Berkadia to expand at Key Tower

Unlike some other downtown Cleveland office tenants that have reduced
space or left downtown entirely, commercial loan originator Berkadia Com-
mercial Mortgage is expanding on the 14th floor of Key Tower, 127 Public
Square (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

By the end of this year, commercial loan originator Berkadia Commercial Mortgage will be showing off its greatly expanded offices on the 14th floor of Key Tower, 127 Public Square. And that expansion offers a couple of statements about Greater Cleveland’s economy in general and downtown Cleveland in particular.

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Blue Abyss may build $250m research center here

A conceptual rendering of Blue Abyss’ planned deep sea and space research,
training and test facility in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Reportedly, their
research center next to NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland
will be very similar in purpose and design (Blue Abyss).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM 

A British company, Blue Abyss Diving Ltd., is pursuing the development of a new research center devoted to deep sea and space research in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park on land next to NASA Glenn Research Center. The project, with a total estimated price tag of $250 million, could be one of the most significant business investments resulting from the presence of the NASA facility. It could also be nearly identical to a major research center Blue Abyss is building in the United Kingdom county of Cornwall.

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From Kyiv to Cleveland, art firm HQ moves

This public art installation is planned by the City of Cleveland and Dion
Art on downtown Cleveland’s malls and will feature 3D polygons with
artwork representing, from left, Ukraine, city of Cleveland, and the
United States It is one of many public art installations made, under
way or planned in Cleveland by Dion Art that is moving its head-
quarters and studios from Ukraine to Cleveland (Dion Art).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Founded in Ukraine nearly two decades ago, Dion Art has been expanding thanks to stunning, innovative public art projects and a stabilizing, growing nation. When that growth slowed to a trickle a year ago when Russia began its all-out invasion of Ukraine, its founder and his friend made a choice — move Dion Art to Cleveland.

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Irishtown Bend Park stakeholders announce deal for George property

The George family-owned property at West 25th Street and the Detroit-
Superior Bridge in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood will be rede-
veloped as a George-owned and operated restaurant as part of the Irish-
town Bend Park after an agreement was reached today (Freethink).
 CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Partners working together on the transformational Irishtown Bend Park project have reached a tentative settlement agreement today following a lawsuit by an affiliate of the George family against the use of eminent domain to acquire their land for the project. Terms of the deal were not officially disclosed at this time but it appears to be a really good deal for the Georges.

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Seeds & Sprouts XXVIII – Seeds & Sprouts XXVIII – Big retailer to Steelyard, AJ Rocco's progresses, Hemingway bets on offices, Leather shop reno, Bakery to Euclid Ave

The Best Buy consumer electronics store at Steelyard Commons in Cleveland
will soon be a Ross Dress for Less department store, the fifth such store in
Cuyahoga County and the latest location for the nation’s third-largest
off-price retailer (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Ross Dress for Less is opening at Steelyard Commons. AJ Rocco’s Restaurant & Bar renovation work progresses downtown. Hemingway Development bets on Midtown office spaces. TRD Leather gets new insides on the West Side. And a new bakery is coming to Euclid Avenue.

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It’s official: Lakewood Center West sells

Lakewood Center West, seen at left next to its big brother Center North
Apartments in downtown Lakewood, was sold to a New York developer
who intends to redevelop it with residential over retail (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

While Lakewood waits on the Downtown Lakewood development, a mostly residential development could come to this inner-ring suburb’s former office and current retail district even sooner. According to Lakewood city officials and Cuyahoga County records, a Brooklyn, NY-based developer has acquired the seven-story Lakewood Center West at the northeast corner of Detroit and St. Charles avenues for $2.4 million. The developer told NEOtrans that they envision 60-70 apartments on the upper floors and will retain the ground-floor and basement commercial tenants.

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Cleveland Hts Cedar Lee Meadowbrook “A done deal”

Construction is due to start in “the coming weeks” on the Cedar Lee
Meadowbrook project in Cleveland Heights thanks to the wrapping
up of its financing in the past week (F&C/City of Cleveland Hts).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The City of Cleveland Heights and its development partner, Flaherty & Collins Properties, announced the real estate and financial “closing” for the Cedar Lee Meadowbrook project, clearing the way for construction to commence in the coming weeks. It’s the second major project for the Indianapolis-based developer in the eastern inner-ring suburb of Cleveland.

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Half of Bulkley Building to be residential

The nine-story Bulkley Building, at center, is due to be refurbished by its
owner the Playhouse Square Foundation,  including with four floors converted
 to residential, four floors remaining as offices with a large new office tenant
and ground-floor retail/restaurants. The ninth floor is not visible from the
street as it is on the far side of the building (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

A significant building in downtown Cleveland’s theater district is proposed to undergo a transformation that would convert nearly half of the structure to residential and add a high-profile office tenant. The Bulkley Building, or simply The Bulkley, 1501 Euclid Ave., is not only owned by the Playhouse Square Foundation but is also the current site of the foundation’s offices.

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Cleveland adds fewest apartments among major metros

The largest development in downtown Cleveland that’s adding more
housing is the 23-story City Club Apartments at 720 Euclid Ave. that
will add 303 housing units. Other projects in the works could add
thousands more apartments in the next couple of years (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

New data from a leading North American real estate services firm shows that Greater Cleveland had the smallest number of new apartment units under construction in the USA in the fourth quarter of 2022. That snapshot of construction activity in America’s multi-family rental market shows that, not only is Greater Cleveland lagging way behind the nation’s largest metropolitan areas in adding new apartments, it’s also lagging behind many of its peer metros. The report comes as the City of Cleveland considers reducing its financial incentives for new developments.

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Cleveland Habitat for Humanity opens first union-built home

 Sierra stands with a large group of people who helped make her new home
on Grandview Avenue in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill  neighborhood
possible. That included those standing closest to her, Habitat for Humanity
President/CEO John Litten, Habitat’s Associate Director of Affordable
Homeownership Jessica Morrison, and Cleveland City Council President
Blaine Griffin. Also standing with Sierra are representatives of the city,
donors and workers who helped finance and build the home (Emma Wind).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

A new home on Grandview Avenue was the first all-union-built home in Greater Cleveland to be provided by the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity program. And yesterday its residents got the keys to it. Thanks to the Habitat for Humanity program, the 14th house was built on Grandview Avenue in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood. The resident, Sierra, mother of six, couldn’t hold back her tears of happiness.

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Casket maker brings factory to life

Starting as early as this summer, manufacturing operations are expected to
begin at Victoriaville & Co.’s new casket and urn factory in Cleveland’s
Bellaire-Puritas neighborhood following an investment of about $1 million
to retrofit and existing building on West 130th Street (Victoriaville & Co.).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Construction permits were filed this week with Cleveland’s Building Department to retrofit a west-side factory so Victoriaville & Co. of Victoriaville, Québec, Canada can open its first manufacturing operations in the USA. The plant will manufacture what’s called “death care merchandise” — namely caskets and urns in what is a growing market as the oldest Baby Boomers approach 80 years of age.

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Downtown Lakewood work starts for new bank

Façade designs for the new Chase Bank in downtown Lakewood, showing
the north side facing Detroit Avenue and the south side facing the parking
lot and drive-up ATM (TAP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Persons visiting or passing through downtown Lakewood have likely noticed the demolition of a small bank branch-turned-bagel restaurant and wondered what is going to replace it. The answer is that another bank branch will return to that site but with a more pedestrian-friendly approach to the building’s design this time around. And while the new structure will be bigger than its predecessor, the amount of floor space in the building isn’t as much as the new structure makes it appear.

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Two Cleveland-area projects win millions

Looking northward up South Taylor Road at the Taylor Tudors, a trio of historic,
Tudor Revival apartment buildings over street-level retail. The view in this
rendering is from a future phase of the same overall development in Cleveland
Heights’ Stadium Square Historic District which includes 208 apartments, about
24 townhomes and more than 300 parking spaces in a deck hidden behind the
new apartment buildings (RDL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two Greater Cleveland historic rehabilitation projects got an unexpected boost this week to the tune of nearly $7.2 million. The Taylor Tudors portion of a larger development in Cleveland Heights plus a renovation of McKinley School in Cleveland’s Westown-Jefferson Neighborhood were beneficiaries of an oversight by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD).

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Cleveland Clinic to raze ex-TRW HQ

Cleveland Clinic’s Lyndhurst Campus, the former TRW headquarters and
its surrounding 98-acre site, was on the market for nearly four years. During
that time. Clinic officials said they received no acceptable offers. But that
was disputed by Lyndhurst Mayor Patrick Ward (LoopNet).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two significant structures on a large piece of land in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs, whose prominence is owed to the industrial giants of Gilded Age Cleveland, face very different fates. One, the 106-year-old, 45-room Frances Bolton Mansion, will be preserved. The other, the 1985-built, former TRW headquarters with its four office wings radiating from a glassy central atrium, is proposed to be demolished by the end of the year.

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Chicago builder expands to Cleveland

Leopardo Companies’ first project in Cleveland certainly won’t be its
last. In September 2022, representatives of Leopardo Companies’ joined
with those of Wolfe Real Estate, Bluelofts, Inc., Sandvick Architects, and
Comprehensive Zoning Services to start redeveloping the former Ohio
Bell headquarters at 45 E. 9th St. in downtown Cleveland into The Bell
a $102 million mixed-use project featuring 367 apartments (Leopardo).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Chicago-based Leopardo Companies is already making a name for itself in Cleveland by serving as the construction manager of two major development projects in downtown. But while some construction companies might be content with overseeing a couple of big building projects in a secondary market like Cleveland before moving on to the next opportunity somewhere else in the country, Leopardo has different ideas.

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More downtown firms making moves

The 19th-century Grand Arcade in downtown Cleveland’s Warehouse
District is often thought of as a residential property. But it also has
office condos. The wife of the founder of Herman Legal Group bought
one and is renting it out to the immigration law firm which will move
into it next month (REmax). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Three legal and financial service firms in downtown Cleveland are on the move to new addresses in the central business district, with two firms seeking smaller spaces as part of an ongoing trend by many office-based employers to downsize their work spaces after the pandemic. The third firm moved to accommodate significant new growth in Cleveland. And each firm is staying downtown, investing in their new office locations, with none of the three seeking a reduction in employment. Indeed, even as some office spaces shrink, the number of employees at those tenants’ aren’t shrinking. Instead, they are taking advantage of remote working and web-based contact with clients.

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Ohio City high-rise may get loan, start date

Developers of Bridgeworks, a 15-story mixed-use building planned at the
west end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, are near to closing the project’s
financing gap. That would allow demolition and construction of the $104
million development to begin as early as this spring (Mass/LDA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

On March 14, Cuyahoga County Council is expected to vote on a proposed $2 million loan that could finally close a persistent funding gap on the planned $103.7 million Bridgeworks development. The investment would allow site demolition and construction to start as early as this spring, putting a 15-story building at the west end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge in the booming Hingetown section of Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood.

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The Elliot: New life for historic Tremont church

The Elliot and its Rosehip Room speakeasy are an updated place. The event center
opened in Fall 2022 in the former Holy Ghost Church, 1415 Kenilworth Ave., in
Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. Its speakeasy began offering live perfor-
mances but the rest of the church is available for rent for celebrations and
private events (Peerspace). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The Elliot, Tremont’s newest events venue which opened in Fall 2022 in Tremont’s former Holy Ghost Church, has launched its Rosehip Room speakeasy with a spring lineup of performing acts. They will perform in the Rosehip Room, a speakeasy designed to accommodate live music, trivia nights and private events at 1415 Kenilworth Ave. in Cleveland. The Rosehip Room’s launch was celebrated with a party Feb. 24.

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Sources: Browns want new stadium; Mayor wants community input

 FirstEnergy Stadium in downtown Cleveland appears to be near-
ing the end of the line. The Cleveland Browns’ lease with the city
expires in 2028 and the Browns’ owners, the Haslam Sports Group,
have determined that it is not feasible to renovate the 24-year-old
stadium to meet their needs in the future (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

According to several sources, the Cleveland Browns and its majority owner, the Haslam Sports Group, want to move faster than City Hall on what happens before the team’s lease at FirstEnergy Stadium expires at the end of 2028. That reportedly includes a new football/multi-purpose stadium and supportive development in downtown Cleveland.

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201 more apartments for Lorain Ave.

My Place Group LLC is seeking two mixed-use developments on Lorain
Avenue between West 44th-West 52nd streets in Cleveland’s Ohio City
neighborhood. Shown here is 45 West, an apartment building with a
small retail on Lorain Avenue, at left, off West 44th street, at right.
At the corner of Lorain and West 44th is a Sunoco gas station and
convenience store that is not part of the project (MA Design).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

With the paint still drying on its latest development along Lorain Avenue in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, real estate developer My Place Group is already planning its next investments which would extend that thoroughfare’s rebirth westward. Conceptual plans are being circulated among community stakeholders to get their input on two new developments that would add a total of 201 apartments plus additional ground-level retail spaces to the section of Lorain between West 44th and West 52nd streets.

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Seeds & Sprouts XXVII – Downtown apts groundbreaking due, Factory to be artist studios, Urgent Care tosses Pizza Hut

The Apartments At Bolivar are due to start rising next month between
Bolivar Road and Erie Court in downtown Cleveland’s Gateway District.
The new apartments will be between Progressive Field and Playhouse
Square and overlook the 200-plus-year-old Erie Street Cemetery
(Desmone). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Groundbreaking due for downtown apartments

The first sign of progress that’s visible on the landscape for The Apartments At Bolivar is expected to appear in mid-March when a groundbreaking for the large, planned apartment complex is due to be held, according to sources familiar with the project. But the first actual sign of construction activity must first begin with a demolition to help clear the way for site preparation and construction of this development in downtown Cleveland’s Gateway District.

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CWRU seeks more housing

Today, it’s a nursing home. Tomorrow, McGregor At Overlook may be
home to dozens of college students from Case Western Reserve University.
At least that’s the plan by the growing university which is doing what it
can to accommodate its increasing enrollment (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Symbolism comes in many forms. A compelling symbol for the University Circle-area economy is seeing a building which housed people at the end of their working lives be turned into one for people preparing to start their careers. That’s the plan for the McGregor At Overlook, 2187 Overlook Rd., which Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) wants to buy and convert into student housing. When you need space for a growing number of students, you do what you can to accommodate them.

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City staffing shortage threatens some Cleveland projects

With the first phase of Intro (at left in a simplified blue massing) in Ohio
City being a phenomenal success, its developers are eager to construct
phase two (at right in yellow). But trying to get the project far enough along
before the city of Cleveland’s tax abatement policies change at the end
of the year are proving to be difficult due to the shortage of staffing in
departments that administer approvals for construction projects (GCP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

 

At the start of 2024, the city of Cleveland’s new tax abatement policy will go into effect. While the policy will remain basically unchanged for much of the city, it will become less supportive of developments in neighborhoods where construction has been most active — University Circle, Ohio City, Tremont and parts of downtown. So, in those areas, developers are trying to expedite the delivery of projects before the 15-year property tax abatement on new developments declines from 100 percent to 85 percent. But there’s something standing in the way of that acceleration: a lack of city staff to get projects approved in time.

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East Cleveland on track for $100M project

 The vacant, county-owned East Cleveland Adult Activity Center at Euclid and
Superior avenues awaits its next use, which could be as a grocery store and a
centerpiece to a potentially significant residential development between stations
on the HealthLine and Red Line rapid transit routes. The Red Line rail station is
visible in the background (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Cuyahoga County Council’s approval this week of a property sale to a New York City-based developer could lead the way toward a “significant” development in the heart of East Cleveland. The site, at Euclid and Superior avenues, is just one-half-mile from the eastern edge of University Circle and set between stations on the HealthLine bus and Red Line rail rapid transit routes.

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MLK Plaza bought by DC developer

The 88,000-square-foot Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza in Cleveland’s Hough
neighborhood was sold last week to a Washington DC-based developer
which seeks to redevelop the site with housing, commercial and live-
work spaces (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Continued redevelopment of Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood was put into play last week following the acquisition of 4.45 acres of property which has hosted the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, 9300 Wade Park Ave., since 1972. Purchasing the MLK Plaza on Feb. 6 for $2.75 million was an affiliate of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV), according to Cuyahoga County records.

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EY moving across downtown

Ernst & Young is leaving the trophy-class building that bears its name at Flats
East Bank along the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. Its offices will
 move across downtown to another building with a water view — North
Point Tower (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Although rumored for weeks, the announcement that EY (formerly Ernst & Young) is moving its offices out of one of only two trophy-class buildings in downtown Cleveland still came as a surprise to some longtime real estate executives. The 23-story office tower at 950 Main Ave. at Flats East Bank that bears Ernst & Young’s name has been one of downtown’s most expensive and successfully leased since it opened in 2013.

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Clinic unveils Innovation District buildings

Cedar Avenue, looking west from near East 105th Street, will have even
more large buildings along it in the coming years. This artist’s rendering
will soon be the view from the top floors of The Medley apartments, now
under construction with a ground-floor Meijer Fairfax Market grocery
store (HOK). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two years ago, Gov. Mike DeWine announced hundreds of millions of dollars in state money to launch the Cleveland Innovation District — a program to advance health care, research and related activities in the Greater Cleveland area. This week, one of the largest and most visible outcomes of that initiative will be unveiled in the form of plans for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s next phase of its Global Center for Pathogen and Human Health Research at its Main Campus in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood.

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Bedrock lays out riverfront plan, steps

Nighttime view of Bedrock’s vision for the riverfront below Tower
City Center in downtown Cleveland (Adjaye Associates).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

At the City Planning Commission’s design-review meeting starting 9 a.m. Friday, representatives of Detroit-based Bedrock are scheduled to present more of its vision for downtown Cleveland’s riverfront below Tower City Center. In addition to showing renderings of the buildings and public spaces, Bedrock’s architectural team led by Adjaye Associates will lay out a schedule and a menu of items needed for building the infrastructural foundations to support the ambitious riverfront plan.

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Downtown Lakewood back to drawing board

Called ‘Building A’ in the Downtown Lakewood redevelopment site
plans, this proposed four-story building at Detroit and Belle avenues
would have housed the offices of Roundstone Insurance. But after
two years of seemingly endless civic deliberations around the project,
the fast-growing insurance company has decided to not only leave the
project but leave the city. That has put the project back on the drawing
board, including to turn this structure into a five-story apartment
building (Dimit). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

After two years of seemingly endless meetings surrounding the redevelopment of Lakewood’s former hospital site, Roundstone Insurance has not only left the development project but decided to leave the inner-ring suburb entirely. Currently located in the former First Church of Christ Scientist, 15422 Detroit Ave., the headquarters of this fast-growing insurance firm with up to 240 employees and $17.5 million in annual payroll is due to leave Lakewood in April 2024, according to Mayor Meghan George’s administration.

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Oracle/Cerner to open Cleveland training center

A 50,000-square-foot building at 3121 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland’s Midtown
is proposed to be renovated into a data processing training center for Oracle’s
Cerner healthcare software division. The facility is proposed to accommodate
up to 704 trainees simultaneously plus dozens of instructors and other
staff (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cerner Corp., a healthcare division of software giant Oracle, is planning to open a training center at 3121 Euclid Ave. near downtown Cleveland that could accommodate hundreds of people in classrooms simultaneously. The proposed training center speaks to Oracle/Cerner’s growing presence in Greater Cleveland and the addition of another major healthcare employer to the region’s economy.

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Ohio, planning orgs plan Amtrak expansions

Amtrak’s new Airo trains could show up on new services converging
at a passenger rail mini-hub in downtown Cleveland. That will depend
on whether the Federal Railroad Administration will award planning
money to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Northeast
Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency to measure the costs and
 benefits of various service levels along those routes (Amtrak).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

While Gov. Mike DeWine made the big news this week about Ohio seeking federal money to plan for and pursue Amtrak passenger rail expansion on two Cleveland-based routes, those aren’t the only routes that will be pursued. The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) also confirmed today that it will be seeking funds for similar plans but for several other routes ending in Cleveland. If realized, the services that could result from those expansions would turn downtown Cleveland into a mini-hub for Amtrak.

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Seeds & Sprouts XXVI – UC tech building, EOC going downtown, Tech Ready Mix buys land

CedarTech and Cumberland Development are joining forces on updating a
six-story, 67-year-old office building at 10900 Carnegie Ave. in Cleveland’s
University Circle district. The renovations include enclosing a driveway
under the building and removing a pedestrian entrance facing Carnegie
(Dimit). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

CedarTech and Cumberland Development reveal office building plans. The Cleveland chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization is opening an office downtown. And concrete wholesaler Tech Ready Mix is acquiring a large property in Kinsman for what may be a new production facility.

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Lakewood site prepped for development

The size of the former National Tire and Battery site is best appreciated
from the east side of the building, The entire structure is about to be demo-
lished. In place of the NTB building, a temporary parking lot is proposed
until the property owner can move forward with plans to build a multi-story
 apartment building that includes a parking garage on the entire site seen
here (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Fences went up yesterday at Lakewood’s East End around a former National Tire & Battery (NTB) store and its parking lot at the southwest corner of Detroit and Coutant avenues. In the coming days, the NTB store will come down while hydraulic lifts in the building’s vehicle repair shop will be removed and possibly some of the soil surrounding the lifts, too. Those are just some of the activities that will prepare the site for the next phase of the Studio West 117 development.

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Downtown’s next high-rise to turn residential

While not one of East 9th Street’s tallest office towers, Ohio Savings Plaza’s
three-story podium makes it one of its most unique. That podium could figure
strongly into how a buyer and development team for the property might rede-
velop it or its sister building facing Perk Park with residential (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Downtown Cleveland’s next office-to-residential conversion project appears to be in the works. But this one might not be a total changeover to a new use. Ohio Savings Plaza, with more than a half-million square feet divided among two buildings has something big going for it — it’s half-filled with office tenants. Or, half-empty if you’re a pessimist.

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Why the LaSalle Theater is for sale

Marquee of the LaSalle Theater on East 185th Street in Cleveland’s
Collinwood neighborhood. The theater is on the market and the rea-
sons why were confirmed by the owner (David Schwartz Photography
for LaSalle Theater). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Earlier this month, NEOtrans broke the story that a Collinwood landmark, the LaSalle Theater, 823 E. 185th St., had hit the market after 14 years of ownership by the Northeast Shores Development Corporation (NSDC). But with the building stabilized and the NSDC ending its service to the Cleveland neighborhood, officials from the community development corporation said it was time to sell.

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Centennial project downtown wins $15m HUD loan

One of downtown Cleveland’s largest buildings and one of its
most difficult office-to-residential conversions is The Centennial
at East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue. Despite and because of it
winning multiple sources of public funding, the redevelopment
project continues to lack a start date (Sandvick).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The Centennial, one of downtown Cleveland’s most complicated, expensive and elusive redevelopment projects, got another sign that it is very much alive by winning a $15 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The financial assistance will be provided through HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program and will be used to help finance the half-billion-dollar conversion of the former Huntington Building, 925 Euclid Ave., from mostly offices into primarily a residential property.

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New Hough housing seeks affordability

Located across the street from historic League Park where Major League
baseball and college football games were played from 1891-1949 could
soon be a 104-unit housing development called Allen Estates featuring
apartments and townhouses, plus four retail/restaurant spaces for
lease (CPC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

As market-rate housing developments continue to be built in Hough, this east-side Cleveland neighborhood is facing a challenge it hasn’t had to deal with for a century — remaining affordable. To that end, two new developments are moving forward to offer up to 160 workforce housing units plus a few retailers/restaurants that will offer services to those new residents. Those would add to hundreds more housing units that were recently completed, are under construction or planned in response to strong job growth in and near University Circle.

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Ohio City apartment project gets ‘The Vibe’

The Vibe’s development site in the Hingetown section of Ohio City in
Cleveland is the former Cleveland Vibrator plant. It is outlined in red,
with the potential footprints of two future apartment buildings marked
by yellow boxes. North is at the top of the image. Clinton Avenue is
across the bottom of the image, with West 29th Street at left and West
28th Street at right (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Things are starting to come together for new construction on one of Ohio City’s largest development sites. A new developer is at the ready. A project architect was selected and a firm that typically provides construction general contracting has been added to guide the development’s design. The developer even has a name of the development and some basic, preliminary design concepts regarding scale. But what isn’t yet known for certain is the programming for the project and if it will include a ground-floor commercial use, like a restaurant.

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Sterle’s to be demolished

With part of its roof missing from a November fire, the chateau-like Frank
Sterle’s Slovenian Country House on East 55th Street awaits its fate this
week. The ethnic and cultural institution on Cleveland’s east side since
1954 is days away from getting demolished (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

If the demolition permit application filed Jan. 20 with the city wasn’t enough of an indication, the heavy equipment in the parking lot of Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Country House certainly is.

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Rock Ventures: First Detroit, now Cleveland

It’s almost impossible to take a picture in Downtown Detroit and not
include a property that belongs to or is connected ith Dan Gilbert’s
Rock Ventures LLC. Start with the Qline streetcar running along 3
miles of Woodward Avenue which was partially funded and man-
aged by Rock Ventures. Then, at far left, Bedrock is building the
$1.4 billion Hudson’s Site development. Just beyond it are three
high-rises owned by Bedrock — One Campus Martius, First
National Building and Ally Detroit Center. Along the side-
walk at right are many more Bedrock-owned buildings
with retailers given free or below-market rent. Cleve-
land is next, Bedrock officials say (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Billionaire Dan Gilbert can ride up and down Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit and admire his work like no one else can. He can point at buildings like a kid checking out baseball cards in a collector’s showcase and say “got it, need it, got it, got it…” Perhaps he and his real estate company Bedrock might have the opportunity to do that soon in downtown Cleveland, too.

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Commission OKs Tremont rezoning

The western edge of a nearly 25-acre site, at right, that’s proposed to be
down-zoned from industrial to retail in Cleveland is seen at the bottom
of Literary Street hill. This is also the edge of residential development
in Tremont, visible just beyond the Towpath Trail’s bridge. At left is the
Electric Gardens apartments developed by J Roc which is seeking the
zoning change (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A nearly 25-acre area of land on a hillside at the north end of Tremont was recommended for rezoning by the City Planning Commission yesterday to allow more development closer to the Cuyahoga River. But the rezoning, primarily from general industry to general retail to accommodate new residential, neighborhood shops and restaurants, was opposed by the industries currently using those properties. Planning commission members responded that the rezoning allows existing uses to continue and that the rezoning is consistent with the city’s land use plans, namely its Vision For The Valley.

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Sneak peek at GCRTA’s new trains

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) is reportedly in

  negotiations with Siemens Mobility to supply dozens of trains like this one for

use on all three of the metro area’s rail lines. The standardization of trains

 and infrastructure means GCRTA could offer a one-seat ride with no transfers

from Shaker Heights to the Airport or from Windermere to Cleveland

Browns games and special events on the lakefront trains (Siemens).

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) acquired new Italian-built Breda trains for its Blue and Green light-rail lines linking Shaker Heights and downtown Cleveland, Jimmy Carter was still in the White House. It was only a few years later, in Ronald Reagan’s first term, when GCRTA received new Japanese-made Tokyu trains for its heavy-rail Red Line between Cleveland Hopkins Airport and Windermere. GCRTA is still relying on trains that predate the mullet. To say that these trains are due for a replacement is an understatement.

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Huge Tremont hillside development site is in the works

Potentially one of the largest and most attractive development sites in
the city of Cleveland is being assembled on a Tremont hillside above
the Cuyahoga River. Tremont-based developer J Roc Development has
at least 18 acres under a purchase agreement with up to 25 acres to be
rezoned for a mixed-use residential-retail development (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A former railroad yard-turned-asphalt plant at the edge of one of Cleveland’s hottest neighborhoods is the location of an emerging, large development site that could add shops, restaurants, other small businesses and hundreds of homes at a riverfront location. The developer leading the charge for this nearly 25-acre site is the same one involved in helping to move forward the 25-acre Thunderbird development on Scranton Peninsula in the Flats. But there appears to be some disagreement as to whether neighbors support or oppose the development.

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Sherwin-Williams seeks “strategic developments” at HQ

A purple outline of a building or buildings on the strategic development
site of the North Block of Sherwin-Williams’ headquarters campus
suggests what is possible. This view is from the corner of West 6th
Street and St. Clair Avenue in downtown Cleveland’s Warehouse
District. Renderings of SHW’s complex headquarters tower and
parking garage are in the background (Property of Sherwin-
Williams Company). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When Sherwin-Williams (SHW) finalized a deal last month with Florida-based Benderson Realty Development Co. to buy a big stake in its new global headquarters, the conversations reportedly began with different intentions. According to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, those intentions were both more modest and more grand, depending on how one looks it, and could play out further over the coming year.

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Seeds & Sprouts XXV — Park Place Tech stays, LaSalle Theater available, Grant Thornton moving

Park Place Technologies currently occupied Building No. 2, at lower left,
in the Landerbrook Corporate Center in Mayfield Heights. It will reportedly
expand into the neighboring Building No. 3 at lower right (Shelbourne).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

In this article, Park Place Technologies plans to stay and expand in Mayfield Heights, the LaSalle Theater is on the market in Collinwood, and Grant Thornton is moving, shrinking its downtown Cleveland office.

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Progressive Field final plans announced

 By Opening Day of the 2025 Major League Baseball season, which typically
starts in early April, the Cleveland Guardians said they expect the $202.5
million renovation of Progressive Field to be completed. The team will

fund approximately one-third of the facility’s renovation costs (Manica).

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Guardians today announced renovation projects that are scheduled to be completed over the next three years as a result of the Cleveland Guardians new lease extension at Progressive Field announced last year. Progressive Field Reimagined will improve and extend the life of Progressive Field, which is the 11th-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, and will include renovations to the Upper Deck, Terrace Club, Dugout Club, home and visiting Clubhouses & Service Level, and the Guardians Administrative Offices.

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Lakefront properties change hands

The lakefront property on Cleveland near-West Side to change hands most
recently was the Premium Metals site, highlighted in red. But The Edison
at Gordon Square, seen just beyond it, also sold to a new owner in the
 past week (Cresco). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.  

In the past week, two significant property sales occurred near the lakefront in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. While both occurred on different sides of Breakwater Avenue, one sale was of a former light-industrial property that was redeveloped with residential a little more than five years ago. The other sale was of a light-industrial property that has been destined for years to become residential and may now be on a faster ride in that direction.

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Treatment Center To Vacate St. Mary’s Seminary

If the 98-year-old St. Mary Seminary overlooking Rockefeller Park in
Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood seems older than its 98 years,
it’s because some of it is. A number of decorative features on the
building were imported from Europe and date from the 1400s to 1600s.

Since 1992, the property has been owned by the Hitchcock Center

for Women which provides addiction treatment services. It will be

expanding into a new building planned next door while the historic

facility may be redeveloped into offices (Tom Truelson/Cleveland

Restoration Society). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

It’s a place where few women wanted to go. And after their experiences at the Hitchcock Center for Women, many say they never wanted to leave. While each person tends to enter the center facing an abyss wrought by addiction, many leave feeling loved and hopeful. The Hitchock Center hopes their new home will be able to provide at least as much care as the old.

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Bedrock buys Gateway megaproject site

 An unofficial rendering of how affiliates connected to the Cleveland Cavaliers/Monsters
and Cleveland Guardians could develop their newly acquired properties in the Gateway 
District. Today, Bedrock bought a 3-acre development site for a potentially significant
development (Ian McDaniel). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Bedrock and Stark Enterprises today officially announced the acquisition and sale of the former nuCLEus development site, adding 3.17 acres to Bedrock’s growing downtown Cleveland development portfolio. Situated at the intersection of East 4th Street, Prospect Avenue and Huron Road, the site is comprised of a large surface parking lot, a crumbling parking garage, and a two-story retail building containing Mr. Albert’s Men’s World.

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