NE Ohio wins two transformational tax credits

Playhouse Square Foundation was Cleveland’s only applicant for a Trans-
formational Mixed Use Development tax credit. It won nearly $2 million
to pay for recent and ongoing redevelopment projects in the theater
district (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Out of eight Northeast Ohio development projects that applied for Transformational Mixed Use Development (TMUD) tax credits from the state, only two of them received the awards, the Ohio Department of Development announced today. This was the third year of the four-year TMUD program with $100 million available in TMUD tax credits each year.

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Flats East Bank sets the stage for more

A new $500,000 live performance stage was unveiled today at the Flats East
Bank in Downtown Cleveland. Construction had advanced on the stage by
November 2023 to be able to see its final form. The bandstand-style stage in-
cludes metal framing that can add a performer’s lighting as well as electrical
outlets for lighting, amplifiers and other equipment and instruments (Ethan
Molinar). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With construction now complete, Downtown Cleveland, Inc. and Flats East Bank today unveiled a new performance stage on the Flats East Bank boardwalk, adjacent to the Cuyahoga River and The Flats at East Bank Apartments. But that could set the stage for more to come on the Flats East Bank.

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Cleveland-based NRP Group names new CFO

George Currall was named chief financial officer of Cleveland-based
NRP Group (NRP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland-based NRP Group, one of the nation’s top-10 largest developers and managers of multifamily housing, has a new executive to guide the company’s strong finances through some challenging market headwinds. The change in leadership comes as a result of the retirement of the company’s longtime top financial manager.

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Sherwin-Williams hits pause on HQ worker videos

These are screenshots from videos taken by a construction worker from near
the top of the new Sherwin-Williams’ headquarters tower. The footage made
a Cleveland ex-pat feel pride in his native city — so much that he compiled a
video from them that he wanted to share publicly. But Sherwin-Williams’ exe-
cutives didn’t agree with his decision. They told him to remove the video and
barred workers’ onsite photography (Holden Gibbons).
 CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After a construction worker’s videos from the top of the new Sherwin-Williams’ headquarters tower in Downtown Cleveland were posted on YouTube by a friend, the global coatings giant told the friend to delete the video and has clamped down on workers taking pictures of views from the construction site. This comes at a time when tradespeople complained to NEOtrans of an oppressive work environment and harkened back to a paint-mixing TikTok star who was fired four years ago by Sherwin-Williams.

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Ohio City, Tremont developments advance

Dalad Group is bullish on Cleveland’s West Side. Not only is it moving forward
with plans for Franklin Yard on the south side of Franklin Avenue at West 32nd
Street in Ohio City, it’s planning to expand it to the north side with this 29-unit
apartment on the north side of Franklin. And it has plans for a new Tremont apart-
ment building, too (Horton Harper). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While it’s tough to get financing for larger development projects anywhere these days, it is possible to add a meaningful number of housing units by dividing them up among smaller projects. That’s what Dalad Group of Independence and partner Property Advisors Group (PAG) of Beachwood are doing by pursuing more than 100 apartments on Cleveland’s near-West Side among a mix of new-construction and renovation projects.

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Lakefront megasite – for housing or distribution hub?

The 62-acre former Lake Shore Power Plant property, now owned by a site
clean-up firm, offers a significant lakefront development opportunity what
with the $300 million Cleveland Metroparks recreation area planned across
Interstate 90, just east of downtown Cleveland. But it remains to be seen
how the clean-up firm intends to reposition the old power plant site
(Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A company that acquired a large piece of prime Cleveland lakefront land in December is a bit of an enigma if for no other reason because of its youth. This company, IDA Power LLC, is getting its hands on some very problematic yet high-potential properties around the country. It is engaged in a lengthy process of cleaning up those sites and turning them into productive properties again. But the company’s young life may give some insight into what we might expect here.

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West Park GCRTA station housing planned

Three Red Line stops away from the West Park train station is the West Boulevard-
Cudell station where Flaherty & Collins plans to build the Depot on Detroit
apartments. The same developer now is planning a similarly sized apart-
ment development at the West Park station, too (City Architecture).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Four days after receiving City Planning Commission approval for one transit-oriented development project, an Indianapolis-based developer will ask to buy land from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) for its next proposed apartment building at a west-side train station. This time, Flaherty & Collins Development LLC wants to build at GCRTA’s West Park station, 14510 Lorain Ave.

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Sherwin Williams: ‘didn’t build tall enough’

Sherwin-Williams’ new headquarters tower is near to topping out at 616 feet
among its three big brothers around downtown Cleveland’s Public Square. To
the left of it is the Grand Dame of Cleveland skyscrapers, the 708-foot-tall
Terminal Tower. At far left is the 658-foot-tall 200 Public Square and at far
right is the 948-foot-tall Key Tower. Some company executives reportedly
said they should have built taller as the company continues to grow
(Bennett Atchison). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

From Sherwin-Williams’ C-Suite executives to construction workers taking their lunch break, more rumblings continue to emerge about what may follow the completion of the global coatings giant’s new headquarters west of Downtown Cleveland’s Public Square. And as time goes on, the rumors about a follow-on headquarters project are getting more detailed.

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George plans new Flats redevelopment

An aerial view from above the Cuyahoga River looking at the Flats East Bank
redevelopment of three Old River Road properties sought by Bobby George’s
Ethos Hospitality Group (Bowen). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Scheduled to appear before the City Planning Commission’s Design Review Committee this Friday is a proposed redevelopment of several Flats East Bank properties. It’s the latest effort by restauranteur Bobby George and his Cleveland-based firm Ethos Hospitality Group to remake these riverside buildings into a restaurant and entertainment complex. This time it would include a new building, a dockside “river garden” and rehabilitated historic structure.

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Cleveland’s Carnegie contains a comeback

Construction on phase two of the Foundry Lofts, at the Carnegie Avenue end
of the development, is wrapping up. This is the completed phase one at the
 Euclid Avenue end and is one of many developments planned, underway or
recently completed in his section of Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood
(Signet Real Estate Group). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Carnegie Avenue in the 70s of Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood was a mixed bag of speed, sin, steaks and seafood. And that applies to both the decade and the 10-block stretch of the East 70s along one of the busiest streets linking University and Downtown. But today, the scene is changing quickly as the growth in jobs and residential development in those two hubs is spilling over to the place in between.

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The downtown tower that almost was

Park Place Technologies considered building a mid- to high-rise office
building like one of those proposed at left by Bedrock Real Estate for its
riverfront development. Alas, the growing tech firm stayed in the suburbs
and bought an existing building that would be cheaper and faster to move
into (Adjaye Associates). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

High construction and financing costs along with a longer move-in timeline doomed an intriguing new Downtown Cleveland headquarters building for a growing tech firm relocating from Mayfield Heights. Those construction market headwinds along with the rise in remote working led to Park Place Technologies finding an existing office campus next to Interstate 271 in Highland Heights near its current offices that fit its needs like a glove.

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Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR to downtown Cleveland to be studied

A regional transportation planning organization today voted to hire a
consultant to conduct a study of extending the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic
Railroad north about 10 miles from Rockside Road, shown here, in sub-
urban Independence to downtown Cleveland. The study will take about
a year to complete (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While it’s only 10 miles from the northern terminus of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) in suburban Independence to Downtown Cleveland, it will take years to get there in the best of circumstances. But that first step in the long journey was taken today when a metropolitan transportation planning organization voted to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study of the potential route extension.

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Cuyahoga County nears a courthouse decision

The last time Cuyahoga County went through a major, open-ended real
estate request for proposals process like the Consolidated Courthouse RFP,
it resulted in a new county administrative office building and a mixed-use
tower renovation. In this case, the county sold the tower to Geis Companies
and is leasing its offices from Geis with an option to buy (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

Cuyahoga County and its real estate consultant are getting closer to making a recommendation for a Consolidated Courthouse proposal in downtown Cleveland. NEOtrans has learned that one or more proposals were eliminated from further consideration in part because the timeline for delivering a new or renovated/expanded courthouse facility is apparently an overriding factor for county officials. In this era of high construction costs, the aphorism “time is money” couldn’t be more true.

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Cleveland seeks urban core tax-increment financing district

Officials and families gathered June 29, 2021 for the Wendy Park pedestrian-
bike bridge ribbon cutting ceremony. More urban core public infrastructure
projects like this could be afforded with the city’s proposed tax increment
financing district. But some are concerned that services and infrastructure
in neighborhoods away from downtown will be neglected (Cuyahoga
County). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland’s biggest source of tax base is its downtown which supports services and infrastructure in the rest of the city. City officials are seeking to leverage investments in its urban core to create a feedback loop to support downtown and other neighborhoods. But not everyone is convinced this is a good thing for the rest of the city and cynics are seeking more information and research before deciding.

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Blue Abyss lands next to NASA Glenn

An artist’s rendering of Blue Abyss’ proposed $250 million training and
research center in suburban Brook Park, next to NASA Glenn Research
Center, Cleveland Hopkins Airport and the Ohio Aerospace Institute
(Blue Abyss). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A Cornwall, UK-based company called Blue Abyss Diving Ltd., has acquired land in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park for a $250 million commercial astronaut training facility and hotel, according to public records and a press release from the company. According to an economic impact study commissioned from Kent State University, the British company’s investment here after 30 years could create or support up to 21,800 jobs, add $1.5 billion to residents’ incomes and increase total economic output by $3.6 billion.

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Cleveland, Berea construction firms unite

The Albert M. Higley Co. constructing firm, headquartered in Cleveland’s
Midtown neighborhood, merged with Berea-based T. Allen Inc. of Berea
to create a carpentry industry powerhouse for the Great Lakes-Northeast
region (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Albert M. Higley Co., a Cleveland-based provider of construction contracting services since 1925, announced today it has merged operations with T. Allen Incorporated of Berea. The parties said that they consider this to be a strategic union which marks a pivotal moment, consolidating two esteemed companies into a formidable force within the carpentry industry.

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One of Cleveland’s largest lakefront sites is now in play

The Lake Shore Power Plant site that sold last month is outlined in red
and includes a long driveway access from East 55th Street in the back-
ground. East 72nd Street and Interstate 90 are in the foreground with
downtown Cleveland in the distance. At right left is where the
Cleveland Metroparks plans a $300 million lakefront recre-
ation area including a new island in Lake Erie (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Turns out the sale of a large Cleveland lakefront property could be good news for a more livable shoreline, after all. The 62-acre former Lake Shore Power Station site just east of Downtown Cleveland, along with the 167-acre Eastlake power plant property and another in Oregon, OH near Toledo were sold last month by Energy Harbor Generation LLC of Akron to a firm that specializes in cleaning up and redeveloping former coal-fired power plant sites.

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Glenville civil rights site may become homes, park

On the site of the former Stephen E. Howe Elementary School in Cleveland’s
Glenville neighborhood, a Texas-based developer is proposing to build 68
homes around a new, small park. The site was important in the fight for civil
rights in the 1960s (LDA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When the Cleveland Metropolitan School District put 19 former school properties up for sale in 2021, some of them had school buildings on them. Even those that didn’t anymore still had historical value to them. One of those was the former site of the Stephen E. Howe Elementary School in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood which was the scene of a fatal incident in the fight for desegregation of the school district.

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Cleveland development: what to look for in 2024 — University Circle

In University Circle and its environs, the extent of investment and change in
recent years has been nothing short of remarkable. In this view along East
105th Street, older, substandard housing is giving way to modern, mixed-
use developments that offer quality, affordable housing, retail and ser-
vices that these neighborhoods haven’t had in decades (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Back when Cleveland was an industrial powerhouse, few wanted to live near its dirty, noisy industries. Today, its largest source of employment is the education and health services sector — a cleaner industry to which it’s attractive to live within a short walk or bike ride. It is centered in and near University Circle, surrounded by long-neglected neighborhoods. But investment has been coming into those places — Hough, Fairfax, Glenville, Cleveland Heights’ Top of the Hill, and East Cleveland’s Circle East — bolstering them as neighborhoods of choice.

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Cleveland development: what to look for in 2024 -- Downtown

Two high rises were under construction in Downtown Cleveland through 2023.
It is unlikely we'll see a new one start construction in 2024, but we may
learn of official plans for one or more high rises by the end of this
 year (Adam Greene). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

For many in the real estate investment community, 2023 was the year when few new big projects were financed. The projects that were already financed under better, prior market conditions saw their construction advance, making the real estate landscape appear rosier than it really was. Now, however, as we enter 2024, there is a light at the end of the tunnel with developers already reviving or making new plans.

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