Discount Drug Mart is still planning to tear down the former Ganley auto dealership to make way for a new 24,000-square-feet store on Detroit Avenue.

However, company officials have scrapped plans to demolish the home south of the dealership.

In a letter to residents of Grace and Cohassett avenues, Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development, said the administration wouldn’t have supported the purchase and demolition of the house at 1425 Grace Avenue. 

“The developer withdrew that item from the proposal and is revising the project plans,” Siley said. 

However, plans to demolish the multi-unit apartment building are still in the proposal. 

The city’s planning commission is set to vote on that issue — along with a request to buy 13 feet of land from the property owners at 1425 Grace Avenue — at its June 7 meeting.

Some neighbors have spoken out against the proposal.

In a May 30 letter to the editor, Mary Grodek said that neighbors feared an “encroachment” into the neighborhood.

“Although many residents are concerned about Drug Mart’s impending location across the street from Garfield Middle School, the neighborhood is NOT anti-development,” she said. “The Ganley lot is zoned for and needs a commercial tenant. Drug Mart’s plan, however, is not progress.”

Value World, a thrift store at W. 107^th Street and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, is considering a move into Drug Mart’s vacated location, according to officials.

Here’s a complete copy of Siley’s letter to residents:

Dear Neighbors- 

I wanted to touch base with the neighbors on Grace and Cohassett and provide some updated information about the project proposal and dispel some rumors currently circulating. 

I am using as a baseline distribution list the e-mails of those who attended the May 16^th Town Hall meeting at City Hall regarding this project. Please feel free to share and circulate this message as you see fit.

1425 Grace – the white house

I know there is concern about the dumpster in the driveway and that the house is being stripped of fixtures and woodwork. This is not the case. The dumpster was placed by the owners as part of their clean out of the attic, garage and basement of many years of stuff. This is a clean out and not a salvage situation. I asked one of our building inspectors to stop by the house yesterday and he was able to confirm that this was the case. We will continue to monitor the activity.

More importantly, the proposal for Discount Drugmart will no longer include a request to demolish 1425 Grace. As I explained at the May 16^th meeting, though this was proposed by the developer, the removal of the house would not meet the criteria in the code, would not have been supported by the administration and would likely never be approved by the Planning Commission (I use the word likely because I would not presume to speak for the Planning Commissioners). The developer withdrew that item from the proposal and is revising the project plans.

With this news we referred both the current owners of 1425 Grace and representatives of Discount Drug to the Cleveland Restoration Society for technical assistance so all parties clearly understand the scope, opportunities and resources that might be available for a much needed rehab of that house. We referred both parties because I am not sure at this time who will have final ownership of the 1425 Grace property – see below.

Planning Commission – June 7^th, 7:00 p.m. – City Hall Auditorium

The developer is currently revising the site plan, parking plan and building design to reflect the changes and still plans to be in front of the Planning Commission and the Architectural Board of Review in June. The project proposal dealing with land use that will be presented at the PC on June 7th will still include the apartment building at 1419 Grace and will also outline a request to include the northern 13.5 feet of the 1425 Grace lot. Attached is a graphic I received yesterday that shows this request.

I know this revised proposal still begs a number of questions.  The Planning Commission hearing will be an opportunity to ask those questions publically and on the record. I hope to see you all there on June 7^th.  As always, I am available by phone or e-mail.

I will keep you posted as updated information becomes available.

Best,

Dru