The last corner at Fifth Avenue and Center Street is slated to be the site of a new JPMorgan Chase Bank building following Chardon Planning Commission approvals Feb. 28.
The last corner at Fifth Avenue and Center Street is slated to be the site of a new JPMorgan Chase Bank building following Chardon Planning Commission approvals Feb. 28.
FMS Architects requested a concept plan and architectural review approval for the 3,810-square-foot bank on the southwest corner of the busy intersection.
FMS also applied for a variance to allow 35 parking spaces and another to allow vehicles to park closer than the 10-foot setback from the building wall.
A lot split has been approved with the parcel at 501 Fifth Avenue to consist of 1.1 acres, leaving a parcel measuring 1.1 acres beside it for future development.
Chardon Community Development Administrator Steve Yaney said the pond on the property will be filled in and stormwater retention will be underground.
The driveways to both parcels will be on Fifth Avenue, he said, with no direct access onto Center Street.
The request for 35 parking spaces –19 more than allowed in the zoning code – is needed because bank personnel will include financial advisors and mortgage service providers.
“There may be up to 16 employees in the building at any one time. They’d use up all the spaces,” he said, noting Advanced Cardiovascular on Fifth Avenue was permitted additional parking spaces.
The building is going to be much more than a drive-up window, Yaney said.
“The bank is a financial institution. There’s more going on. What they are requesting is not out of the realm of a normal request. It’s what they need to function as a business. And there is space on the site for it,” he said.
The architectural plan shows a drive-up ATM, a 24-hour vestibule with a secure ATM and a meeting space for transactions, but drawings are still in process, Yaney said.
Commission Chairman Andy Blackley noted the elevations show a building that is very modern, similar to the Starbucks coffee house on Center Street.
The commission approved the construction drawings, concept plan, architectural review and the variances, Yaney said after the meeting.
The parcel is owned by Premier Forbes LLC of Cleveland. It was purchased in 2012. Market value for the 2.21 acres is $221,000, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office website.
Yaney said groundbreaking for the bank is planned for late spring or early summer 2023.
