Portage Crossing Update: Development Director 'Optimistic' About Project

A Cuyahoga Falls official confirmed Thursday that developer Stark Enterprises is still close to finalizing a set of deals that would bring a 10-screen Cinemark movie theatre to the proposed Portage Crossing site, a Menards to Graham Road and a new Get-Go to Portage Trail and State Road.

In a Jan. 31 email to Patch, Cuyahoga Falls Development Director Sue Truby said the deal could be finalized any day now and is "optimistic" about the project. 

Original plans for Menards and Giant Eagle to anchor Portage Crossing were sidetracked in November after Stark was unable to clear room for the proposed 240,000-square-foot, two-story home improvement store when the owner of a nearby Pizza Hut refused to sell his land. 

New plans under discussion may lead to the demolition of the Graham Road Giant Eagle to make room for a scaled-back, one-story Menards store. 

Under this scenario, a Giant Eagle would then be constructed at Portage Crossing and the Graham Road Get-Go station would be moved to the corner of State and Portage Roads where a Marathon station now stands.

However, if Menards is built at the Graham Road location, the tax money it generates would go to the Woodridge Local Schools, not the Cuyahoga Falls City Schools. 

Michael Symon’s B Spot Restaurant, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt remain in the Portage Crossing project, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.