Politics & Government

Solon Officials Saddened by L'Oreal Departure

L'Oreal is closing its factory in Solon before the end of 2013, a move that will cut 260 jobs in Solon.

In a letter to businesses sent out Friday morning, Solon's economic development manager said the city was saddened to learn would be .

"The City of Solon is very sad to see a much valued corporate citizen leave our community," writes Economic Development Manager Peggy Weil Dorfman. "We’ve enjoyed an excellent relationship with L’Oreal’s management teams for many years, and we stand ready to assist them and their employees as needed during this period of transition."

Weil Dorfman also used the letter to correct some mistakes in the media coverage of the plant's closing, including statements about a 2001 expansion of the plant falling through after the company couldn't get the project approved by the planning commission.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That was not the case, Weil Dorfman wrote:

In August, 2001, L’Oreal presented plans to the Solon Planning Commission for a major expansion.  It involved the demolition of two of their Carter Street buildings and the construction of a 222,000 sq. ft. addition to the third building.  The plan called for a lot consolidation, variances for parking and lot coverage, and off-site parking.  There were no zoning changes required.  The plan was referred to the Safety & Public Properties Committee to review pedestrian safety issues related to the off-site parking.  Based on the traffic engineer’s review, the committee determined that there would be no safety issues caused by the expansion plans.  They further recommended that the city consider installing sidewalks on Carter Street and other industrial areas in the future.   Sidewalks were subsequently installed on Carter Street and elsewhere as the budget has permitted.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The plans remained on the Planning Commission’s inactive agenda at L’Oreal’s request until  March, 2002.  At that time, L’Oreal requested that the item be removed from the agenda.  L’Oreal came back to the city in 2007 with plans to renovate their existing buildings to improve the flow of production and to create a new corporate office entrance.  Those plans were swiftly approved and the work was completed.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Solon