Valor Acres developer vows to resolve residents’ fears of flooding

by Melissa Martin

The developer of Valor Acres said temporary storm water controls are being installed on the 118-acre site to prevent residences along Westview Drive from flooding during heavy rainstorms.

Kevin DiGeronimo, principal for DiGeronimo Companies, told members of the Brecksville Planning Commission March 25 that the development firm is responding to storm water concerns Westway Drive residents have expressed since crews began removing more than 95 percent of the properties’ trees this spring.

Several residents met with council and the administration March 23 to report their properties are already subject to flooding from a nearby creek known for overflowing its banks during heavy or prolonged rain events. With the trees removed and drastic topographical changes to the Valor Acres site expected in the coming months, those living in the area fear a potentially devastating rainy season, not only this year but for years to come.

“Every spring I get water. I’ve learned to live with it … but with all these trees gone now, what I want to know is where all this water is going to go?” Westview Drive resident Jim Kroupa asked city officials. “It’s going to be horrible this year. There’s nothing holding back that water now. My neighbors and I are going to get hammered.”

Kroupa’s neighbor, Phil Paulsen, agreed, saying the storm water issue should have been addressed before any trees were removed.

“It’s been horrific to go from a park-like setting to nuclear wastelands behind my house,” Paulsen said. “There are structured processes to follow…I feel like this was putting the cart before the horse. They just let them take out the trees without having adequate engineering plans in place. To me, this is ludicrous.”

DiGeronimo said he received a complete list of complaints residents presented to the city verbally and in writing and said he has been working to ensure that flooding is not an issue this spring or after the Valor Acres project is complete.

“We would not be able to increase the burden on the existing storm water system even if we wanted to. It’s just not allowed,” DiGeronimo told residents. “But I am confident that [the improvements that will be made by the time the project is complete] will be a significant improvement over what you have in place today.”

A new 160,000-square-foot research and development center for Sherwin-Williams is expected to account for approximately two-thirds of the Valor Acres property, located near the intersection of Brecksville and Miller roads. Plans for the site also include more than 200 luxury apartments, townhomes and single-family residences; a 120-room boutique hotel; a 150,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district, as well as Valor Acres Memorial Park, a tribute to the former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital that formerly occupied the property.  

Construction is expected to begin in 2022, with the Sherwin-Williams research center expected to open in 2024.

Brecksville Mayor Jack Hruby said the city and the developer are working with state officials to improve storm water controls throughout the Valor Acres site. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been and will remain involved in the project, as federally protected wetlands are located on the property.

Hruby said permanent storm water mitigation plans are still being designed. He said engineers are considering the possibility of rerouting the creek, which would carry the same volume of water but spread it over a greater area. Before the project is approved and construction can begin, all storm water plans have to be finalized and approved at several levels.

In the interim, DiGeronimo said temporary modifications to slow rain water were expected to be added to the site in early April. He said diversion plans called for routing the water to sediment ponds containing skimmers that collect sediment from the site before the water continues to flow through its natural watercourse.

“All of these measures are temporary and will be in place before any of the ground is ever considered disturbed,” DiGeronimo said. ∞