Meijer buys land in Boardman, gas station possible

BOARDMAN TWP., Ohio - Meijer may be bringing its gas station to Boardman after all.
The grocery store chain has secured some land on Route 224 near Parkside Drive, just east of the Mill Creek Golf Course.
The land is the former site of the Clark gas station, but for some, it's now become an eyesore for the township.
Boardman Township officials confirmed to 21 News Thursday that Meijer has just closed a deal on the land, but it's unclear at this time what Meijer wants to do with the property.
If a gas station does get approved, the process to put it there could take some time.
"So they would literally come in and have to prep a site plan and ask for a permit, and as long as they met the requirements within the code, they can get a permit to start construction," said Boardman Township Administrator. "It just depends on how quickly they're ready to go. It could be six months to a year."
21 News checked with Meijer officials, who won't give any more details on plans for the site.
"At this time, we don't have any specific plans or timeline for that site," said Frank Guglielmi, Senior Director of Communications for Meijer.
Last year, Meijer wanted another location on Tippecanoe to build a gas station, but it was denied after strong opposition from people living near the site.
They said they were worried about flooding and property values.
Township zoning ultimately denied the request to change that zoning to commercial.
"A lot of the neighbors didn't wanna see that corner developed," said Loree. "They thought that change to commercial would be too much, and the elected officials in Boardman also agreed that would be too much, and they denied that zone change."
Boardman Township officials are now hoping that the new property will better serve the community.
"For people who still wanna come and build and do things in our community, whether it be at a gas station or, you know, something as big as what's going on at the mall, that's a positive sign," said Loree.