Encircled in red, the proposed site for a new asphalt plant is at the south end of Cleveland’s Slavic Village, next to Interstate 77, Newburgh Heights and Cuyahoga Heights. Downtown Cleveland is seen in the distance to the north (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Kenmore is prime contractor for Inner Belt
Akron-based Kenmore Construction Co. has two big jobs in front of it. One is the multiyear reconstruction of Downtown Cleveland’s Central Interchange on Interstate 90 for $329 million. The other is to build a new asphalt plant for up to $20 million so it can pave the interchange’s new lanes and ramps.
According to plans submitted to Cleveland’s Building Department last week, the location for that new asphalt plant is a roughly 6-acre site at the south end of Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood, near where it borders Newburgh Heights and Cuyahoga Heights.
While the official address of the site is 4200 E. 71st St., that is the address of the sprawling, 40-acre OmniTRAX Inc. Marcelline Yard, historically a property of the Newburgh & South Shore Railroad.
A significant portion of that railroad yard is leased to National Lime & Stone for its aggregate transload and distribution facilities which has a driveway off East 49th Street, west of Interstate 77, in Cuyahoga Heights.
The approximate location of Kenmore Construction Co.’s asphalt plant site is at the northwest corner of the OmniTRAX Inc.’s Marcelline Yard, next to Interstate 77 (Google).
The location where the asphalt plant is proposed is at the west, or opposite end of the rail yard from East 71st. That puts it near I-77, at the south end of a neighborhood which borders an industrial area at the intersection of East 59th Street and Park Avenue.
Joshua Daniel Villers, an associate at Cleveland-based Roetzel & Andress LPA, submitted the plans July 29 to the city along with a cover that described the project.
“Kenmore Construction’s proposed asphalt plant will be located in the northwest portion of the property pursuant to a sublease with National Lime & Stone and will operate as a subordinate and ancillary use to the existing rail and aggregate distribution activities on the overall site,” Villers wrote.
While the project’s total cost is estimated at $20 million, the project summary puts the asphalt plant’s construction cost at about $10 million. A 15,000-square-foot plant structure is planned on an improved, 30,000-square-foot area.
Looking east from above I-77, the proposed site of the new asphalt plant is visible in the foreground (Google).
“The proposed improvements include equipment and site work necessary to support the ancillary asphalt production operation, with access and operations integrated into the existing industrial, rail, and aggregate distribution uses of the property,” Villers added.
Neither Villers or Sam Scala, vice president of Kenmore Construction, responded to e-mails from NEOtrans seeking more information and comment prior to publication of this article.
Ward 2 Councilman Kevin Bishop said he had just heard of the proposed asphalt plant and wanted to get more information before commenting publicly on it.
In October 2025, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) awarded the primary Inner Belt Modernization Construction Contract Group 3A to Kenmore, a job valued at $328.54 million. Kenmore is one of the largest construction companies in northeast Ohio.
Apparently driving the need for the new asphalt plant is Kenmore Construction Inc. being named the prime contractor for the $329 million reconstruction of the Inner Belt Central Interchange in Downtown Cleveland, including the reconstruction of the East 22nd Street and Carnegie Avenue overpasses (ODOT).
Reconstruction of the 70-year-old I-90 Inner Belt highway through Downtown Cleveland and its Central Interchange with Interstate 77 and major downtown streets began in April.
Work on demolishing and reconstructing the Central Interchange portion and ramps to Carnegie Avenue are due to take six years, according to ODOT District 12, based in Garfield Heights.
Kenmore sold its Northeast Ohio asphalt plants, operating as Kenmore Asphalt Products, to The Shelly Company in April 2007. Kenmore maintains a small construction staging yard at 3200 Henninger Rd. in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.
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