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Portage County city continues to reinvent itself
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 8, 2013
Its motto is “Gateway to Progress,” and officials in the Portage County city of Streetsboro are working to keep it that way, adding new businesses and amenities that rival those in neighboring communities.
“The city is constantly changing,” said Mayor Glenn M. Broska, who took office in 2011. “During the mid-90’s we experienced the same growth that the rest of the country did, but when the downturn hit, Streetsboro bucked the trend. We did not suffer as severely as most other communities did, and now we have over 16,000 residents and are the second largest city in Portage County.”
The mayor said the main reason for the growth is simple: “Location, location, location.”
Situated within 40 minutes of Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown, Streetsboro is easily accessible via state routes 14, 43, 303, Interstate 480 and the Ohio Turnpike, which Broska said is a plus for residents and companies.
“Businesses can also draw upon the talents of nearby Kent State students for part- and full-time employment,” said Broska, who has lived in Streetsboro for 24 years.
“Cleveland Magazine’s recent ‘Rating the Suburbs’ reports found Streetsboro has the lowest property taxes in all of northeast Ohio,” he said.
The mayor said the once primarily blue-collar city has seen an influx of white-collar residents.
“It used to be that most of our residents worked for Chrysler or Chevy but because of the increase in new housing developments in Streetsboro that offer the type of homes white-collar workers want, we are balancing out. We now have housing ranging from $85,000 to over $1 million, with plenty of space available for people that want to build their dream homes on a large parcel of land.”
Streetsboro has three industrial parks located on Miller, Philipp and Mondial parkways.
The mayor said the city is home to 13 world and/or national headquarters like The Step2 Company, which is the largest American manufacturer of preschool and toddler toys and the world’s largest rotational molder of plastics. Other businesses boasting Streetsboro home include Delta Systems Inc., a designer and producer of switches, displays and electronic controls and Permco, a leading manufacturer of precision-engineered fluid power products. Micro-Poise, a leading global producer of testing equipment for tire and tire and wheel assembly manufacturers, also claims Streetboro as home base along with American Heritage Billiards, which makes handcrafted furniture, Soft-Lite Windows and Viking Forge, a precision metal forging company.
“Viking Forge will double its capacity in terms of square footage and probably in terms of employees by year’s end,” said Streetsboro Economic Development Director William Bishilany.
Currently, Step 2 remains the city’s biggest employer, with other large companies including Delta Systems, Deluxe Enterprise Operations and Automated Packaging Systems.
“When Automated Packaging first started they were in a small building,” said Bishilany. “They now occupy at least three other buildings.”
In addition to its industrial and manufacturing base, Streetsboro has a number of big-box stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, a Walmart Supercenter and a Kmart. There is also a Giant Eagle along with two other grocery stores, ALDI and Save-A-Lot, as well as Robinson Health Center, which offers rehabilitation and a variety of specialties and Robinson Urgent Care Center.
Streetsboro has over 40 restaurants. While the bulk are chains there are some unique offerings like Blasiole’s Italian Eatery, which has been in business for over 20 years and StringZ & WingZ Grille & Bar, which was a result of a redevelopment project.
“The owner also has a Z-PLex entertainment complex, which is a concert hall, dance club and event venue that attracts some big name bands,” said Broska. “He is doing very well.”
“From an economic development standpoint, we want to increase the number of specialty restaurants because we have three internationally-headquartered companies that have let us know this is one of the amenities they want to see more of,” said Bishilany.
“We do have nine hotels that are flourishing. Management boasts a 95 to 98 percent occupancy rate during the week,” Bishilany said.
Construction has begun on The Alan Group’s indoor recreation center on Route 43. It will have a field of giant trampolines that are all connected, among other things.
“There are not many of these type of places in the country, and they are a destination and people might travel hours to get to one,” said Broska.
Streetsboro is not part of a joint economic development district, but the mayor said he would like to look into forming one in the future.
Officials rely primarily on income tax revenue as well as property taxes and money from the Local Government Fund.
“We receive a small portion of property taxes from the county,” said Broska. “Our Local Government Funds have diminished rapidly. Although it has hurt us, we have been able to weather the storm because we are fiscally conservative and watch all our pennies.”
The mayor said there were a number of foreclosures during the downturn but it has not been necessary to demolish the properties since many have been purchased. However, he said there were no layoffs or service cuts.
“Since I’ve been in office, we added one full-time and one part-time employee in the parks and recreation department, as well as three seasonal employees to get us through the summer. We will continue to add people to this department because our citizens have made it clear they want to see an increase in programs.”
Streetsboro already offers more than two dozen recreational programs for children and adults, ranging from traditional sports like basketball and football to gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, martial arts, running clubs, guitar and piano lessons, adult softball, fitness classes, a personal fitness trainer, gardening, a hunter education course and even summer camp for children between the ages of five and 12.
“One of our more popular offerings is ‘A Pirate’s Tale,’ which takes place in Thomas Heritage Park,” said Broska. “The children dress up in pirate’s gear and search for hidden treasure provided by our parks and recreation department. A lot of times we hire independent contractors to run the programs and we pay them with the fees that we charge.”
The senior center on Route 43 offers a wide range of programs and services such as exercise classes and bus trips to casinos and other locations. “Our senior center is a magnet for seniors in this area,” said Broska.
Expanding and maintaining open space is a major goal of city officials.
“Almost 11 percent of the land within our 25 square miles is parks and nature preserves,” said Broska. “In addition to the Streetsboro City Park, an active recreation park, we have three very large nature parks––Thomas Heritage, Evans R. Beck Memorial Nature Preserve and Claire Wilcox Park––that are kept in pristine condition for the most part.
“Streetsboro was recognized by Cleveland Magazine for efforts in wildlife and nature preservation,” said Broska. “Our overall goal is to provide an outdoor recreational area and activities, while continuing to preserve surrounding plant and animal life.”
Officials are also in the process of completing a dog park, which is expected to open this month.
The mayor said the city draws a lot of visitors because of the Boulder Creek Golf Club, which last year was rated by Golfweek as one of the top 10 in Ohio.
The annual Streetsboro Family Days festival took place in late July. The four-day event features rides and live entertainment, including some well-known acts like the Little River Band.
Founded by Titus Street, Streetsboro Township initially contained 15,279 acres. Although it began in 1822, major growth did not occur until the Ohio Turnpike opened. In 1968, voters decided to merge the township and village, becoming one city with 25 square miles. At one time it was home to a small amusement park, Shady Lake Park on Route 14, which is now an apartment complex of the same name.
The Streetsboro Heritage Foundation works to preserve the history and artifacts of the city, while maintaining the historic Singletary House Museum at 935 Singletary Dr. which offers tours to visitors.
Located on the northwest corner of the public square, the home was started in 1826 and completed in 1828, for patriot and Revolutionary War veteran Colonel John C. Singletary. Singletary’s son and daughter-in-law raised seven children there before they moved to Colorado in 1894, selling the 150-acre plus farm to Martin Porter.
The mayor said officials dedicated the 9/11 Memorial in May 2007. He said it features an actual beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center as well as a bell donated to the fire department from a past member and memorial bricks purchased by the community.
“The memorial was constructed through the efforts of the city’s fire and service departments and donations from members of the community,” he said.
Despite all the growth and improvements to Streetsboro, the mayor said there is still more to be done like addressing the aging infrastructure. “We’ve had a major influx of residents and our water and sewer lines need to be upgraded. We are in the process of building a 1.5 million gallon water tank to equalize the pressure and provide more water storage to the city.
“We would also like to extend water and sewer into parts of the city that do not have it.”
He also wants to start a sidewalk program. “We are in the running for a Safe Routes to School grant,” said Broska.
“The long-term goal is to connect main thoroughfares to the center of the city, and then to connect with secondary roads and finally into subdivisions, with the hope of making Streetsboro a more walkable community.”
Bishilany said officials are looking to extend Philipp Parkway so that it connects to Route 43 and Interstate 480. “This would cut 20 minutes off of the commute for residents and business owners.”
The mayor would like to build a new city hall to replace the older vintage building. “We want a facility that we can be proud of,” he said. “City hall should reflect the aesthetics of the city and that is not the case right now.”
Plans are in the works to add even more recreational attractions. “We do not want people to have to leave our city because it lacks amenities.
“We are one of the most affordable places to live,” said Broska. “Our schools have been rated excellent for the first time, we have numerous activities and a great location.”