Developer proposes townhomes, retail building at Ohio 82 and Prospect Road in Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — A Strongsville firm has proposed a 32-acre townhome-retail development at the southeast corner of Ohio 82 and Prospect Road.

Cameron-Allie Development Group LLC, led by longtime Strongsville developer Mike Catanzarite and his son Nick Catanzarite, would build more than 30 townhome buildings, each with four living units, and a single commercial building fronting the corner of Ohio 82 and Prospect.

First, however, the Catanzarites would need Strongsville residents to rezone the site from a single-family district to local business and townhome cluster districts. Under city code, any rezoning of single-family residential lots must go to the ballot.

“The luxury townhome community, known as Camden Woods, will provide residents with a housing option that doesn’t currently exist in the city,” Nick Catanzarite told cleveland.com in an email.

The Strongsville Planning Commission gave the rezoning a favorable recommendation on May 13. City Council has scheduled a June 21 public hearing, where residents can ask questions and comment on the rezoning and site plan.

The site now consists of 12 lots, all zoned for single-family homes. According to the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office website, four of the lots are vacant and eight contain homes, including three Cape Cods, two ranches, one bungalow, one colonial and one split-level.

By acreage, however, most of the land is vacant. About 20 of the 32 acres are undeveloped.

Nick Catanzarite told cleveland.com that Cameron-Allie has all the parcels under contract. To make the land deals, Cameron-Allie formed a limited liability company called Royalton Acquisition LLC, which, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, was formed in March.

Joshua Hurtuk, who, like Nick Catanzarite, is a partner with the Cleveland law firm Walter Haverfield, is listed as vice president of Royalton Acquisition.

Catanzarite said most of the eight existing homes are rentals, but he didn’t say how many if any of the homes are occupied.

On his rezoning application to the city, Catanzarite said the existing single-family zoning at Ohio 82 and Prospect is outdated and no longer viable.

“The majority of the property has sat vacant for years, with a very low tax valuation,” Catanzarite said on the application. “Rezoning of the property will allow the property to be developed into a more productive use for the community.

“By rezoning from one residential category to another, the community will not be disrupted with increased traffic typically seen in commercial developments,” Catanzarite added.

Catanzarite said his firm has not yet signed a tenant for the commercial building, which would take up 2.5 acres at the very corner of Ohio 82 and Prospect, but some businesses have expressed “strong interest” in the site.

Catanzarite told cleveland.com that Camden Woods would consist of 140 luxury townhomes, both ranch and two-story, within more than 30 buildings. The townhomes would take up about 23 acres.

About 7 acres would be preserved and used as a natural landscape buffer for the existing Sterling Point and Crystal Creek subdivisions to the south and east, respectively.

“There have been several projects proposed on this site over the years, all of which were large-scale commercial projects (including big-box and grocery stores),” Catanzarite said.

“We believe a residential community is the best use for this land, and the feedback from the community and (city) administration has been extremely positive.

“The project is compatible with the surrounding properties and will not cause the excessive noise and traffic typically experienced with commercial projects,” Catanzarite said.

Catanzarite said the townhomes would include open floor plans, tall ceilings, attached garages, high-end finishes, patios, landscaping “and a clubhouse that will be second to none, featuring a pool, fitness center, shared work space, golf simulator and other amenities.”

Cameron-Allie’s past developments in Strongsville include Westwood Commons, a restaurant-retail strip on Pearl Road just north of Ohio 82; Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream on Westwood Drive; and The Woods of Schneider Reserve, a residential subdivision off Whitney Road west of Webster Road.

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