A four-story building with 45 apartments and more than 14,000 square feet of shops and restaurants is about to rise on a stretch of Mentor Avenue that has sat vacant for years. Developer Uptown Mentor LLC will break ground at 8677 Mentor Ave. on September 25, clearing the way for demolition of the long-empty structures that have lined the Old Village commercial corridor.
The $10 million-plus project, first detailed by Cleveland.com, will bring together properties along Mentor Avenue into a redevelopment site. The land includes the former Mentor Hardware site. The city of Mentor declared the project properties blighted in February 2025, a designation that allowed the use of tax-increment financing to help fund the redevelopment, per Cleveland.com's report.
Real estate attorney Alison Sikora is associated with the project, which is working in partnership with Cleveland-based general contractor Geis Companies, according to the Mentor Board of Education. Geis Companies is involved in the project. The developer has pledged at least $10 million in private investment, not including property acquisition costs, and no tenants have been confirmed yet for the commercial space, per the same account.
Years of Environmental Cleanup Preceded Construction
Getting the site ready for vertical construction took years and state help. Brownfield remediation has been part of the site's preparation.
The soon-to-be-demolished buildings will make way for the four-story structure, which will hold 15 apartment units on each of its upper three floors. All 45 units are planned as market-rate housing, and the ground floor is expected to include more than 14,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and other commercial space. City officials have said the development may eventually include restaurants, cafes, a brewery, bakeries, shops and offices, along with an open lawn along Mentor Avenue for outdoor dining and community events, per Cleveland.com's reporting.
School Board Renegotiated Financing Before Council Signed Off
Mentor City Council approved a 30-year tax-increment financing agreement for the project, following prior related agreements the council approved in 2020, 2023 and 2025. Under the arrangement, some property tax revenue that would otherwise go to Mentor Schools will instead be redirected to help pay for the project, with the agreement set to begin in 2028. Mentor Schools is scheduled to receive $680,000 during the first 20 years of the agreement — a combination of $260,000 in developer payments and $420,000 from city income and payroll taxes generated by commercial tenants — plus half of the property tax revenue it otherwise would have collected during the final 10 years, according to Cleveland.com's account of the deal.
That revenue split followed a push from the school board. The Mentor Board of Education approved a tax abatement for the project, according to the report.
Mentor City Manager Kenneth J. Filipiak said the project is exciting after a long development process, according to Cleveland.com's reporting. City officials said no major approvals remain before work can begin. Mentor's economic development director, Kevin Malecek, has cautioned that the agreement's actual revenue has no firm estimate because the Lake County auditor determines the property's value annually, per the outlet's report.
How Tax-Increment Financing Pays for the Project
For Uptown Mentor, TIF funds can be used for demolition, site preparation, utilities, sidewalks, parking, landscaping and other improvements — features the development is expected to include alongside its walkability-focused design, as Hoodline previously reported.
The mixed-use project is expected to add commercial space upon completion. Mentor is a municipality in Lake County.
Whether renters can comfortably afford new market-rate units remains an open question locally. The broader housing market is another consideration.
