MANSFIELD — Trimble Road has seen a bustle of activity with the widening project between Marion Avenue and Cook Road — and it looks like there’s more activity heading to that area.
Akron Children’s Hospital is building a new medical facility that will include a children’s clinic and small trauma center near the VA Clinic off Trimble Road.
“They’re looking at moving their existing personnel over here on Cline Avenue into the facility, but they’ll be adding 20 to 25 new jobs,” said the city’s Economic Development Director Tim Bowersock.
The new payroll is expected to be over $1 million.
“Investment right now looks like it’s going to be somewhere $14.5 million or less,” Bowersock said. “There has been a reduction in the size of the facility just recently, but the dollars are still there to allow it to go to what the full plan originally was.”
The developers and construction management are local, according to Bowersock.
Bowersock said this project has been in the works for four years. The developers plan to get started on construction as soon as possible, potentially in February or March.
Mansfield City Council approved legislation at its meeting Tuesday authorizing the safety-service director to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Development of Finance Authority of Summit County and Raemelton Park Developers, LLC in relation to the economic development project.
“This cooperative agreement basically is requesting the development finance authority to do bond financing for the project due to that fact that it is an economic development project in the City of Mansfield,” Bowersock said. “It’s somewhat of a formality that the city has to request this or enter into this type of agreement, but this validates the reason for bond financing.”
Similar legislation came up in 2015 regarding a bond issue for the Ashland University Dwight Schar College of Nursing & Health Sciences on Trimble Road.
Bowersock said the city has no financial liability as part of the agreement.
Preparation work has already begun, including designing a boulevard, which will be off Trimble Road.
“They were laying that out and basically making a construction drive into the site and then basically trying to determine exactly where the position to build in,” Bowersock said.
Mayor Tim Theaker added, “The developer has big plans for that area to the point where several hundred thousand dollars worth of infrastructure was put in (off Trimble Road).”
There is the possibility of future development at the site.
“There’s definitely other interest in the properties beside this or going on down the street,” Bowersock said. “Like most of what we’ve done, industrial parks and others, once the first project goes in, it seems like it starts to snowball and build, and I think that’s going to happen here just as it did on the next section (of Trimble) between Marion and Millsboro.”
