Nestle Alters Parking, Landscaping Plans For New R&D Facility

Nestle has altered its plans for its new research and development facility in Solon to reduce the number of parking spaces at the facility and alter the landscaping.

The changes, which were approved by the Solon Planning Commission and Solon City Council, were made to keep intact as much of the surrounding wetlands as possible. The changes were made after Nestle met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The company plans to eliminate 95 proposed parking spaces to shrink the parking lot away from Cannon Road. Landscaping on the Hawthorne Parkway side of the site were altered to help preserve more wetlands and the Metroparks have signed off on the changes, according to city planning documents.

Nestle hopes to have its new research and design facility in Solon on Cannon Road near Harper Road by the end of 2015.

Nestle expects to start construction later this year.

The research facility is expected to both create new jobs and retain existing ones in Solon. The company expects there to be 116 employees in the facility, with 41 new jobs added to the 75 existing jobs. The company plans to bring 28 new jobs in the first year of the building's life.

City Council has rewarded Nestle for its roughly $50 million total investment by awarding the company a tax exemption for the property improvements. The exemption would begin after the facility is complete and end by the end of 2020.

In August 2011, Nestle USA announced that it wanted to build a new research and design facility in Solon to expand its frozen food business. At the time, the company said the new facility would add 40 to 60 new jobs.

But the 18-acre parcel where the company wanted to build its facility was zoned residential, so the company decided to seek a rezoning by ballot in November.

While some residents opposed the rezoning, even forming a group to protest turning residential land into an industrial zone, the rezoning won easily at the polls.