Mid-rise housing on Detroit Ave heads west

This seven-story apartment building is proposed to be built at
4005 Detroit Ave. by Adam Hayoun in Cleveland's Ohio City
neighborhood (LDA).(CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Housing continues to make its inexorable push westward along Detroit Avenue in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. The latest project is 4005 Detroit, a seven-story apartment building with ground-floor retail. Plans for the project were recently submitted to the city for approval.

Proposing the 36-unit residential development is Hayoun Corp. owner Adam Hayoun whose Ohio City resume includes notable historic renovations like the Belden Seymour House, 3805 Franklin Blvd., and the Masters House, 3811 Franklin Blvd. Hayoun is also the principal at ABC Renovation LLC.

In addition to 11 one-bedroom units and 25 two-bedroom units, the proposed apartment building would feature a leasable, 1,318-square-foot retail space and a 605-square-foot lobby fronting Detroit Avenue. It would also have 44 parking spaces on two levels, accessible from Wheat Court, an alley behind the property.

The proposed building is designed to have small frontage on
Detroit Avenue with the structure widening to the south along
the Wheat Court alley (LDA).

Under the corporate name 4007 Detroit, LLC, Hayoun bought the two-parcel, 0.258-acre property for $155,000 in 2016 from David Steinberg, doing business as 4005 Detroit LLC, county records show. The property is located at the western edge of an Opportunity Zone, making it eligible for OZ program equity. A decaying, vacant, 5,602-square-foot warehouse built in 1920 on the site is due to be demolished.

The site is located at the only curve in Detroit Avenue between West 25th and the Cudell neighborhood. It is next to offices for Progressive Urban Real Estate, Blain's Folding Service and Cleveland Bagel.

4005 Detroit Avenue would tower over its one-story neighbors,
but probably not for long. Developers continue to acquire more
properties along the Detroit corridor (LDA).

And while, many real estate insiders have speculated that the spread of high-density housing on Detroit Avenue overlooking Whiskey Island would ultimately force out the growing manufacturing presence of the Kowalski Heat Treating Co., this project shows it would leapfrog it instead. Ironically, 4005 Detroit designer LDA Architects Inc. planned the six-story The Edge apartment building just east of Kowalski.

The project fits in with the citywide 2020 development masterplan's proposed use for this site, which is mixed use/residential. The zoning code allows a 60-foot-tall building to be built here; this building would be 81 feet tall. The gross floor area and minimum setbacks also would require variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals. The building's maximum gross floor area of 49,785 square feet exceeds the 11,237 square feet allowed under the zoning code.

This is the rear of the 4005 and 4007 Detroit Avenue properties
along the Wheat Court alley, as seen in 2016 (Google).

Also, the minimum rear yard setback along the Wheat Court alley is 32 feet, six inches. As proposed, the building has zero setback for the garage and eight feet for the residential part of the structure, according to documents submitted by Hayoun and LDA Architects Inc. to the City Planning Commission.

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