Meijer grocery store project in Lake Township not moving forward

Tim Botos, The Repository
·2 min read
Plans for Meijer to build in Lake Township are on hold. The store was slated to be the fourth one in Stark County when completed.
Plans for Meijer to build in Lake Township are on hold. The store was slated to be the fourth one in Stark County when completed.

LAKE TWP. – A planned Meijer store won't open anytime soon — if at all.

Earlier this year, representatives of the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocer began a process for regulatory approval from the Stark County Regional Planning Commission and township zoning office.

But that activity has stopped.

And township Zoning Administrator Nicole Wilkinson said a project engineer informed her in an email on March 24 that "as of now," Meijer will not move forward with the project.

A Meijer spokesman, Erin Cataldo, acknowledged the project is "on hold," but said she had no further information to share.

Representatives of Edison Development Co., owner of the 13-plus acres property at 900 Edison St. NW, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. According to local tax records, Edison Development is located at the same address as HRM Enterprises, both across the street from the proposed grocery site.

HRM is the family-owned company founded by Sol Miller in 1939, which today includes Hartville Hardware, Hartville Marketplace and Hartville Kitchen among its operations.

Meijer openings: Why is Meijer opening so many stores in Stark County?

Jonelle Melnichenko, chief of planning at the Regional Planning Commission, said the Meijer project earned conditional approval in Feburary. That approval is in effect for two years.

Conditions included the likely required addition of a roundabout on Edison Street (state Route 619) near the store entrance, upon the suggestion of the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Meijer has opened 10 stores in Northeast Ohio, including one in Jackson Township, since 2019.

The Lake Township store was to be 89,988 square feet. Plans called for a drive-up pharmacy, electric vehicle charging, grocery pickup and quick-trip parking, some of which required zoning variances from the township.

The project was among three in Stark County in varying stages of work. A store in Alliance is to open in January 2024, followed by one in North Canton five months later.

The Midwest family-owned Meijer chain can trace its roots to 1934. Today, Meijer operates more than 240 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Meijer won't open grocery store in Lake Township; project on hold