Work has begun to transform the former Brookfield High School property at Bedford Road and Grove Street into a Frito-Lay distribution center.
People’s Management LLP of Hubbard is developer of the project to build a 27,150-square-foot commercial structure with warehousing and office space, according to documents posted online by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
“There’s like seven to 10 semi bays coming out the back of the building,” Brookfield Trustee Dan Suttles said Feb. 21.
Township and county officials said the center will consolidate several others.
Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith said the developer “got a little ahead of themselves” in breaking ground before county officials had completed their reviews, or approved stormwater management plans.
“Everything’s not approved, yet, but it’s very close, and it’s my understanding the developer had an opportunity to haul in dirt this week, or it would be lost,” Smith said Feb. 22.
Brookway Properties of Brookfield, which bought the property from the school district for $55,500 in 2015, has sold it to People’s for $250,000, according to the county auditor’s website.
Code Enforcement Officer Pete Ross said he has assigned the site the address of 472 Bedford Road.
An email sent to Frito-Lay was not returned.
Martin Wohlgamuth of People’s Management had wanted to build the center on Bell-Wick Road in Hubbard Township, Smith said. “The roadway was an issue, the neighborhood was an issue, wetlands were an issue. It just did not seem to be a good fit.”
The center will be in operation 24 hours a day, which has caused some concern as to how it will impact the residences on Bedford and Grove, Suttles said. The site plan shows trees or other kinds of vegetation as a screen between the center and the homes.
“They seem to, at least preliminarily, want to cooperate,” Suttles said.
