Bridgeworks grows by shrinking

Gone is the 16-story high rise and separate parking garage design concept
proposed for the Bridgeworks development at the west end of the Detroit-
Superior Bridge in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. It is replaced by a
seven-story building that incorporates more apartments, the same number of
 hotel rooms as previously planned, and more parking spaces within a single
seven-story building (GLSD). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, and in the face of financial headwinds affecting projects nationwide, the long-planned Bridgeworks development underwent a major redesign that would cut costs and add more space by filling land, not the sky. Gone is a 16-story building and separate parking garage, replaced by a single, seven-story building that incorporates parking within a structure that fills out more of the 2.13-acre site at the west end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge. The revised plans will be reviewed by the city’s design-review boards in the coming weeks. Financing from the city, Cuyahoga County and Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority was arranged last spring.

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Repurposed Greyhound station, tower planned

An unofficial massing for a possible tower being considered by two Connecticut-
based developers for the Greyhound station site. This is a view of the proposed
tower from the northeast side, looking southwest on Payne Avenue at the back-
side of the station site. This rendering was requested by NEOtrans for illustra-
tive purposes only (Ian McDaniel). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two Connecticut development firms have returned to their state’s Western Reserve with the goal of redeveloping the landmark Greyhound bus station in downtown Cleveland. While their plans are still early on, a basic concept for the plan appears to be taking form and the developers are reaching out to City Hall and Playhouse Square Foundation officials to get their input on that vision that could include a repurposed station and an apartment tower.

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Guardians start Progressive Field renovations

With the Cleveland Guardians season ending, at least when it comes to
home games, a $202 million renovation of Progressive Field is getting
fully underway today (Manica). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After yesterday’s emotional send-off to Cleveland Guardians’ Manager Terry Francona at his last home game at Progressive Field, the Major League Baseball team is wasting no time building for the future. Today, the club work put renovations to the baseball stadium into fastball mode by removing merchandise, furniture, equipment and even the grass on the baseball field, according to an e-mail sent earlier this week to the city and other stakeholders.

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Cleveland Clinic unveils next phase of Innovation District

In 2025, this will be the view when looking northeast at the intersection of
Cedar Avenue and East 100th Street. At far left and at the center of this
rendering are the two buildings of the Sheikha Fatima bint Murbarak
Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health, the largest
research initiative in Cleveland Clinic’s more than 100-year history.
Their construction, a result of the Cleveland Innovation District
initiative,  is due to start early next year (Cleveland Clinic
Foundation). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In the midst of a global pandemic, state, local and Cleveland Clinic officials in 2021 announced the Cleveland Innovation District to expand health care research. Today, as part of that initiative, Cleveland Clinic unveiled the first phase of its expanded research facilities and announced plans to launch major construction of two new research buildings. The state-of-the-art facilities will be dedicated to scientific investigation and will significantly increase laboratory research space on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.

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What’s next in Superior Arts District?

Although the new Cleveland Police Division headquarters in the old ArtCraft
building and planned parking garage is the focus of this view at Superior
Avenue and Interstate 90, it’s not the only project due. The north side
of Superior is getting more attention from investors and developers,
too (Vocon). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The south side of Superior Avenue in the Superior Arts District has been getting all the love in recent years. And why not? The sunny side of the main drag on the east side of downtown Cleveland is the new home of Cross Country Mortgage which relocated more than 600 employees from suburban Brecksville. You can also find residential conversions at 2320 and 2104-2110 Superior. And, of course, the new Cleveland Police Division headquarters will put several hundred employees in the ArtCraft Building overlooking Interstate 90. But the north side of the street is about to grab its share of attention, too.

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Cleveland, Bedrock OK roles in $3.5B project

This is Bedrock Real Estate’s masterplan for its 3.5-million-square-foot,
$3.5 billion Cuyahoga Riverfront development in downtown Cleveland.
The city approved a revised master development agreement to move
forward  with the new development (Adjaye Associates).
 CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Yesterday, at its regular weekly meeting, Cleveland City Council voted to approve an updated and expanded Master Development Agreement (MDA) between Bedrock Real Estate and the city of Cleveland that serves as a guiding framework for Bedrock’s planned $3.5 billion riverfront development project. As one might expect, with such a large, multi-phase development, the project and its legal and fiscal frameworks are very complex. But the new frameworks helps spell out what is expected of each party.

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Sources: If Cliffs + US Steel happens, so does a new HQ

The lofty 200 Public Square is Cleveland’s third-tallest tower at 658 feet and
will remain so after Sherwin-Williams’ new 616-foot headquarters tops out
on the other side of downtown Cleveland’s Public Square. Cleveland-Cliffs’
headquarters is in 200 Public Square but may be on the move in the
 coming years (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Something is happening inside 200 Public Square that isn’t happening at many other downtown Cleveland office towers — a major tenant is gobbling up more office space. The tenant, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., is adding hundreds of office workers to the building, a number that could reach 2,000 employees in the next few years if it is able to acquire Pittsburgh-based rival US Steel. If that happens, two sources who are close to Cliffs’ executives say Cliffs will reconsider 200 Public Square as its headquarters of what would become the nation’s largest steelmaker.

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Guardians to expand real estate holdings

The L-shaped Gateway East Garage which extends south from Huron Road
and then east along Bolivar Road to near East 9th Street will be acquired by
the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. This view looks west along Bolivar
from a parcel at left that was acquired by the Guardians last year for future
development (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball (MLB) team is exercising an option on acquiring the second of two properties that were offered to it when the team extended its lease on Jan. 1, 2022 to play at Progressive Field for at least another 15 years, a city source said. The property it will acquire this time is the huge Gateway East Garage, 650 Huron Rd. East in downtown Cleveland for $25 million and could set the stage for a full or partial demolition of the 29-year-old garage for a “ballpark village” redevelopment.

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Latest TMUD wish list is NEO-light

As the only application for a downtown Cleveland project, the Playhouse
Square Foundation requested $1.95 million to help offset the cost of
renovating three buildings it owns, pictured here. The properties start
at 1317 Euclid Ave., just east of the storefront at the corner of Euclid
and East 13th Street with the big Playhouse Square sign that could
be strengthened to support a vertical addition of up to eight more
stories (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

One of Northeast Ohio’s favorite past-times is to complain that too much of their state tax dollars are going to the rest of the state and not enough to Northeast Ohio. But if you don’t ask for anything, you don’t get it. That’s the case when it comes to the latest round of Transformational Mixed Use Development (TMUD) tax credits. Northeast Ohio TMUD applications represent only 10.8 percent of the total dollar amount requested statewide for Ohio’s fiscal year 2024 round and only one downtown Cleveland project was submitted. Ironically, the TMUD program was the brainchild of a Cleveland developer to encourage more downtown Cleveland projects.

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Ohio City’s next big apartment project

One of two buildings proposed as part of the 2828 Clinton development,
previously dubbed The Vibe in deference to the site’s historical use by
industrial equipment manufacturer Cleveland Vibrator Co. This pro-
posed apartment building, to be called Hanover House, is across
Church Avenue from from the 11-story and 6-story Church &
State complex in Ohio City’s Hingetown section (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

One of Ohio City’s largest development sites is located in this Cleveland neighborhood’s booming Hingetown section. So it was only a matter of time before a large development was proposed for that site at 2828 Clinton Ave., measuring nearly 2 acres. That time is coming next week when the Franklin-Clinton Block Club which includes Hingetown will get a presentation of preliminary plans for the development and offer input on it to the city’s design-review and landmark commissions.

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Downtown Lakewood project going through phases

This plaza at the north end of the proposed downtown Lakewood
development and a filling in of “the pit” retention basin will probably
have to wait a while until lending and equity markets improve enough
for developers to pursue the larger, more expensive portions of the project.
Instead, two 34-unit apartment buildings at the south end of the development
may be pursued first (Dimit). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Over the 60-90 days, the city and its development team will explore the feasibility of breaking up into more achievable pieces or phases the ambitious, $100-million-plus-dollar vision to redevelop the former Lakewood Hospital site in Downtown Lakewood. But city officials and the development team they chose said the basic, long-term vision for the site will remain largely unchanged from what city review boards have approved thus far.

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Cleveland suburb wants to be the next ‘Forest City’

Wondergrove Drive in suburban Euclid is an urban forester’s dream. While few
streets in Euclid offer such a wooded setting as the Brookwood Club area near
Lake Erie, more of the suburb’s residential streets and commercial districts
could use an increase of trees to provide cooling shade in summer and a
windbreak in winter (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While Cleveland was once called the Forest City due to the tree-studded neighborhoods it boasted in the 19th century, one of its suburbs might be in a position to claim that title in the coming years thanks to a generous grant from the federal government. The benefits of more trees are simple — they help provide cooling shade in summer, a windbreak in winter, and more attractive business districts and residential areas that can increase property values.

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Cavs, Clinic confirm downtown move

This basic rendering, called a massing to demonstrate the scale of new
buildings rather than the design of them, shows the location of the
conceptual Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center. It also
shows at upper left a restored Eagle Avenue ramp to Ontario Street
as well as a relocated Canal Road at lower left (Populous).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

In a formal announcement made today, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland Clinic and Bedrock Real Estate officially unveiled a partnership for and conceptual plans of the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center – a first-of-its-kind sports performance center and training facility. Proposed plans include the development of an interdisciplinary training center which would be located on the Cuyahoga River’s waterfront in downtown Cleveland. The center would be the only Cleveland Clinic-backed professional facility to be open to the public.

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West Park area developments emerge

This is an early conceptual view of the proposed Warren Road Apartments
in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood that will be refined based on city
input. The front of the townhomes will feature more brick, the siding be
changed to off-white and new locations for trees and landscaping will
be provided (Young). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While big developments in and near Downtown and University Circle continue to be announced, a lot is going on in other Cleveland neighborhoods, too. Among those seeing activity are the West Park and Bellaire-Puritas neighborhoods, with new market-rate housing, jobs and educational projects planned. All three investments are critical to keeping Cleveland’s westernmost neighborhoods fresh and vibrant, said their City Councilman Charles Slife, of Ward 17.

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Big-name downtown tenants are on the move

Bedrock Real Estate’s red-outlined first phase of its downtown Cleveland
riverfront development has a roughly 20-story office building in the middle
of it that reportedly would feature Rocket Mortgage as its anchor tenant.
 The mortgage firm currently has 1,400 jobs in the Higbee Building
(Adjaye Associates). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Several major downtown Cleveland tenants are in the market for new homes and where they land could shake up the office market in the central business district. The moves come at a time when many companies are shrinking their office footprints and downtown office building owners are fighting to keep what tenants they have. Interestingly, several major tenants that are on the move are looking for larger space than what they have now.

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Surprising sites emerge for Courthouse Tower

Cuyahoga County’s Courthouse project, to be downtown Cleveland’s next mega-
project, is attracting the interest of several major developers including Bedrock
which is already pursuing a megaproject downtown. Bedrock could combine
the courthouse project and its riverfront megaproject (CBRE).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A few notable developers are reportedly offering several prominent, if not surprising downtown properties as options to host what will be a nearly 900,000-square-foot Cuyahoga County Courthouse Consolidation project. The square footage, not including parking which will be extra, represents specialty office space that property owners are desperately trying to fill in this post-pandemic real estate market. The sheer size of the courthouse consolidation project may create a competition that bears watching.

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City picks Watterson-Lake developer

An example of affordable housing built by a real estate firm selected by the
city to develop the Watterson-Lake School  site. The project shown here is
the 36-unit Miller Street Apartments in Pittsburgh that includes a supportive
services program (RDL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Following a request for proposals (RFP) process, the city of Cleveland officials selected Bridging the Gap LLC, a minority business enterprise and real estate developer from Pittsburgh, to redevelop the former Watterson-Lake School site in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. New to the Cleveland market, Bridging the Gap has a portfolio of major renovation and new construction projects, including multi-family housing, mixed use, industrial, retail and office space. But this site is likely to be developed with affordable apartments, probably with a ground-floor retail space based on the site’s zoning.

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Breakwater Lofts opens this weekend

The finishing touches are still being put on a new apartment building in
Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. It’s the latest component of
the Krueger Group’s development there, and the latest development in
this fast-growing area (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A decade ago, the opening of the Breakwater Lofts apartment building on a vacant lot at 1270 W. 58th St. in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood would’ve been a much bigger story. Instead, today, it’s the latest of many new developments in the surrounding area that has more big projects in the works. It’s a sign of stabilization and maturation of the residential market in this near-west side neighborhood, just off the lake, that continues to host traditional Cleveland haunts like the Parkview Nite Club across the street.

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Browns: clock ticking on stadium deal

Sources say the clock is ticking on a deal with the city of Cleveland,
Cuyahoga County and others on renovating  Cleveland Browns Stadium,
the cost of which could approach $1 billion. If there’s no deal by this time
next year, the Browns could start talks with a suburban municipality for a
new stadium whose price tag would likely exceed $2 billion (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two sources, one a city of Cleveland source and the other a Cleveland Browns source, acknowledge that the clock is ticking down to a deadline that the Browns source termed as “a matter of months, certainly less than a year” for working out a deal that will keep the Browns in the city rather than turning to the suburbs for a new football stadium location. And they both acknowledge the city is offering no direct financial assistance to make major renovations to the city-owned stadium

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NEOtrans partners with Cleveland Magazine

More ways to get what you need to know.

You’ve probably noticed the Cleveland Magazine logo and tag atop our articles in the past week. You’ll be seeing more of them. NEOtrans is excited to announce a new partnership with Cleveland Magazine, one of Greater Cleveland’s most important resources for the latest news on what’s happening around town in business, restaurants, government and from news-making people. It’s an opportunity for both organizations to tap into and share the latest news from veteran journalist and NEOtrans founder Ken Prendergast.

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University Circle apartments planned

As shown in this early conceptual site plan, a Cleveland real estate partnership is
considering two new buildings and renovations to two duplexes across East 118th
Street from Case Western University University’s Nobby’s Ballpark in Cleveland's
University Circle (Oliver). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Although still very early on in the development process, a Greater Cleveland real estate partnership is considering building a 24-unit multi-family development in Cleveland’s University Circle and has a target date of next August for breaking ground on it. The potential development site is across East 118th Street from Case Western Reserve University’s Nobby Ballpark and next to the old East Cleveland Township Cemetery.

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Apartments-over-library gets funding boost

Despite no construction start date yet, the planned Karam Senior Apartments
atop a new Walz Branch Library in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood,
has a funding boost that could get the project closer to construction (Bialosky).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Delayed for more than a year, the proposed Karam Senior Living apartments over a new Walz Library branch at Detroit Avenue and West 80th Street in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, just received the first of two funding boosts to address rising construction costs. While this funding, $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds awarded by the city of Cleveland, will close half of the funding gap for the residential portion, the remainder is still being finalized by Cuyahoga County. But it’s apparently enough to re-bid the project this fall to see what the construction numbers look like, officials said.

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Seeds & Sprouts 32 – Glenville library turns page, Cliff Hangers to Clifton, Microcosm Publishing expands, PB Express’ Big Creek container yard

 A rendering of what a renovated Glenville Branch of the Cleveland Public
Library could look like. The library is located at 11900 St. Clair Ave., in
Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. The current library facility was
built in 1979 (Bialosky). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

See the Glenville Branch library’s renovation plans, along with the proposed Cliff Hangers restaurant-bar on Clifton Boulevard. Meanwhile, Microcosm Publishing is expanding in Cleveland’s Lee-Miles neighborhood and PB Express trucking is planning a new shipping container terminal along the Big Creek in Old Brooklyn.

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ReadySet Surgical moves HQ to Cleveland

Lakeside Place, built more than a century ago as a garment factory in down-
town Cleveland’s Warehouse District, has been used as offices in recent
decades. Relocating its headquarters there will be ReadySet Surgical which
provides supply chain management software to more than 100 hospital
systems (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

ReadySet Surgical Inc., a young, fast-growing company that provides supply chain management software and cloud-based platforms to hospital systems has relocated its headquarters to Cleveland from Cincinnati, according to two different sources.

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