In 1964, developer Alex Seigler & Son, who built “Southgate,” came to Twinsburg with plans to build a 30-store shopping center between Routes 82 and 14. Their plan included 150 apartments, 100 new homes, a service station, a 100-room motel, a 50-room medical office building, and a 100-seat restaurant. Construction was to start in 1965.
1974/1975 Phase 1 of Birchwood Hills began with homes built on Ashdale and a short section of Birchwood and White Oak Drive.
In 1976, the City’s Sewer Treatment Plant had become too small for its needs. During the summer rainy season, the amount of water entering the plant exceeded its maximum capacity of 7 million gallons, causing the untreated water to flow directly into Tinkers Creek.
City Council President Anthony Perici proposed a six-month ban on all home construction until the Council could have engineers assess the problems. Mayor Edmund Thirkel suggested that Council finda compromise, but on July 27th the Council voted 5 to 2 in favor of the building Ban.
Within a month of passing the Ban, six builders filed lawsuits against the City, and Ryan Homes sued for damages. The Ban also stopped 40 existing homes in Twinsburg Heights from connecting to the sewers after decades of waiting.
By the end of September, the Judge ruled against the City. In an executive session, the City Council decided not to appeal the Court ruling. The court declared Twinsburg’s building ban unlawful. The newspaper articles implied that the Mayor’s dispute with the City Council caused Twinsburg Mayor Edmund Thirkel to resign days before the Judge ruled against the City. The City Council agreed not to appeal the verdict.
In 1973, the City Council widened Twin Hills Drive to four lanes, significantly alleviating traffic congestion on Church Street and the Square. The demand for Condominiums for seniors and empty nesters coincided with a changing local real estate market. The Birchwood developers dropped the zoning fight for apartment buildings to develop a series of 130 condominiums. The condominiums offered a new form of housing that promised more ownership and private space for residents, aligning with the broader trends in real estate development during that period.
In 1983, a few days before Christmas, McDonald’s opened its restaurant at the corner of Twin Hills Drive and Rt 82. By 1993, the developer and City Council zoning problems were resolved, and the Burridge Place Condominiums entered the Twinsburg housing market.
