Right on Target
Meeting aesthetic, functional, cost requirements presents strategic challenges at North Olmsted lifestyle center

By Lou Kren

North Olmsted Towne Centre, a mixed-use development anchored by retail giant Target, occupies a golden spot in the western suburbs of Cleveland. Strategically located on the northeast corner of Great Northern Boulevard and Brookpark Road and across the street from Wal-Mart and Great Northern Mall, it resides within an area boasting hundreds of millions of dollars of local commerce annually.

The design-build project is the brainchild of Carnegie Management and Development Corp., of Westlake, with the services of architect ThenDesign Architecture Inc., of Willoughby, and general contractor Moran Construction, of Strongsville. Construction has been completed on three of the four planned buildings in the 386,000-square-foot development, including 249,000 square feet of street-front retail and 72,000 square feet of second-floor office space. The Target store, a prototype design model, features millions of dollars in upgrades over a typical Target retail location. Preleasing has brought in other tenants such as David's Bridal, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, Men's Wearhouse, G&G Fitness, Pearle Vision, Inkstop, Allcare Dental, Jimmy Johns Subs, Moe's Southwest Grill, Fatburger and Fuji Oichii Japanese Steakhouse.  

The design concept and architectural elements encompass a contemporary mixed-use aesthetic with the functionality of a power shopping center. It is designed as a lifestyle center with interactive, complementary use to increase retail business, and provide office users options to dine and shop. This theme is followed throughout the other retail/office buildings within the development.

Gives big box a small-town feel

Actually, the development, despite its massive size, exudes a small-town feel. This one is no big-box property.

"This development is consistent with an urban look of multiple buildings making up the different storefronts," says Robert Berryhill of Carnegie. "We carried that through to the miscellaneous retail. We interjected different facades to provide that old urban feel with streetscaping and nice public amenities."

The effect is a look that breaks up what normally would be a huge mass. In fact, that idea is what allowed the project to be approved. The site originally was zoned for a residential development and the previous property owner decided to pursue retail on the site, then sought to place office space.

"The site had been contested ever since," says Berryhill, noting that the case made it all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court where in 2004 the court ruled for the developers.

"After the ruling, we acquired the property," he adds. "The city had a vision for the site as did the neighbors. On our end, Target was the main tenant we wanted to bring in. And Target wanted to be in that location. It had been trying to get into North Olmsted since 1995 but was unable to find a site that made sense."

Worked extensively with city, community

Carnegie understood what the city and neighbors envisioned for the site and sought to respect their wishes, yet create a project that would be functional, effective and successful.

"The neighbors wanted a quality development as did the city, but each had different ideas on what should be developed, where it should be placed and what should be the key design elements, so we reached out and tried to respond within reason to each party while maintaining a functional design," Berryhill says. "The city had a big-box ordinance and in discussions with city officials I uncovered why they were hesitant: the sheer massing of all of the walls would make it look like a big box. We explained that we could create a structure that would provide multiple facades, like a downtown environment where multiple buildings are placed together, and then allow the inside to be whatever it wants to be."

To read the rest of this article, download the April issue of Properties Magazine now. [April 2008; download PDF; 6.4 mb]