Plan to Extend Plaza Boulevard Paused but Not Stopped

The planned Plaza Boulevard extension has been stalled but not stopped.

Mentor City Manager Ken Filipiak asked City Council to temporarily put off voting on an ordinance that would allow the city to buy property it needs to complete the extension.

Filipiak that some legal issues need to be finalized but both the city and property owner were still interested in the sale.

The city would be buying .657 acres from Prisa III Legacy LLC. With that property, they could lengthen Plaza Boulevard until it intersects with St. Clair Avenue.

That would give drivers a way to get from Tyler Boulevard to Great Lakes Mall without going through busy Mentor Avenue intersections at Chillicothe Road or Center Street.

They city plans to pay $325,000 for the property.

When the city buys the lot, it would still need to demolish a storage facility on it.

Filipiak told council that this property lot was the only one with a building on it that they need for the project.

"The city has already relocated all of the occupants of the building," Filipiak said

The city used a three-year-old appraisal to price the property.

Council President Robert Shiner asked if a new appraisal might show the property is now worth less money, which might give the city leverage to ask for a lower price.

Filipiak said he would take Shiner's recommendation under consideration.

The entire Plaza Boulevard extension project is expected to cost $3.2 million.