By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Menard Inc. is coming to Bowling Green, and bringing 125 to 250 jobs – some full, some part-time.
Three waivers were approved for the company Wednesday evening by the Bowling Green Planning Commission. The company is planning a 207,893 square foot building on the south end of the city – just south of Walmart and across South Main Street from Home Depot.
Thomas O’Neil, who works on real estate acquisitions for Menard Inc., attended Wednesday’s meeting to explain the company’s requests.
The first waiver involved parking spaces. A typical Menard store has about 400 parking spaces. However, the city standards require 693 based on the size of the store.
While other large retailers build vast parking lots to meet the Christmas rush, Christmas is not Menard’s peak sales period, O’Neil stated in the request.
“Menard Inc.’s busy season is actually two seasons, spring and summer, during which time we have a steady stream of customers, and not a single spike as other retailers enjoy at Christmas,” O’Neil wrote.
Menard does not generate the same type of high traffic volumes as general retailers, like Wal-Mart or Meijer, he said. The total floor area at Menard includes large display and warehousing areas, plus larger aisles for maneuvering bulky items.
“These features contribute to the large building square footage and make building size a poor indicator of parking needs,” O’Neil stated.
A second waiver was requested for the landscaping and long-length island requirement. O’Neil asked that the landscaped islands be at the end of the parking rows. End islands, rather than length-wise islands, work better for the many customers driving larger pickup trucks with trailers.
“Parking lot maneuverability will be aided significantly by the approval of the waiver request,” O’Neil stated.
However, at Wednesday’s meeting O’Neil said the company is willing to plant trees surrounding the parking lot, plus additional trees around the retention pond, along the drive to the lumberyard, and along South Main Street.
So in total, O’Neil committed to 66 trees being planted on the site. The trees will be based on the city arborist’s specifications.
Bowling Green Planning Director Heather Sayler and planning commission members stressed the need for trees to improve the aesthetics of the city.
Planning Commission Chairman Jeff Betts explained that three different consulting firms over the past six years have stressed the need for Bowling Green to make itself more visually appealing – with trees being one of the needed features.
The third waiver involves the detention pond setback at the side property line. Grading for the pond begins 10 feet from the side property line.
Variances from three city sign regulations had already been granted. Menard officials requested a 40-foot sign along South Main Street that exceeds the city’s maximum height of 25 feet. Store officials were also granted a variance to the city ordinance that allows up to three signs on the exterior of the building.
During the public comment period of Wednesday’s meeting, Doug Zink, from the carpenters union in Rossford, expressed some concerns.
Zink said several “box stores” in the region have been using contractors from outside the area, some who employ undocumented workers that follow them from site to site.
“We don’t have a bad relationship with Menards,” but just overall concerns about recent trends in box store construction, Zink said.
Zink told the planning commission that many of the carpenter union members reside in Bowling Green.
After the meeting, O’Neil said he was unsure when Menard Inc. plans to break ground for the new store.
