The Mount Vernon city council approved an abatement of property for developer Doug Berner, who has plans to develop a business along First Street in Mount Vernon.
Berner is looking to build a flex space commercial condominium for businesses at 520 First Street East, the former bowling alley in Mount Vernon. Over the past year and a half, he has moved building materials to the space in preparation of the establishment he is looking to develop.
The commercial condominium will have roughly four to six spaces in the building. The materials for this project were relocated from a property in Solon.
The City wants the property to be cleaned up of materials not pertaining to the building in the next month. Berner also needs to have his plan advance through the planning and zoning commission and have a site approval with the City of Mount Vernon before any construction can begin. City administrator Chris Nosbisch said the process for that could take a minimum of three months, and could be longer if the city needs to make any zoning changes to the property for the type of building Berner is looking to establish.
City planner Leigh Bradbury said one of the things that needs to be addressed with the property before any construction occurs is the removal of over 2,000 square feet of concrete.
“We can grant an extension of time to allow for some of that as long as work is being seen to address the issues,” Bradbury said.
Nosbisch said his recommendation would be to allow a 30 day extension for Berner to remediate some of the nuisance while he works with the city to apply for a site plan for the location. As long as the effort continues to move forward during those 30 days and remediation continues on the site, the city can continue to offer extensions. The nuisance includes commercial trailers and campers parked at the site, which need to be relocated.
“The issue is that nothing on the current property is no longer grandfathered in,” Nosbisch said. “That secondary building is no longer an allowed use on that property at the moment, and the concrete is contributing to water quality issues for the city.”
The whole process for the building of the commercial property could take upwards of nine months, but city officials said they are interested in working with Berner to see the space develop.
“The community appreciates that there’s movement and possibly something going into that space,” said council member Paul Tuerler. “I think the commercial condominiums is attractive from a business sense. That versatility is valuable in the community.”
MV council approves property abatement
Nathan Countryman, Editor
April 11, 2024
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.