Ohio teams support DeWine’s stadium funding plan

Two existing sports and entertainment facilities plus one proposed venue are seen in
this view of the Gateway district from Terminal Tower. In the foreground is Rocket
Arena, followed by Progressive Field. To the right, just beyond the rapid transit tracks
and Inner Belt highway is the site of a professional soccer stadium (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Fifteen of Ohio’s professional sports teams from among the major and minor leagues joined together in sending a letter to state leadership, expressing support for Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed process to allocate funding for sports facility projects through House Bill 96 and the Ohio Unclaimed Funds proposal. But, noticeably absent were the two teams with the largest stadium funding requests.

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University Circle site offered for mid-rise apartments

This AI-generated rendering shows a potential 11-story residential development for
Cleveland’s University Circle at Cedar Avenue and East 107th Street. The property,
zoned for a 60-foot building height, is surrounded on three sides by zoning allow-
ing for taller buildings (Cresco). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A small piece of land in University Circle with big possibilities is being offered for sale or redevelopment in partnership with the current owner, Rico Pietro, a well-known local real estate broker. But no construction is imminent as the current user, a contract ambulance service for Cleveland Clinic, is only halfway through a 10-year lease on the site.

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Warner & Swasey faces $2M gap, needs help

Someday, this perspective of Downtown Cleveland could be the view from someone’s
home. But for the last 40 years, Mother Nature has been steadily reclaiming this property
from its prior use, the Warner & Swasey Co.’s machine tool factory on Carnegie Avenue
near East 55th Street. That decay can end and the building be restored if just $2 million
more can be found to close a financing gap (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Perhaps as early as Monday, affordable housing developer Pennrose LLC will get a deed and the keys to the hulking mass of brick. concrete, steel and memories that is the Warner & Swasey Co. factory, 5701 Carnegie Ave. The hope since 2018 has been to turn this long-vacant site into affordable housing. But if money was as abundant as hope for this property, its redevelopment wouldn’t have experienced a new, $2 million setback.

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Bedrock to prep Downtown’s ‘Rock Block’

Here, at the corner of East 4th Street and Huron Road, Bedrock Real Estate will begin
site preparations for a large new development called The Rock Block. However, details
of what this development entails are still a mystery (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Site preparations for a significant new development called the “Rock Block” are sought in the Gateway District of Downtown Cleveland. But the permit application outlining the proposed preparations offers more questions than it provides answers as to what may rise here and when. There are some answers and, of course, rumors.

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Midtown Lofts advances with support, concerns

NRP Group’s Midtown Lofts will be designed similarly to another project by NRP — A
Place For Us apartments at Madison Avenue and West 116th Street in Cleveland. Mid-
town Lofts will have two four-story buildings like this and will be marketed to families
and others who earn up to 80 percent of the area’s median income (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Asiatown was a neighborhood that was on the upswing 20 years ago. There were new restaurants, shopping venues like Asia Plaza, Tyler Village and other commercial developments, multiple new housing offerings such as the Asian Evergreen and Body Block Arcade apartments, plus several longstanding grocers including Dave’s Market, 3301 Payne Ave., had renovated their properties.

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Port OK’s $92M for Cleveland, Brecksville projects

Thanks to financing from the Port of Cleveland, a new AC Marriott Hotel at Valor Acres
in Brecksville is due to start construction as early as next month. The $42.9 million hotel
will add to the mixed-use offerings at Greater Cleveland’s newest lifestyle center
 (Meyers+Associates). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A trio of projects — two in Cleveland and one in Brecksville — got a total of $92 million in financing approved by the Port of Cleveland to help get them closer to construction. Two are mixed-use housing developments in Cleveland totaling 355 residential units. The third is a new, 136-room AC Marriott hotel at Valor Acres, the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital site in Brecksville.

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Capitol Theatre may need a new plot written

The Capitol Theatre, with its marquee facing West 65th Street in Cleveland’s
Gordon Square neighborhood, has an uncertain future. A new board was
formed to help make that future more certain and more enjoyable for the
community (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s a tough time for the film industry, and an even tougher time for historic theaters like the Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65th St., trying to pay its bills. The 104-year-old venue in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District has an uncertain future regardless of its owner trying to spin the creation of a Capitol Theatre Stewardship Board as “an exciting new chapter” in a press release issued today.

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Industrial user lined up for Highland Hills site

An empty street in an undeveloped part of suburban Highland Hills is attractive to an
industrial user seeking a rare, large patch of Cuyahoga County land. The land, seen here
across Millcreek Boulevard, is being sold, cleaned up and added to a joint development
zone with the city of Cleveland (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

NEOtrans has learned that the developer of a 30-acre spread of land in suburban Highland Hills isn’t marketing the assembled parcels to a new, job-rich end-user. The reason is that the developer already has one lined up for the land, located in the 22700 block of Millcreek Blvd.

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Bedrock to add steam plant site to Riverfront plans

Bedrock Real Estate wants to demolish at least part of this closed steam heating plant
for its Riverfront redevelopment in Downtown Cleveland. The fate of the four-story
building in the foreground remains unclear. Meanwhile, the Greater Cleveland Re-
gional Transit Authority plans to refurbish its Canal Road overpass, at left, as
early as next year (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If you like what Bedrock Real Estate has planned for its huge Riverfront Development in Downtown Cleveland, expect more of it at the site currently occupied by closed Cleveland Thermal steam heating plant, 2274 Canal Rd. That’s what public records reveal in the application for Ohio Brownfields Program funding that was awarded last week. But not all of the steam plant may be affected.

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CVSR pursues Downtown Cleveland link with CSX

CSX Transportation Inc. pulled up its railroad tracks into Downtown Cleveland north
of the Lorain-Carnegie Hope Memorial Bridge, which is where this view was captured
on May 29. However, south of the bridge, the tracks were still in place as of yesterday.
At left is the new Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center including a
practice facility for the Cleveland Cavaliers (Mark Schwinn).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

On March 16, family, friends and colleagues of Thomas V. Chema received horrible news. The 78-year-old leader of civic causes and institutions died suddenly at his home in Downtown Cleveland. Chema was in the midst of excitedly pursuing his latest civic endeavor — the extension of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad trains into downtown.

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Great Lakes Brewing Co. looks to the suburbs, again

This is the location near the Columbia Road-Interstate 90 interchange in Westlake to
which Great Lakes Brewing Company reportedly could move. Although it’s not a
done deal yet and Cleveland city officials are trying to keep the brewer and its
200 jobs in the city (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In the latest episode of “where are they looking now,” Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) reportedly has its eye on a site in suburban Westlake near the Interstate 90-Columbia Road interchange for a new craft beer production facility. But the deal isn’t done and the city of Cleveland reportedly is striving to keep one of Ohio’s largest craft brewers in the city.

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JFK High site to gain new life in Lee-Harvard

Although it’s too soon to have project-specific renderings of the JFK High redevelopment,
the 2024 Lee-Harvard Masterplan used this concept for the Avondale Estates’ Town Green
in Georgia as an example of a public space surrounded by mixed-use to show what could be
built here (APD Urban Planning + Management). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The largest redevelopment site in Cleveland’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood now has a development team selected to repurpose it with a vibrant, mixed-use district of housing, neighborhood retail, civic uses and public spaces, according to a community vision crafted last year.

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Downtown’s historic Chancery Building to be renewed

The historic Chancery Building, built in 1888 and renovated in 1950, is part of
the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at Superior Avenue and East 9th Street
in Downtown Cleveland. The cathedral is seen at far left (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

One of Downtown Cleveland’s oldest surviving buildings is about to see a structural renewal that also offer a more uplifting place for hundreds of people to work and visit. The Chancery Building, 1027 Superior Ave., was built in 1888 as a school but later was converted to offices. That use will be confirmed by a $15 million renovation.

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Downtown steam plant to be razed, redeveloped

To the right of the under-construction Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center is
the old, unused Cleveland Thermal steam heating plant for historic downtown office build-
ings. It is surrounded by Bedrock’s Riverfront development and is due to be demolished
for new uses (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Eight redevelopment project sites won a total of nearly $18 million from the Ohio Department of Development’s Brownfield Program so the sites can be cleaned up and, in some cases, their existing structures are to be demolished. One of those where demolition is planned is the former Cleveland Thermal steam plant, 2274 Canal Rd., in Downtown Cleveland.

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Two new Hough developments sell for $30M

The new Park Lamont apartments are a short walk or bike ride to school or work in
booming University Circle. This property and also-new Lumos apartments were
owned by their developer and, now completed, were sold to a new landlord
 (Reynolds Asset Management). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In a $30.6M deal, a national real estate investment firm added 119 newly constructed apartments in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood to its growing portfolio. New Jersey-based Reynolds Asset Management acquired Park Lamont, 9606 Lamont Ave., and The Lumos, 1866 E. 93rd St. Both are located a short walk or bike ride from jobs and classrooms in booming University Circle.

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I-X Center’s new use revealed

This is why the I-X Center is reportedly going to become a data center — a 25-
megawatt substation located on-site. Data centers are voracious consumers of
electrical power and the I-X Center has access to power (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, the International Exhibition (I-X) Center next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will become a data center. And, according to one of those sources, the end user is likely to be Amazon Web Services.

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Glenville Job-Ready Site more than doubles in size

Along Kirby Avenue, one-fourth of a mile from the interchange of Interstate 90 and
Eddy Road in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, is this 36-acre property that’s being
cleaned up as a new job-ready site (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Too much is never enough. When you’re marketing land to new end-users, you can’t have enough clean, developable land in the urban core. And one of the largest, if not the largest in the city of Cleveland has just been assembled by the Cuyahoga Land Bank. The site is located at 12610 Kirby Ave. in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, bordering on Collinwood.

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Walz Library-Karam Senior Living groundbreaking set

The new Walz Branch of the Cleveland Public Library topped by 51 affordable
apartments by Karam Senior Living will see construction get underway after
a groundbreaking ceremony schedule for June 6 (Bialosky).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Following up on a story first reported by NEOtrans a month ago, the long-planned Walz Branch of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) and Karam Senior Living apartments will indeed see construction start in June. In fact, a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled at 10 a.m. this Friday at the project site, 7910 Detroit Ave., to officially kick off the project.

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Bridgeworks shows new signs of life

At the west end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, the long-planned Bridgeworks
development site could finally start to see some visible activity in the coming
weeks (GLSD). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While the development team for the $84 million mixed-use Bridgeworks project in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood is finalizing construction permits with the city, the team decided to take a step that could accelerate the project and get it underway sooner.

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Banking on a large East Cleveland development

Signs of progress are visible at the Circle East District in East Cleveland, where new
homes and increased home ownership are getting a boost from a deal between two dif-
ferent kinds of banks — the Cuyahoga Land Bank and First National Bank. In the back-
ground on Woodlawn Avenue, historic homes are being renovated and new homes are
being built (Cuyahoga Land Bank). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cuyahoga Land Bank and First National Bank (FNB) have announced a new partnership to accelerate development in the Circle East District in East Cleveland by supporting homeownership. Since 2022, the land bank has been busily rebuilding this neighborhood next to University Circle from the sewers up.

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Miceli Dairy anticipates doubling its employment

Jonathon Miceli of family-owned Miceli Dairy Products Co., welcomed visitors to the
groundbreaking for an expansion of cold storage facilities at Miceli’s growing plant
on Cleveland’s near-east side as his cousin and company marketing executive Maria
Miceli looks on (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

When Miceli Dairy Products, 2721 E. 90th St. in Cleveland, broke ground today for the expansion of its new cold storage facilities, it also teased a follow-on project — a planned new research center plus mozzarella cheese manufacturing plant next to the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard. These additions in the coming years are anticipated to double Miceli’s current employment of 250 people.

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New downtown office tower/data center in the works

A rendering of the proposed Two Cleveland Center, as seen from the north side of St.
Clair Avenue next to the Galleria at Erieview. The new office building/data center was
an idea publicized prematurely (Newmark). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Suggesting the construction of an office building in Downtown Cleveland, which is still recovering from the pandemic, seemed like a strange idea. And it was until the listing for it was pulled from marketing sites shortly after NEOtrans wrote about it. Turns out the proposed Two Cleveland Center was publicized prematurely.

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Lakefront funding survives federal scrutiny

This section of the Shoreway (Route 2) through Downtown Cleveland is to be
reconfigured from an Interstate-like highway (left) into a boulevard with inter-
sections. That will slow traffic to make the area more pedestrian- and bicycle-
friendly and lower the roadway so a land bridge can be built to better connect
the central business district with the lakefront (FO).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After taking office in January, the Trump Administration began scrutinizing recently awarded federal grants. In response, local, state and federal elected officials from Northeast Ohio scrambled. Their goal was to make sure that federal grants awarded to Greater Cleveland agencies weren’t frozen or, worse, terminated.

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Warner & Swasey conversion funding not there yet

Not much has changed at the long-vacant Warner Swasey factory in the
six years since this streetview was captured. But a lot could change over
the next six months, starting with a demolition of the sawtooth-shaped
factory structures to the left of the company’s brick office building which
will be kept and, if financing closes in November, renovated thereafter into
affordable apartments (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s been a long road for the former Warner & Swasey plant, 5701 Carnegie Ave. in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood, to become a useful building again. And while it doesn’t have all of its financial pieces available yet to complete its $52 million puzzle, those last five pieces have been identified and are in the process of being secured.

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St. Vincent hospital demo starts; What’s next?

A lot of structural square footage is getting demolished next to Downtown Cleveland.
So are viable structures with the potential to be converted to new uses. Instead, the
potential will rest with acres of newly vacant land next to downtown that will be-
come a canvas for something new to be designed. Those designs are getting
underway  (czoningservices.com). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Demolition crews got to work this week taking down St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, 2351 E. 22nd St,, where the southeast side of Downtown Cleveland meets the Central neighborhood. But it won’t be the only demolition in this area in the coming years.

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Will a Brook Park stadium hurt efforts to maintain Gateway? Apparently the Cavs think so.

Concern over being able to maintain the facilities at the Gateway sports and entertain-
ment complex in Downtown Cleveland prompted a critical letter apparently sent by
the Rock ntertainment Group to the Greater Cleveland Partnership over the future
viability of the sin tax to maintain these facilities (Rocket Arena).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Support for the planned domed stadium in Brook Park by the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), announced earlier this week, has ruffled a few feathers. And it’s not just those that were expected to be ruffled — Cuyahoga County and City of Cleveland officials, Downtown Cleveland Inc., and others. Now, it’s the parent company of the Cleveland Cavaliers who say pursuing the stadium at this time is a bad idea.

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Glenville, Hough, Ohio City housing wins big

Wade Park Station is planned as an affordable senior housing development on
Wade Park Avenue in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. It just got a major
boost in the form of 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits (RDL).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two new Cleveland housing construction projects and one renovation won coveted, highly competitive 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the Ohio Housing Finance Authority (OHFA) today. The awards promise a big financial boost to each of the projects which are located in the Glenville, Hough and Ohio City neighborhoods.

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Polling data shows voters oppose Browns move

Concerns about being able to keep Cleveland’s existing stadiums in a state of good
repair apparently prompted a poll of likely voters to assess their views toward ex-
tending or expanding a Cuyahoga County sin tax. According to the poll results, those
concerns were justified (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

One day after the region’s chamber of commerce announced its support for the construction of an enclosed stadium in Brook Park, a poll of likely voters in Cuyahoga County was leaked to NEOtrans, showing most of those voters opposed the Cleveland Browns leaving downtown for the suburbs. The poll also said that opposition was putting at risk a county sin tax to repair facilities for all of Cleveland’s major sports teams.

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Regional chamber of commerce likes Browns’ move

Huntington Bank Field sets on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront. But the Greater
Cleveland Partnership says it shouldn’t, and instead should be moved to Brook
Park as a domed stadium (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront has had a stadium on it for 91 of the last 93 years. But that should come to an end for the betterment of the lakefront and its replacement stadium, according to the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) — the metro area’s chamber of commerce. GCP also urged the closure of Burke Lakefront Airport.

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Playhouse Square’s ‘Beyond the Stage’ additions

Playhouse Square has announced several additions to Downtown Cleveland’s theater
district that are “beyond the stage.” One of those includes the green kiosk on Play-
house Square Plaza which will host the Something Good Social Kitchen (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A trio of new eateries in Downtown Cleveland’s theater district was announced today by Playhouse Square officials, along with two others already reported by NEOtrans in recent weeks. But one of the largest “Beyond The Stage” projects, redevelopment of the Greyhound bus station, is still in the works and was teased in the same announcement.

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Cleveland owns its lakefront opportunities

The red lands are properties owned by the city of Cleveland along its Lake Erie waterfront
just east of downtown. The light-blue land at right is another publicly owned piece of land
owned by the state of Ohio. In the foreground is the Forest City Yacht Club that’s been on
city-owned land for nearly a century. Beyond is the 115-year-old Cleveland Public Power’s
Lake Road Power Station. Few of these publicly owned properties are publicly accessible
nor do they represent the highest and best uses of lakefront land (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

One year ago, the City Planning Commission “hired” Cleveland State University’s 17th Street Studios for a Masters of Urban Planning and Development (MUPD) capstone project to look at how to enhance the underutilized light-rail Waterfront Line. One of the findings was that the city of Cleveland literally owned its own ability to boost the rail line and the lakefront overall.

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Memphis & Pearl faces funding gap, has solutions

The Memphis & Pearl development in Cleveland’s downtown Old Brooklyn neighbor-
hood had to be expanded to retain a federal grant for the project while retaining the
historic St. Luke’s Church. But that caused a gap in the project’s funding resources that
backers are now trying to fill (Desmone). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Due to funding policy changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since January, backers of the Memphis & Pearl development in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood have had to scramble to save the project from a suddenly large, $15 million funding gap.

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UH Wolstein Center design applauded

Seen from Euclid Avenue in Cleveland’s University Circle, University Hospitals’
proposed new Wolstein Center classroom and conference facility won unanimous
support today from City Planning Commission’s Design Review Committee
(levelHEADS). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Detailed plans for a proposed conference and classroom facility at University Hospitals’ (UH) Cleveland Medical Center were unveiled today and won preliminary approval from the City Planning Commission. But considering the commission’s compliments about the project, it would be a surprise if the commission didn’t give the project final approval in the coming weeks.

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Cleveland Airport project’s first two steps take off

To build the new terminal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, a new trans-
portation center seen at left has to be built. And to build that,  a new parking area at
Terminal D has to come first (Corgan). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Ten days ago, Mayor Justin Bibb announced a $1.6 billion plan to construct the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport’s Terminal Modernization Development Program (TDMP). Today, more details came to light about that plan, called CLEvolution, as the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the first two steps forward in that eight-year program.

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Haslams: stadium project to advance without county

The Haslam Sports Group said it is no longer counting on support from Cuyahoga
County to build this enclosed stadium in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. It is
quite possible that this news is music to the ears of county and state officials who
have called this $3.6 billion project financially risky (HKS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A spokesman for the owner of the Cleveland Browns, the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), told NEOtrans that they have sent a letter today to Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne stating they will move forward without the county’s support, and saying they believe building an enclosed stadium in Brook Park is the only long-term stadium solution for the region.

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Cleveland-area TOD projects reach high in 2024

Since it was built in 2015, the Little Italy–University Circle station on the Greater Cleve-
land Regional Transit Authority’s Red Line over Mayfield Road has been a big success,
attracting tens of millions of dollars of new development and more ridership. This was
the scene after an Aug. 17, 2024 storm cleared the crowds during the Feast of the
Assumption (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

An annual report by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission released this week showed that Transit Oriented Development in the county reached an all-time high in 2024. But 92 percent of countywide TOD activity is occurring in the city of Cleveland. And only four of 26 communities along high-frequency transit routes and walksheds, called TOD corridors, had a TOD project in the past six years indicating a lack of suburban activity.

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Soccer stadium backers seek another property

A conceptual rendering of the proposed Gateway South Cleveland soccer stadium at
left with a Rapid station and rebuilt Old East 9th Street bridge over the Rapid tracks.
To the right of the tracks, in a white building with a dark roof, is a structure that is
either a repurposed or replaced Cleveland Black Oxide which is being acquired
by soccer stadium interests (CSG). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Once again, we’re breaking the news on a pending real estate deal for a Cleveland-area sports stadium. But, unlike the deal by owners of a certain American football team for 176 acres in Brook Park, this stadium site and purpose were already well known.

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Ten60 Bolivar opening its doors Downtown

Leasing has started for the Ten60 Bolivar apartments in Downtown Cleveland
as construction is nearing its June 1st conclusion. It is the largest residential
development project in downtown right now (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If you’re looking to live in a new-build residential development in Downtown Cleveland, Ten60 Bolivar, located at 1060 Bolivar Rd., between the Gateway sports-entertainment complex and the Playhouse Square theater district, could be your only opportunity for a while. NEOtrans just got an exclusive tour of the property to show you what’s inside.

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Metroparks breaks ground on Parker Sailing Center

The new Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center now under construction at East
55th Street Marina in Cleveland will be first of its kind along Lake Erie in the state
of Ohio (Metroparks). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Metroparks and its partners today broke ground on the Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center, a world-class community center coming to the East 55th Street Marina in Cleveland. When complete in 2026, the center’s two new structures will comprise the first community sailing center of its kind along Lake Erie in Ohio, offering stunning views of the Downtown Cleveland skyline and Lake Erie sunsets.

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Greater Cleveland’s population edged upward

Greater Cleveland continues to struggle with an aging housing stock, much of which
was built before the region’s population stopped growing in the 1960s. Now, most
of its new housing stock is in the exurban counties where population growth is
occurring at the expense of older, already established communities (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that, while population in Greater Cleveland edged up a bit for the second straight year, the metro area is still down overall for the decade so far. And the city of Cleveland saw its population shift at the same it enjoys strong increases in income tax revenues from young professionals and retired empty nesters replacing lower-income families.

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Ohio City boutique hotel plan gets Landmarks nod

    This view from the intersection of Lorain Avenue and West 26th Street in Cleveland's
Ohio City neighborhood shows the location and design of a proposed boutique hotel
in the Market District (DLR). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A proposed boutique hotel for Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood was significantly redesigned after conceptual plans were first presented to the city’s Landmarks Commission six months ago. Members of that same commission praised those changes and the additional design and material details that were presented today by the hotel’s development team.

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GCRTA seeks more railcars; program over budget

      By this time next year, the first of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s
new light-rail train cars may be rolling off the assembly line at Siemens Mobility’s
assembly line in Sacramento, CA. This was the scene several years ago when the
same plant built very similar rail cars to Cleveland’s and were delivered to Calgary,
Alberta in Canada (Siemens Mobility). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) new railcar program. And the good news is the result of trying to keep the bad news from getting worse.

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Officials urge Haslams to publicly release their Lakefront Stadium renovation plans

This rendering of a $1.2 billion renovation of the existing Huntington Bank Field
on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront was released to and published by Scene
Magazine today. NEOtrans has verified that the rendering is legitimate
(Scene). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

After the first image of a renovated Huntington Bank Field on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront was publicly released today by Scene Magazine, local officials are asking why it and other images weren’t released sooner by the owners of the Cleveland Browns so that the public could have a more informed opinion on which stadium plan to support.

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Hopkins Airport remake about to take flight

This view is looking southwesterly along a new Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
roadway with the new terminal on the right to be built where the existing “smart garage”
is located today. At left is a new ground transportation center with parking for 6,000 cars,
shuttle bus boarding areas and a Red Line rapid transit train station (Corgan).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Mayor Justin Bibb and Port Control Director Bryant Francis unveiled plans and action steps today for a $1.6 billion first-phase, five-step program of improvements to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in the next seven years, representing the start of more phases to come. The improvements come as Hopkins celebrates its 100th birthday this year.

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Ohio City’s north end of W. 25th to get refresh

The Nelson Block in the foreground and the Case Building next door on West 25th
Street in Ohio City were acquired by new owners in recent months for renovation
with new uses. Both are across the street from the Irishtown Bend Park site whose
hillside is first being stabilized (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Out goes the Hulett Hotel proposal. In comes a couple of redevelopment projects intended to reinvigorate the north end of West 25th Street in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, dubbed Hingetown. It is one of the last sections of West 25th in Ohio City whose historic buildings have yet to be renovated and redeveloped. All it took was a $110 million hillside-public park project across the street to help seal the deal.

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Walz Library-Karam Senior Living gets city OK

At long last, construction is about to get underway on the new Walz Branch of the
Cleveland Public Library and, above it, Karam Senior Living affordable apartments in
in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. It is one of several major construction
projects emerging in this area (Bialosky). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s a $34 million project nearly six years in the making. But after a pandemic, a sharp increase in construction costs, pursuits of additional financing and working out a complicated development partnership to build essentially two buildings in one, construction is finally in sight for the new Walz Branch Library topped by Karam Senior Living apartments.

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GSA confirms Celebrezze Federal Building to be sold

The Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, one of Downtown Cleveland’s largest
buildings as measured in square feet, will be disposed of by the federal government.
The 1.2-million-square-foot building is slightly more than half-full with about 4,000
workers on-site (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced it will initiate a public sale of the 32-story Anthony J. Celebrezze (AJC) Federal Building, 1240 E 9th St, in Downtown Cleveland that could potentially save more than $430 million in total annual operating costs.

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Office leasing cools in first quarter of 2025

Newmark’s latest office market report had some gloomy data on leasing activity, espe-
cially for Cleveland’s central business district, while noting some potential positives
and negatives going forward (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland’s office market in the first quarter of this year saw its second-lowest amount of leasing activity, as measured in square feet, in the last 16 years since the Great Recession. Only the fourth quarter of 2021, following the pandemic and the rise of remote working, saw less leasing activity locally since 2009.

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Ronayne seeks $350M to renovate lakefront stadium

The Cleveland Browns football team plays their home games at Huntington Bank
Field on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront in a stadium built 26 years ago. The city
of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County leaders want to renovate the stadium to keep
the team and all of its hospitality-related activities downtown (HSG).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne has submitted a request for $350 million in state bonds to fund the renovation of the existing, city-owned Huntington Bank Field on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront. He says it is a fair, affordable request that’s on par with what Cincinnati is seeking to rebuild its own existing football stadium.

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Joy Court-Old Mill Street development gets first win

Looking northeast from the intersection of Barber Avenue and West 32nd Place, the Joy
Court Townhomes at left and the Old Mill Street Apartments at right would continue the
transformation of the BVQ District of Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There’s been lots of new housing units planned lately for the Barber-Vega-Queen (BVQ) District at the north end of Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. But none is as large as the project that just won support from the city’s Near West Design Review Committee.

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