Lorain denies rezoning of former grocery store

LORAIN — The former Apples grocery store on Meister Road will not be home to a self-storage facility. The city's Planning Commission denied property owner Kossman Development Co.'s request to rezone a parcel in central Lorain from business to light industrial to allow Defender Self-Storage to expand into the store's nearly 50,000-square-foot property. Mayor Jack Bradley abstained from the vote because his wife has a stake in a different storage unit business. The vote came after members of the public, City Council and the commission spoke against the project and its potential for spot zoning in a largely residential neighborhood. Defender Self-Storage opened in June 2020, prior to the city updating its zoning code to require self-storage facilities be located in light industrial zones. When the Apples grocery store closed last fall, Kossman Development Co. attempted to find another grocer or retail chain for the space with little success, said Steve Weisbrod, senior vice president of real estate and operations. Kossman Development Co. has owned the Meister Road strip mall since the early 1960s, and in that time has seen myriad tenants come and go — with Apples being the most recent departure. The Apples operated in the plaza for about 20 years, replacing a Rini Regos, which was bought out by Giant Eagle. A CVS and an AJWright, then a Marshalls, also operated in the strip, Weisbrod said, but left in 2009 and 2013, respectively. Both spaces stayed vacant for six to 10 years. He addressed previous comments made criticizing Kossman Development's maintenance, noting the Pittsburgh-based company put a new roof on the Apples store, replaced lighting, paved the parking lot, maintained the HVAC system and invested in the Defender Self-Storage conversion in 2020. Ultimately, Apples closed because it was "uneconomic" for it to continue, he said, and trying to find another grocery store has proven difficult. Planning Commission member Brandon Wysocki said he has heard a unanimous sentiment from nearby residents and nearby high school students alike against rezoning the lot to make way for the self-storage expansion. Safety/Service Director Rey Carrion said the community is emotionally tied to the need for a grocery store, but that the proposed rezoning change was a decision the commission must look at based on facts and data, not feelings. His concern was what rezoning the lot to light industrial could bring if the self-storage facility left. Lorain's light-industrial zoning allows breweries, appliance repair shops, machine shops and pest control services, among other uses. Carrion expressed concern that the area could not only see economic decline, but environmental changes from light-industrial uses for "years to come," if the rezoning moved forward. Longtime Planning Commission member Henry Patterson said it is not the group's role to pick the winners and losers in business, but said he found it difficult to support a light-industrial zoning in an ocean of homes and small apartment buildings. The only way the self-storage facility can expand is to rezone the lot to light industrial. Resident Joseph Vaughn was glad to see members of the commission take the impact of the change on residents into consideration, and felt property values would "take a nose dive" with the zoning change. Turning to Weisbrod, he said, "I wish you luck, but I wish the homeowners more luck." Similarly, Council members Victoria Kempton, D-2nd Ward, and Mary Springowski, D-at Large, spoke against the matter and Pam Carter, D-3rd Ward, submitted correspondence requesting a moratorium on additional self-storage units in the city. After the zoning request was denied, Weisbrod said the only option Kossman Development has is to continue to market the property to other tenants, and hoped the city would assist in trying to find another retail store to fill the vacant space. Lorain contracted with Alabama-based Retail Strategies in 2024 for training on how to bring a grocery store or pharmacy to underserved and low-income communities. Despite those efforts, much of the city's new retail has located closer to the Amherst border than central Lorain. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.