Mayfield Heights is betting big on turning office turf into front doors. City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to rezone nearly eight acres along Parkland Boulevard for a 61-unit townhome project, while also tying the move to a multimillion-dollar relocation grant meant to keep jobs in the city’s Corporate Park.
The package clears the way for Sommers Development Group to build attached, two-story homes with basements and a small landscaped park, and it locks in a financial incentive aimed at an incoming corporate tenant. Council members framed the twin votes as a combined housing-and-jobs play for the office-heavy district.
What the rezoning does
Ordinance 2026-12 reclassifies permanent parcel 863-20-003 from U-7 (headquarters/executive offices) to U-2A(1) planned-unit development. The May 27 meeting packet also included Resolution 2026-28, authorizing a relocation grant agreement with AmTrust North America not to exceed $2.3 million, and Resolution 2026-29, a density-variance request to allow about 7.92 units per acre. Those items appeared on the council agenda and were considered at the meeting, according to Mayfield Heights.
The plan and the numbers
Sommers Development’s preliminary plan calls for 61 attached, two-story townhomes ranging roughly 1,900 to 2,600 square feet, all with basements and access to a small landscaped park. Developer Greg Sommers said the houses are aimed at buyers who “do not want yard work” and predicted the units would sell quickly. He told Cleveland.com the homes would average in the mid-$600,000s and could generate about $105,000 to $144,000 in annual property-tax revenue for Mayfield Heights.
Some nearby residents are not thrilled. Homeowners on Woodhawk Drive submitted a letter that was read into the record, arguing that the rezoning would cost the neighborhood greenspace, worsen stormwater management, and reduce tree canopy, Cleveland.com reports. Under the city’s existing code, the site would have allowed about 36 units without the density variance.
AmTrust’s move and the city’s incentive
The housing vote ran alongside the city’s effort to keep payroll close. Resolution 2026-28 authorized a relocation grant for AmTrust North America of up to $2.3 million, part of the incentive package listed in the council packet.
Local coverage indicates AmTrust plans to lease Parkland Place, the former Progressive building at 6055 Parkland Blvd., and move a significant share of its downtown workforce into the suburban space. Those plans were described in the city agenda and in reporting by Cleveland Magazine (via NEOtrans).
Why planners are betting on housing
City officials and Sommers Development argued that new housing is a safer play than new office construction in the current climate, where downtown lease losses and shaky demand for ground-up office projects are reshaping what actually gets built. Regional market data and local coverage point to rising office vacancies and a wave of relocations and conversions that are changing where companies put workers and how cities plan new housing, according to a Cleveland office market report from Newmark.
With the zoning change and density variance approved, Sommers Development will move into final engineering, permitting and marketing. Council members say they will monitor the company’s commitments tied to the AmTrust incentive. Final site-plan approval, building permits and any required infrastructure work are the next steps before construction can begin.
