewicz said.
Commission Chairman Frank Castrovillari agreed with Antoskiewicz, but said the prohibited hours for left turns onto Bennett should be determined by peak-time data in the traffic study.
Bob Bumbarger, of Larsen Architects, said McDonald’s will post a sign prohibiting left turns onto Bennett during peak hours.
Binsley said the city is also considering the addition of a left-turn-only lane from West 130th onto Tiffany Brooke Drive, a new, short street just south of Bennett and the McDonald’s site.
However, the city would need permission from Strongsville to add that lane because maintenance for West 130th -- a borderline between North Royalton and Strongsville -- is split between the two cities, Binsley said.
The new McDonald’s will measure nearly 3,700 square feet and include two drive-thru lanes. The building will stand on a vacant commercial lot measuring about 1½ acres.
Customers will have access to the new McDonald’s only from Bennett and Tiffany Brooke.
A “public access walk” will connect to the existing sidewalk on West 130th.
The restaurant will be the second McDonald’s in North Royalton. There’s already one on Ohio 82 just east of State Road.
It’s unknown who or what firm will operate as the franchisee of the new McDonald’s.
The owner of the West 130th-Bennett parcel is NR4C Ventures Ltd., whose president, William Baumann, is also president of Baumann Enterprises Inc. in Garfield Heights.
In 2015, the Planning Commission approved Baumann Enterprises’ conceptual plan for a 16-acre retail-office “lifestyle center,” dubbed Shops at South Market, at the northeast corner of West 130th and Boston Road -- just a few feet south of the proposed McDonald’s.
Shops at South Market was to consist of six buildings measuring a total of 80,000 square feet, split evenly between retail and office. It was supposed to include restaurants and two national chains.
The development never happened -- or at least hasn’t happened yet. Baumann hasn’t returned a call and an email to discuss the project.
A relatively new sign between the McDonald’s site and the proposed Shops at South Market site reads “Royalton Corners.”
Tom Jordan, the city’s community development coordinator, told clevleland.com Monday (Oct. 7) that the COVID-19 pandemic might have stunted the development of South Market.
Jordan said the new McDonald’s will only occupy an out-lot of the proposed South Market. He said there is still plenty of room for the original South Market concept if it ever materializes.
In 2016, the Planning Commission approved what would have been the first two pieces of Shops at South Market -- a Speedway gas station and convenience store and a 6,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building.
Instead of a Speedway, a Marathon gas station now stands on the site, along with a Rebel convenience store.
Jordan said the Speedway was built years ago, but then the operation changed ownership to Marathon and Rebel.
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It’s unknown what happened to the proposed multi-tenant retail building, although dirt-moving is taking place next to the proposed McDonald’s site.
Jordan said the activity only involves Baumann Enterprises regrading the site. No construction is planned there currently.
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