'When's the Acme coming?' New Acme planned in Medina 18 years after land purchase
The city of Medina has approved plans for a more than 56,000-square-foot Acme Fresh Market grocery-pharmacy at the corner of state Route 3 and High Point Drive.
The Albrecht family owns Akron-based Acme and Albrecht Inc., the commercial real estate business behind the project.
Albrecht Inc. has owned land at that corner since 2006.
The developer and city have gone through various paperwork and some revisions since the city planning commission approved the site plan Jan. 11, said Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell.
Hanwell said the city and its residents are eager for the store to open, adding that “when we have resident meetings, ward meetings, with our residents at city council, the question is, ‘When’s the Acme coming?’”
The project will break ground in the spring, Hanwell said.
“We just don't have a precise date yet,” he added.
Katie Swartz, Acme’s vice president of marketing, emailed the following statement to the Beacon Journal: “As Northeast Ohio’s local, family-owned grocery store, Acme Fresh Market is excited to bring our traditions of low prices, friendly associates, and fast checkout to Medina! We are enthusiastically working to create a world class layout and design for a Medina Acme Fresh Market.”
Albrecht Inc. has already invested in infrastructure and improvements to the street intersection, Hanwell said.
Medina Acme will be first phase of South Court Village
Joe Albrecht, president of Albrecht Inc., told the Beacon Journal via email that the Acme adjacent construction to follow will comprise a retail development called South Court Village.
“Future development phases will consist of approximately 40,000 square feet of junior anchor space, small shop space, and out lot buildings,” Albrecht said. “South Court Village will be a great addition to the neighborhood, and we are excited to get started.”
Medina fits in the history of Acme, which F.W. Albrecht founded in 1891, Albrecht shared.
“Acme, in fact, had a location in Medina’s Historic Square in the early 1900’s,” he wrote. “It’s exciting to be bringing them back to Medina!”
Entrances and exits still need finalized
First, Hanwell said, city officials will meet with Albrecht Inc., the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and state legislators in early April to discuss whether access will be provided to and from the grocery store directly from the state route. That street, also known as Wooster Pike, is in Montville Township and under ODOT jurisdiction, he said.
So far, the city has approved three driveways for the Acme store — a main drive, one for deliveries and another for the pharmacy, Hanwell said.
“But we still feel that with the size of the investment and Acme being the anchor store, that it makes sense to have a driveway on state Route 3,” he said.
Acme filling local grocery needs, mayor says
Since the 2016 closure of Geyer Hawkins Market at 233 Lafayette Road, which is now a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, there has been a lack of grocery options in the immediate area, Hanwell said.
“And of course, just south of the city, Montville Township and Lafayette Township around us are just selling farms and building houses left and right, which just increases, then, the need for something at this location,” he said.
Hanwell said the city of Medina has a positive relationship with the Albrecht family.
He said he also values that Acme is based just one county over and that he has enjoyed trips to the grocery chain’s Montrose location.
“They're clean, they're well-run, the customers are treated very politely and professionally,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: New Acme Fresh Market coming to state Route 3 in Medina
