TALLMADGE: After nearly four years of planning, Tallmadge has begun developing its very first downtown area.
Welty Co., along with Testa Companies, has started work on the first phase of a $45 million mixed-use lifestyle center consisting of senior apartments, loft condos, retail, day-care and medical facilities that will fill 8 acres of land beside City Hall and the police station.
“It’s a great location,” Tallmadge Mayor David Kline said. ”We’re creating more of a downtown instead of just Tallmadge Circle.”
The project, dubbed “The Village at Town Center,” officially kicked off Tuesday at the site with a ceremonial shoveling of dirt. Testa, based in Cuyahoga Falls, has developed the project, and Welty will construct it.
Welty will execute the project in anywhere from two to six phases. While many of the project’s details are still being worked out, Welty has already begun working on road infrastructure as part of the first phase.
The roadwork, a $6 million project alone, will include installation of an underground storm water piping system, electric utilities and sidewalks. The roadwork has closed part of North Avenue near City Hall, detouring southbound traffic.
Next on the agenda is constructing a four-story building parallel to the woods at 76 North Ave.
The first floor of the building will be reserved for commercial and retail spaces.
The second and third floors will consist of about 48 two-bedroom affordable senior housing units for residents 55 or older.
The fourth floor will feature about 20 market-rate condos open to tenants of all ages that will be available to either lease or purchase.
Testa began applying for tax credits for senior housing in 2012 to make the apartments affordable for tenants.
Competitive process
The process is competitive, and the company was turned down twice before it was approved the third time it applied in 2015, said Joel Testa, president of chief operating officer of Testa Companies.
Testa said Tallmadge is the second oldest city in Summit County, so it was important to suit the needs of the current population. As people get older, it becomes more difficult for them to maintain their homes, driving property values down.
Testa hopes to create a “domino effect” with the senior housing by providing a place for older folks to live so new families can fill in to those residences.
Testa has worked on similar projects in Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls.
“The North Avenue project will have a close resemblance to the Testa building across Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls, as both developments share an almost identical four-story concept,” Kline said.
Developments beyond the four-story building are still being finalized. Currently, Testa plans on building medical spaces “in several different forms” to suit the city’s population.
Old school building
Testa also plans on using the old school building to create more loft apartments or a day care.
The building was originally set to be demolished, but community members expressed its importance to the area.
“We’re going to bring it back to life, we’re going to make it part of the community again, and we’re going to make you really proud,” Testa said of the school at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Testa is seeking tenants for the retail units. A construction start date for the four-story building is to be determined, but Testa anticipates construction on the overall project will continue into 2018.
Beacon Journal correspondent Angel Evans contributed to this report. Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com.