EDITOR’S NOTE: Our countdown of the Top 10 Stories of 2019 continues with story No. 6, as selected by the newsroom staff of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.

LORDSTOWN– Construction is underway at the new TJX HomeGoods site, and officials expect to have people working there by the end of summer.

“Right now, they (the construction workers) are trying to get as much as they can done before winter,” said Lordstown Mayor Arno Hill. “That way, as long as they’re inside, they can work all winter on things like electric. So let’s pray for a light winter to get this project done.”

The goal is that at least part of the 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center will be in use by the end of summer.

Ohio Sen. Sean O’Brien, D-Bazetta, agrees with Hill on the summer timeline as “all hands are on deck” to complete the exterior of the facility.

According to O’Brien, John Ricciuti, president of HomeGoods and Homesense, divisions of The TJX Companies, Inc. is pleased with the progress as well.

“He’s happy with how it’s moving and it is. It’s going well and it’s coming along quickly,” O’Brien said. “The contracts for items such as the conveyor belts are done so once the building is done and they get inside, things will move quickly.”

The project had a very slow start. TJX Companies Inc. announced in March 2018 that it planned to build a distribution facility in the village. In June of that year, village council voted 3-2 to change the zoning designation on seven parcels totaling 290 acres from residential to industrial to make way for the 1.2-million-square-foot, $170 million distribution center at Hallock Young and Ellsworth Bailey roads.

A group opposed to the zoning changes, Lordstown Concerned Residents, gathered enough signtatures to place a referendum on a special election ballot Aug. 21, 2018. Approximately 76 percent of residents voted to approve the zone changes, but the opposition group filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent the changes from being implemented, citing two sections of House Bill 292 they said were written specifically to allow the vote to happen.

One councilman, Ronald Radtka, did not participate in the discussions or vote on the zoning changes because his family’s limited liability corporation, DBR LLC, and the councilman himself, were selling portions of their properties to TJX Companies Inc.

Without Radtka being able to participate, zone change opponents said the council vote could not have taken place without the legislative changes created as part of HB 292. They argued the two sections of HB 292 were unconstitutional because the language about voting had nothing to do with a bill discussing financial matters, and the issue was so narrowly written to what was happening in the village, it could not be applied to other areas of the state.

Opponents argued there was no need to change the zoning of the residential property, because there was sufficient property in the village that already is zoned industrial.

The company pulled its plans to build in Lordstown because of the zoning controversy, but company officials later changed their mind and the project got back on track. The early part of 2019 saw the aprroval of rerouting a portion of Hallock Young Road to allow a through road, a 10-year, 75 percent property tax abatement and the conditional site plan leading up to construction beginning in October.

The TJX HomeGoods facility is expected to employ more than 1,000 local workers, and officials believe that more people will be drawn to this area. O’Brien expects that with more people working, the area will have a bigger tax base, more people will go out to eat at local restaurants and it will create a cycle of bringing and keeping money in Lordstown.

“This (TJX HomeGoods) will have a direct impact on local businesses and is a good investment for Lordstown moving forward,” said O’Brien. “It sends the message that this area is open for business.”

“Our people need work and as this economy grows, we look forward to having our people working here in Lordstown,” said Hill. “This is a big boon for our local economy.”

bshiller@tribtoday.com