After 20 years of waiting for land to become available, Petitti Garden Centers finally found its way into Bath Township, Ohio.
When a six-acre site with an office building went up for sale, A.J. Petitti jumped at the opportunity.
However, the site was so complex – with steep grade changes and nonconforming infrastructure – that even the architecture firm’s owner urged him to walk away.
“There was just zero [real estate] available anywhere,” Petitti said. “So, when we saw that it had the land, we put a lot of time and effort into really looking at it hard and figuring out how to make it work without tearing the building down.”
The new location, which is their tenth in Northeast Ohio, became a rare chance to build something unique out of a building the community knew well but had become an eyesore.
“It’s something that when we were doing it, I wish we would have torn it down. It made it so much harder. But now that it’s done, it makes it so much more special,” Petitti said.
Built on Complexity
The site came with more than a few logistical puzzles: the street falls on a downhill grade, the basement required reinforcement, and the whole building needed to be brought up to code and rezoned for retail.
“There was not a flat spot on that whole site,” Petitti said.
And that was a big problem.
To install the Cravo retractable roofs, which are a focal point of the new location, the site needed to be flat.
“We brought in 30,000 yards of soil and put in underground retention. Then we were able to create a pad big enough to put the Cravo structure up,” he said.
The Cravo structure is a retail favorite for A.J. It’s Petitti’s fourth project using the retractable-roof system, which is not only functional but creates an atmosphere.
“I love [the Cravo] for retail because it’s different than any other kind of greenhouse. It’s just that feeling you get being in there. You feel like you’re outside, but you’re inside,” Petitti said.
The blend of openness and control is what makes the structure so effective.
“It creates a really nice environment… and you can kind of manipulate how far open you want to have [it] – whether it’s 25%, 50%, 75%. That all works to create a nice airflow for the customer and the plant material.”
The Cravo structure also helps Petitti’s save on cost throughout the winter, when they don’t use all their outdoor space.
“When you don’t need the space, you don’t have to heat the space – you can just leave the structure open, let the snow fall through, and it reduces your cost that way,” Petitti explained.
They paired the Cravo roofs with corrugated poly siding for durability and performance.
“Corrugated poly holds up really well. It’s relatively inexpensive comparatively, and it’ll hold up. It’ll block the wind, it diffuses the light, it works out really well.”
Multi-Level Retail, Reimagined
Rather than fight the structure of the office building, Petitti’s team used it to their advantage, building a distinct customer experience across three levels.
“When you walk in, you walk into indoor plants, boutique, home décor, kitchen… [we] were able to create a lot of different nooks and crannies for people to walk through and discover,” he said.
Then on the second floor, it’s much more spread out. You’ll find patio furniture, which transitions into lawn & garden and garden accent.
Finally, the third floor features greenhouse structure and additional lawn & garden before checkout.
Not to mention, the office building’s original construction adds a rustic flair to the interior.
“It’s post and beam construction on the inside. It’s an all-wood building, so it adds a lot of warmth and character,” Petitti said.
The architecture and layout set the tone the moment you walk in.
“It’s a totally different shopping experience. I’ve never been in another retail store that’s anything like this,” Petitti said.
Collaboration Made It Possible
Executing a retrofit like this takes more than a vision, it takes the right partners. For Petitti, that meant bringing in LLK Greenhouse Solutions early to align their vision with the right structural solution.
“Shawn at LLK was one of the first people I called,” he said. “He’s really a guiding hand – helping you with renderings, getting approvals through the county, the city, self-performing the construction, and anything they can help with. They’re just incredible partners.”
Together, they collaborated to bake workflow efficiency into every decision.
“Staffing, checkouts, how you’re going to run in high season, how you’re going to run in low season – those are all considerations,” Petitti said.
Over the years, the LLK team has worked with Petitti’s to transform several atypical sites into garden centers.
They’ve converted an amusement park, a racquet club, a grocery store, and a movie theater into full-scale garden centers across the region.
“Every time we do a project, there’s a different need. There’s no one-size-fits-all for any of the projects, and that’s why we continue to work with LLK,” Petitti said.
A Long-Awaited Win
For all its complexity, this project was personal achievement for A.J.
“This was an area that there weren’t any really great garden centers in probably within a 20-minute radius,” Petitti said.
“To take a project that was this complex and be able to really knock it out of the park – and have the community really support it – it just feels really good.”
