Mold Remediation in North Royalton, OH

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- An unnamed developer wants to build 29 clustered single-family homes on the site of the former Albion Elementary School on Albion Road.

First, however, the developer needs the site to be rezoned from a public facilities district to a residential district.

On Tuesday night (Feb. 18), City Council is expected to refer the proposed rezoning to the Planning Commission for a recommendation.

The commission is scheduled to discuss the rezoning March 5, according to Community Development Director Tom Jordan and council President Paul Marnecheck.

Council will decide whether to approve the rezoning, under the city charter. The issue will not go to the ballot.

The residential subdivision would be called The Retreat at Albion Park. It would have a single entrance off the north side of Albion, just east of York Road.

The unnamed developer is represented by Medina attorney Phillip Helon. He is the registered agent for GreyFoxRE LLC, an Independence limited liability company the developer formed specifically to buy the Albion property.

GreyFoxRE is in the process of buying the Albion property -- about 15½ acres near the northeast corner of Albion and York -- from the North Royalton City Schools for $575,000.

In August, Helon told cleveland.com that he could not reveal the identity of his client. He didn’t return calls Monday and Tuesday seeking that same information.

In its Dec. 4 zoning change application, GreyFoxRE said the residential cluster zoning it is requesting matches the zoning of surrounding areas.

GreyFoxRE said additional housing is needed in North Royalton.

“These homes would be clustered together to create a larger portion of open space to the north of the property and would seek to preserve as many trees as possible,” GreyFoxRE said.

“We believe there will be a minimal impact on the number of additional school-aged children, as well as a minimal impact on traffic due to the size of the project,” GreyFoxRE said.

The former Albion school, plus Royal View and Valley Vista elementary schools, were replaced in fall 2021 with the new North Royalton Elementary School on State Road.

The district is using part of the Royal View building for storage. The City of North Royalton plans to convert part of that school into a senior center.

Meanwhile, the planning commission has just granted final approval to Liberty Development in Westlake to build 17 homes on the site of the former Valley Vista school.

GreyFoxRE LLC was registered as a limited liability company in Ohio on July 16, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

According to his website, Helon represents real estate developers and investors in the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing and development of property for retail, office and residential purposes.

Helon has represented, among others, hotel and resort developers, hospitality management companies, developers of large mixed-use properties and multi-family dwellings.

Helon has helped privately and publicly held companies with mergers and acquisitions and assisted entrepreneurs with capital raising and strategic planning.

This story has been updated to clarify whether council or voters will decide if the Albion property is rezoned.

Read more from the Sun Star Courier.

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NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- The North Royalton City Schools will pay a Columbus natural gas and oil company $10,000 to limit drilling on the site of the former Valley Vista Elementary School.

EOS Energy LLC has held drilling rights on the Valley Vista property since 2008, according to the Jan. 28 agreement giving EOS $10,000 to limit drilling there.

The problem is that Liberty Development Co. in Westlake is preparing to build a 17-home clustered subdivision on the 22-acre Valley View site.

The city granted the plan final approval earlier this month.

The school district sold the property to Liberty in 2022 for $435,000.

“When we looked to sell (the school property), we knew we may have to work with them (EOS) to limit where they were drilling if homes were being built,” schools Superintendent Michael Laub told cleveland.com.

“We agreed to pay EOS $10,000 to limit their drilling so it would not impact the homes,” Laub said.

The Jan. 28 agreement between the school district and EOS states that Liberty believes that oil and gas drilling would prevent the Valley Vista site from being “commercially viable.”

Laub said drilling will be prohibited near homes to ensure that EOS will not engage in horizontal drilling beneath homes.

The site of the former school, which has been demolished, is on the south side of Wallings Road just east of State Road.

Although the new residential subdivision will occupy a 22-acre site, only 35 percent of that land will contain homes. The other 65 percent will be designated as permanent open space.

The site plan shows a single street, ending in a cul-de-sac, off the south side of Wallings just east of Villa Grande Drive.

Houses will line both sides of the new street and cul-de-sac.

The individual parcels will measure between 11,000 square feet and nearly 27,000 square feet.

An existing telecommunications tower, erected in 1999, along with the working oil and gas well, will remain on the property.

Valley Vista, along with Albion and Royal View elementary schools, were replaced in 2021 by the new North Royalton Elementary School.

Read more from the Sun Star Courier.