JACKSON TWP. − Lakefront property for sale — in the heart of Belden Village?
Nuh-uh.
Yeah, huh!
Largely shielded from view, the site lies within a rectangle bordered by Dressler Road and Higbee Avenue NW, between Belden Village and Munson streets NW. It’s behind the Verizon store, Olive Garden and some strip plazas along the east side of Dressler.
It’s 24 acres in all, with the lake covering eight of those acres.
“It’s kind of hidden back there,” said Dan Spring of NAI Spring, which recently listed the property for sale.
The asking price: $450,000.
That may sound too good to be true for such a prime location in Stark County’s preeminent commercial shopping mecca. After all, location is supposed to be the three most important things in real estate, right?
There’s a reason it’s available for pennies on the dollar when compared to any other tract of that size. The mostly wooded 16 acres of land is quite wet, with only a small area suitable for building.
“Maybe only about two and half acres,” said the Rev. Robert Tauscher, chairman of the board for the St. Luke Foundation, which has owned the property for years.
The land and lake, he said, were originally donated to the foundation. It was zoned for business use, but they got it altered to residential nearly two decades ago.
Tauscher said St. Luke tried every which way to develop the site, but nothing made financial sense.
He said the timing is right to sell the Belden property. The foundation recently shed senior living and nursing communities in North Canton and Portage Lakes, but retained one in Minerva.
Selling the senior facilities, Tauscher said, was painful but necessary, adding that ensuring the welfare of residents and staff was the foundation’s priority during its decision-making.
“We were losing $400,000 a month,” he said.
The 24 acres of Belden property is accessible from Dressler Road. A 60-foot-wide access drive to the site lies between the Verizon store and former Golden Corral restaurant.
“We certainly have priced it to sell,” Spring said.
He acknowledged that any development will be challenging. However, he said the layout and location offer lots of possibilities, especially for someone seeking a bit of seclusion.
A flyer marketing the site notes it could be ideal for retail, hospitality, senior living, office, medical, apartments or mixed use.
“It’s literally in the heart of it all,” Spring said.
Ironically, a 120-unit assisted living facility is under construction adjacent to the southern edge of the lake, at Munson and Higbee. That project, dubbed Silver Birch of Canton, was put in motion by Vermilion Development of Chicago, and is to be complete early next year.
Tauscher said there were plenty of ideas for the 24 acres over the years.
“At one point, we even thought of a wildlife preserve,” he said.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Meyers Lake or Lake Cable, meh. How about lakefront Belden Village?
Reporting by Tim Botos, Canton Repository / The Repository
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