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JACKSON TWP.

EVOLUTION OF
EXCELLENCE
REPOSITORY SCOTT HECKEL
n Jamie Gonzalez shops at Chapel Hill Sports inside Belden Village Mall
with her children Gazzlyn and Hadlee Gonzalez.

STARK
COUNTYS
RETAIL HUB
By Edd Pritchard Years of success
Repository staff writer
Belden Village has been

A
fter 19 years,
George Hardesty
and his wife Lori
Norcia Hard-
esty saw the chance to
open a second location for
their sports memorabilia
business.
The couple leapt at the
chance to open a Chapel Hill
Sports store named for the
mall on Akron's north side
at Belden Village Mall.
"It's a great opportunity.
a producing market since
it opened in time for the
holiday shopping season in
1970.
GATEHOUSE OHIO MEDIA GLENN B. DETTMAN
Cleveland-based Jacobs- n Members of the Jackson Local Schools Class of 2015 wait to hear their names called during commencement. The Jackson Local School Dis-
Visconsi-Jacobs developed
trict ranks in the top 3 percent of all public schools in the country, by U.S. News & World Report, based on student performance.
the property, which had
been a gravel pit. Being
close to Interstate 77 made From humble, one-room beginnings, Jackson Local School
the spot perfect.
Jacobs held the property District has transformed into one of the best in Midwest
until 2002 when Belden
Village was packaged with
BY Kelli Young student performance on a math teacher in 1967. Larson said. That didnt
eight other malls includ-
Repository staff writer college-level exams. The As the community change the expectations, it

We're very excited," Lori
said as customers browsed
merchandise.
Walls are lined with auto-
graphed football jerseys,
photographs and other
memorabilia. Although
she's a life-long Cleveland
Browns fan, Lori grudgingly
admires the store's collec-
tion of Pittsburgh Steelers
jerseys. There's plenty of
stuff from the Browns, Ohio
State Buckeyes and other
teams.
Location was the pri-
mary reason the Hardestys
opened in the Belden Village
Mall. Being 25 miles closer
to the Pro Football Hall of
Fame is nice, and it might
draw some customers, but
being in a regional mall
that draws from multiple
counties makes the move
worthwhile.
Belden Village's status as
a regional shopping mecca is
a big attraction for national
retailers.
For several years, the mall
has averaged about five mil-
lion annual visitors, said
Gina Bannevich, marketing
director. Those numbers
make it relatively easy for
the mall to keep storefronts
full. When a space becomes
vacant, national retailers
begin angling for a chance
to be the next tenant.
"National retailers know
it's a producing market,"
Bannevich said.
ing three in Ohio and
sold to Westfield for $756
million. The Australian
company rebranded the
mall and expressed an
interest in expanding the
center into a "hy-style"
format that would include
additional entertainment,
restaurants and shopping.
The plans fizzled during the
economic collapse of 2008.
Meanwhile, Westfield
began focusing on larger
and newer properties. The
company opted to sell off
a number of its regional
malls. In September 2013,
it sold Belden Village and
six other malls to Starwood
Capital Group for $1.64 bil-
lion. Westfield did retain a
10-percent interest in the
property.
Barry Sternlicht formed
Starwood Capital Group in
1991 and developed it into
a global real estate invest-
ment company. It is best
known for hotel operations
and, according to the com-
pany's website, owns 2,250
hotels around the world.
Three years ago, Stern-
licht decided to team with
Scott A. Wolstein, who had
led Developers Diversified
Realty, a Cleveland com-
pany, to create Starwood
Capital Group. That opera-
tion now owns 28 properties
around the country.
SEE RETAIL, H3
J
ackson Local Schools
has been recognized
as an academic pow-
erhouse ever since the
state started comparing
school test scores 25 years
ago.
Test scores released
in 1990 the first time
the Ohio Department of
Education released com-
parative data on all 612
Ohio school districts
indicate Jackson was not
only the highest perform-
ing school district in
Stark County, but it also
far exceeded the average
performance of its peer
districts in the state.
The 1990 results show
that 91.2 percent of Jackson
fourth-graders performed
at or above their grade level
on the reading standard-
ized test. No other Stark
County school reached a
90-percentage passage
rate in any category.
Jacksons academic
accomplishments are
now recognized nation-
ally. U.S. News & World
Report ranked Jackson
High School among the
top 3 percent of the 29,070
high schools it surveyed
in the country, based on
Jacksons student per-
formance on state tests,
student participation
in advanced placement
and international bac-
calaureate programs, and
high school and Lake Cable
Elementary also have been
nationally recognized as
Blue Ribbon schools, an
honor that shows both
excellence and growth in
academic achievement.
How it started
Soon after Jacksons first
one-room schoolhouse
was built in 1816, another
bigger building was being
planned. Four years after
the second larger building
was constructed in 1820,
another even larger build-
ing was erected.
In the 1940s, the school
once again suffered severe
overcrowding issues and
township voters approved
multiple bond issues to
expand.
As the township con-
tinued to grow and saw
colleges moved in Kent
State University at Stark
opened in 1946 and Stark
State College in 1960
as well as the creation
of Belden Village retail
shopping area in 1970,
the school began to adapt
to the changing needs of
its now higher-educated
families.
Joe Larson, who spent
36 years with the Jack-
son Local School District
including 20 years as
superintendent, said
Jackson High was starting
to become more college-
oriented when he arrived as
grew, it became more of
a residential community
and more of a community
of professional people so
to speak, Larson said. It
was part of the evolution-
ary process.
Larson said Jackson has
never been immune to the
financial problems that
have plagued other school
districts. He recalled the
financial turmoil that
struck schools statewide in
the 1970s.
As with all schools,
Jackson was experiencing
growing pains because we
were growing quickly and
money was becoming an
issue statewide, Larson
said. Growth was an issue
statewide.
He recalled how Jackson
High School for a time was
so overcrowded that its
freshmen and sophomores
would attend school in the
morning and the upper-
classmen would attend
class in the afternoon.
We had too many kids
and not enough space, he
said.
The overcrowding issue
was resolved after town-
ship voters agreed to pass
a $4 million bond issue in
1973 to build the current
high school at 7600 Fulton
Drive NW.
Everyone always says,
Well, you have money in
Jackson, but we had some
very lean years in Jackson,
just changed how much we
could spend.
He said many people
dont realize that Jackson
must rely on township tax-
payers for funding because
it doesnt receive as much
state funding compared to
other districts with a lower
tax base.
Money has always been
an issue in Jackson because
they get so little state aid,
Larson said. Anything
Jackson does has to be
community supported. ... I
think (the districts suc-
cess) is a real tribute to the
community.
Parents, staff success
Larson said the district
suspected its students
performed well academi-
cally even before the state
administered its first
standardized test in the late
1980s.
Even back many, many
years ago, there were
indicators, (such as) the
number of kids taking AP
classes and the number of
students going to college,
he said. We were well
aware of all those things
before the state started
throwing the test scores on
us. .... We were happy to be
compared, but we wanted
to be number one.
Larson credits Cheryl
Haschak, who succeeded
SEE SCHOOL, H3

JACKSON and there was nothing but

From Page H1
ONeils and Sears. Ground
was broken in 1969. It is
built on land that was once
swampland and share-crop
property
In 1973, I graduated
from Jackson High School
and went into business
for myself, said Pizzino,
the township trustee. I
remember being at a service
station in Belden Village
in front of the the Holiday
Inn. I looked across the
street, and it was empty.
There was no Bob Evans
or restuarants and shop-
ping. Then, 10 years later
I was at the same service
station and I looked across
buildings. Thats when it
residential and 10 percent
commercial, Pizzino said.
the township has some of
the countys most expen-
Cleveland, you need access
to I-77 and in Jackson
entrepreneurial spirit.
Trustees and the zoning
hit me, Wow, this area has In 2001 when I became sive developments. Back Township, you have easy, board over the years had
exploded. We are the No. 1 a trustee, we were about in the early 1900s, Henry quick access. a good vision for where
area in the county for busi-50-50. Were probably Bachtel built a nine-room I think freeway access we should be, Aaby said.
ness expansion. about 60-40 in favor of southern-style home on made Jackson Town- People dont always agree
residential because weve land that was known as ship a community where with where things should
Beyond the mall had a boom in residential. Farmers Delight. That residential development has go. We have a lot of nice
As the township grew, In 1930, ground was broken area was located on what skyrocketed. things here that have been
the school district blos- to build the Brunnerdale is now Portage Street NW Then in 2003 in the corner planned. That takes vision
somed. Jackson Local Seminary. It was built as a and it is the upscale hous- of Wales Avenue and Fulton from not just two years ago,
Schools is consistently monastery for members of the ing development known as Drive NW affectionately but more than 20 years ago.
among the highest ranked Society of the Most Precious The Meadowlands now. referred to as downtown I used to be a reporter and I
in the county. More than Blood and as a high school It wasnt just Belden Jackson by locals Jack- didnt think they were always
40,000 people call Jack- for boys aspiring to enter the Village Mall than changed sons new safety service the brightest bulb in the pack,
son Township home. The priesthood. The property was Jackson Township, Aaby building was dedicated. It but theyve done a good job
median family income in the sold in 1989 and developed said. It was building I-77. houses the police and fire of balancing development,
township is nearly $80,000, into a gated community and That changed a lot of com- departments. It is located keeping residential land and
almost $24,000 more than 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signa- munities. I compare it to on the former Kettering- providing green space. It is a
that of Stark County. The ture gold course. Known as Hartville or Bolivar because Yearkey Farm. great place to live.
township has about 6,000 Glenmoor, it is one of Stark Hartville isnt close to an Aaby thinks back to the
homes built after 1990. Countys most exclusive I-77 exit. It terms of resi- way the township started, Reach Todd at 330-580-8340 or
The average town- neighborhoods. dential development, if you from humble means, but todd.porter@cantonrep.com
ship has about 90 percent In addition to Glenmoor, want to work in Akron or also seemingly with an On Twitter: @toddporter