Crews to start to clear path for health center at Starlite Plaza

The Lathrop Co. is to be the construction manager for the three-story, 230,000-square-foot health center set to open in late 2015.

THE BLADE
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The Starlite Plaza in Sylvania will soon be demolished.

Demolition will begin soon at the Starlite Plaza shopping center in Sylvania, making room for a new ProMedica Health and Wellness Center.

The Lathrop Co. has been chosen as the construction manager for the project at 5700 Monroe Street.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for July 16.

The ProMedica facility will be on the site of the former Churchill’s supermarket, which was built in 1971. It later became a Farmer Jack, and then a Bassett’s Market. It has been vacant since 2007.

Two buildings on the east side of Starlite, a restaurant occupied by Ralphie’s Sports and Drink Eatery, and a retail building occupied by Dave’s Performance Footgear and the Buckeye Store and More, will remain. An older retail building that abuts Dave’s will be demolished.

Also scheduled to be demolished are a 60,000-square-foot strip center on the west side of Starlite Plaza and a 37,000-square-foot strip center behind the former grocery store.

One of the few tenants left in the parts of the complex that is scheduled to be demolished is Sewing and Vacuum Express. The company previously said it had a two-year lease and had no plans to leave.

On Wednesday, Linda Schweer, one of the owners, said they were studying their options. She said they were “putting some numbers together” to present to ProMedica.

She said Sewing and Vacuum Express had been in Starlite Plaza for 14 years.

ProMedica bought Starlite Plaza last June for $7 million from Brixmor Property Group of New York, a company owned by Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI LP of New York.

The health-care company plans to build a three-story, 230,000-square-foot facility that will combine a variety of medical services, including family practice physicians, specialty medical practices, outpatient medical services, diagnostic services, and wellness education.

Sylvania officials approved the architectural and site plans for the $45 million project on June 11.

ProMedica says the facility will open in late 2015.