Developer seeks zoning change to build low-income apartments on Dorr Street

A developer is seeking a zoning change at Dorr Street and Smead Avenue to construct a multiuse building that would include low-income apartments and small commercial shops.

The 1.74-acre property at 1457 Dorr St. was once home to the St. Teresa parish and school. Two vacant buildings and a parking lot remain on the site.

The applicant, Jim Jackson of JJ Holdings of Ohio LLC, is requesting the zoning change from CO office commercial to CM mixed commercial residential to redevelop the site for a mixed-use project that will include affordable multifamily housing and a health clinic, pharmacy, and other appropriate services on the ground floor for residents, the senior population, and the broader community.

Preliminary development plans call for a 48,000-square-foot building with a ground floor of approximately 12,000 square feet for commercial uses and three floors above with apartments consisting of one and two-bedroom units.

Mr. Jackson’s mother is from the neighborhood, said James House, a representative of Mr. Jackson who appeared before the Toledo Plan Commission last week seeking the zoning change.

“So Mr. Jackson’s desire to revitalize and be part of that neighborhood again is behind this project.”

Future development across the street off Woodland Avenue would include a grocery store and a four-story, 43,000-square-foot, 54-unit apartment building with 110 parking spaces.

The staff of the plan commission recommended approval of the zoning change because it is consistent with the Dorr Street Corridor Vision Plan and it is compatible with the existing land uses in the general vicinity of the property.

The property is located southeast of the intersection of Dorr Street and Smead Avenue. Surrounding land uses include single-family homes and duplexes to the north across Dorr Street, a bank and single-family homes to the east, single-family homes to the south across Woodland Avenue, and a post office and single-family homes to the west across Smead Avenue.

Recommendations in the plan include:

● Promoting walkability with pedestrian-friendly street design, including buildings close to the street with hidden parking lots.

● Celebrating diversity by requiring a mix of shops, office, apartments, and homes on site and mixed-use neighborhoods within blocks and within buildings as a critical component of achieving better places to live.

● Creating a range of housing opportunities and choices by varying housing densities and encouraging mixed use where residential can be developed on the upper stories above commercial uses.

The Rev. Donald Perryman, pastor of Center of Hope CBC located across the street from the site and president of United Pastors for Social Empowerment, raised concerns about the project in a letter to the plan commission.

He stated his “strong opposition” to the proposed zoning change because it could have a negative impact on the community.

Previously, Center of Hope Church and the United Pastors for Social Empowerment successfully opposed a similar zoning change for a Family Dollar store at the same site.

“As classified by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, these stores are predatory retailers that prey on vulnerable low-income and black and brown neighborhoods,” the Rev. Perryman stated in the letter about Family Dollar.

He was particularly concerned about plans calling for a pharmacy on the first floor of the proposed apartment building.

“We are deeply concerned about this project’s viability and true intentions,” he stated. “Chain pharmacies such as Rite Aid and Walgreens are closing rapidly in Toledo. Researchers have observed that predatory retailers frequently open new locations in vacated pharmacies, raising red flags about this property’s ultimate use.”

He urged the plan commission to withhold approval of the zoning change until comprehensive information directly addresses his concerns.

He wants clear, transparent, and detailed information about the viability and long-term plans for the project before he can support it, he said.

The plan commission deferred voting on the matter so that a neighborhood meeting could be scheduled with the developer to address community concerns about the project.