City land sale nets $300,000: Auction proceeds could fund road extension at Highland, Route 91 Auction proceeds could fund road extension at Highland, Route 91

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by Emily Canning-Dean and Andrew Schunk

Reporter and Editor

Twinsburg -- The sale of some city-owned land means Twinsburg will have a "good source of revenue" for a road extension project, officials say.

Council voted 5-0 at a special meeting Aug. 29 to sell 5 acres of land on Route 91 near Highland Road to Dean Ganzhorn of Mustang Dynamometer for $314,580. Councilors William Hon and Bill Furey were absent. Mustang Dynamometer, 2300 Pinnacle Pkwy., manufactures testing systems for automotive manufacturers.

The land was sold by auction Aug. 26, with five total bids. After the auctioneer's commission, the city took home $294,000 for the sale of 4.9 of the city's 6-acre parcel, at a price of $60,000 per acre.

Officials said the money will be used to help fund a proposed 500-foot extension of Highland Road. Director of Planning and Community Development Larry Finch said the extension would abut the GE Energy plant property to the south creating another path to Darrow Road for workers trying to exit the plant's parking lot, among other benefits, he said.

Finch estimated the project would cost $400,000 with utility installation adding $50,000. He said the state is offering to pay $150,000.

"This will be a good source of revenue for this project," Mayor Katherine Procop said Aug. 29 of the land sale.

Ward 1 Councilor Sam Scaffide agreed.

"It is a good move," he said. "We could have held on to the land, but the Highland Road extension is something we need right now."

Last May, voters approved the rezoning of 5.8 acres of the land from public facility to Industrial I-3.

The city purchased the 5.8 acres from GE Reuter-Stokes about seven years ago for $350,000.

It was purchased with the intention of building a satellite fire station, but the station was built on Glenwood Drive last year instead.

Scaffide said he has not heard of any details from Mustang Dynamometer about how they plan to use the land. Ganzhorn did not return calls for comment.

E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172