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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Haslam chides state memos on Brook Park stadium

If state funding can be secured by July, this $2.4 billion enclosed stadium could open
in time to host the first football games of the Cleveland Browns’ 2029 season. But a
previously unanticipated, competing domed stadium of similar size could open one
year later elsewhere in the eastern United States (HKS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two memos dropped today from two branches of state government, both urging caution when considering the Haslam Sports Group’s (HSG) economic impact projections from its proposed enclosed stadium and supportive development in suburban Brook Park. But HSG shot back, calling the reports “questionable” and “inaccurate.”

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Harvard-MIT design for power plant redo wins

Bearing no resemblance to its existing conditions of a vacant, post-industrial site,
a team of academic urban designers from Harvard-MIT proposed this vibrant
new vision for the former Lake Shore Power Plant property several miles east of
Downtown Cleveland (Harvard-MIT). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

A redevelopment plan by a team of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students for the site of a former coal-fired power plant on Cleveland’s lakefront won the top prize in the 23rd annual Urban Land Institute(ULI)/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.

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Federal Building renovations halted

The silvery, rectangular Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in Downtown Cleve-
land is seen just to the left of center. One federal tenant, the Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration, left it years ago for the for the silver chisel of One Cleveland Center at
right where it is expanding (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

NEOtrans has learned that, not only does the Trump Administration intend to close the Anthony J. Celebrezze (AJC) Federal Building in Downtown Cleveland, the agency responsible for federal real estate has reportedly suspended building renovations in-progress. That also means federal taxpayers may have to eat millions of dollars paid for the unfinished work.

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Chick-fil-A opening first storefront in Cleveland

The bustling Uptown section of University Circle is where Chick-fil-A will
open its first storefront location in the city of Cleveland. The national chain
has locations inside Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the
Cleveland State University Student Center plus two lunchtime-only
kiosk locations in the central business district (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Amid all of the big development news happening around town, there’s lots of smaller commercial projects that can have a big impact on individual neighborhoods. And nearly all of these are new or expanded commercial offerings that are due to pop up on the landscape in the coming months.

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Metroparks seeks to redevelop riverfront lands

A centerpiece of the properties included in a request for proposals by the Cleveland
Metroparks is this 19th-century flour mill that closed in 2020. But there are other,
even older structures located away from the river that could be attractive for re-
development in a public-private partnership that is now being sought (NPS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When the Cleveland Metroparks began seeking state funds in January to help clean up and possibly demolish a 19th-century flour mill in the Flats, there was a bit of a pushback. The Metroparks, which has done a lot of demolition along the Cuyahoga River to create public spaces, was urged by preservationists to take a different approach here.

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Slavic Village site quietly back on the market

With about 34 acres of land next to Interstate 77 zoned as semi-industrial, a large ware-
house or some other light-industrial facility like this one could be constructed on the
 Morabito Business Park land that is being offered for sale by its owner (ULI).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s not the first time Morabito Companies has had its large swath of land in Cleveland’s Slavic Village be put on the market for development. But it is the first time they’re trying it as a FSBO, or for sale by owner — without listing it via a real estate brokerage.

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Rock Hall weighs options for expansion encore

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is to the left, the Harbor Verandas to the
right, and only 60 feet are between them. That led Rock Hall officials to consider acquir-
ing the mixed-use building to give the Cleveland lakefront institution more and better
expansion options for the future (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Construction is well underway on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s $150 million expansion at Downtown Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor. But after the new addition opens at the end of 2026, Rock Hall officials, in looking at their now-landlocked surroundings, are wondering where the museum might expand to in the future.

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Cleveland leads nation in home price growth

For young people wanting an affordable starter home in a market with big-city
amenities, Cleveland delivers. But it might not stay cheap for long. This is
Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood (Nile Vincz for Homes.com).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland led the nation in home price appreciation in March, but the metro area’s median prices are still far below the national benchmark. In fact, according to a new report, the Cleveland market has the lowest median sales price among the 40 largest US markets. But that might not be the case for much longer.

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Agave Social restaurant to open in Flats

At the high-profile southeast corner of the Flats East Bank building, corner of
Main Avenue and West 11th Street, noted local restaurateurs Alex and Arturo
Mendez with partner Guillermo Ayala will open their latest established,
Agave Social. This was the site of Beerhead Bar and Eatery for nine
years (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It didn’t take long to land a new tenant for a highly visible restaurant location at Cleveland’s Flats East Bank. Just four months after Beerhead Bar and Eatery closed at 1156 W. 11th St., noted local restaurateurs Alex and Arturo Mendez Martinez with partner Guillermo Ayala have executed a lease for the ground-floor space at the corner of West 11th and Main Avenue.

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GCRTA gives green signal to rebuild two stations

An aerial rendering looking north at the reconstructed Blue/Green Line station
at East 79th Street, near the Opportunity Corridor. Work to rebuild the station
is scheduled to start in June and be finished about one year later (Bowen).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) board members voted yesterday to hire a joint venture to rebuild Cleveland’s East 79th Street station on the Blue and Green light-rail lines. That follows last month’s board vote to hire another contractor to reconstruct the Warrensville-Van Aken Blue Line station in Shaker Heights.

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West Side Market wins $28 million investment

Storm clouds were brewing over the West Side Market when this picture was taken in
2018 and it wasn’t just the weather. The Ohio City landmark was in major need of
overhaul of its physical structure and its management structure. It’s been getting both
since with more to come (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA) and Cleveland Public Market Corporation closed on a $28 million investment package on behalf of West Side Market’s transformation project. The package is the largest ever issued by CDA and will secure the remaining necessary funding for the West Side Market’s $53 million first stage of the project.

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Cleveland is founding city in new pro soccer league

A modular-built soccer stadium can be built quickly and inexpensively to host games and
events by the middle of 2026. And it could be expanded if Cleveland is able to land a
higher division soccer team in the future (CSG). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A new women’s professional soccer league is due to launch in 2026 and Cleveland was named as one of its 15 founding markets throughout the USA. Launch of WPSL Pro, the newest professional league in the U.S. soccer organizational pyramid, was formally announced today.

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Lakewood church to become church again

Built as a church 103 years ago, this handsome Lakewood building will go back to
it roots under a new owner (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Only a decade old, the Lakewood-based King’s Church has acquired its first permanent home by purchasing the former headquarters of the Roundstone Insurance Co. after it relocated to Rocky River last fall. But that former HQ is going back to its originally intended purpose.

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Row on Garden gets pushed and pulled by city

The darker building at left is the proposed Row on Garden, amid several other phases of
development by ALMiCo Group led by its first phase at right, the Flats on Pearl in Cleve-
land’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood (Brandt). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Different departments of the city of Cleveland are stretching a Lakewood-based real estate company, ALMiCO Group, with orders to stop and go on different aspects of its multi-phase development in the city’s Brooklyn Centre Historic District. Caught in this push-pull is a phase called Row on Garden, now planned as an 18-unit apartment building on Garden Ave.

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University Circle’s ‘Holy Oil Can’ is up for sale

In Cleveland’s University Circle, two of that district’s tallest structures stand next to
the Wade Lagoon. The district’s tallest structure, The 267-foot-tall Artisan apartments,
was topping out in September 2022. But the district’s longtime height champion at
200 feet was the Church In The Circle, built in 1928 as the Epworth-Euclid United
 Methodist Church (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When a church has been around for a long time, its name can often change. But for the 97-year-old Church In The Circle, 1919 E. 107th St., its appearance-based nickname has not changed — the “Holy Oil Can.” Nor has its ownership — until now.

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Ohio City Starbucks OK’d by Landmarks panel

The left side of this corner of an historic building in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood
is where a drive-through for a new Starbucks Cafe is planned. The cars from this drive-
through will exit here onto Abbey Avenue. In the background is the Intro development.
Out of view to the right is the West Side Market and, behind this camera is the Ohio City
Red Line train station Avenue (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A plan to renovate an historic car dealership with retail uses, including a new Starbucks in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, was approved today by the city’s Landmarks Commission. But the question of whether a proposed drive-through should remain in the design was referred to the city’s Division of Traffic Engineering to decide.

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Here’s the Scoop: Ben & Jerry’s to Playhouse Square

Along Euclid Avenue, to the left or east of Starbucks in the Hanna Building, will be
the latest location of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. The new parlor will take the entire
space between Starbucks and the arched Euclid entrance to the historic building
(Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While NEOtrans doesn’t normally devote an entire article to the planned opening of a small retail space, this is a new ice cream parlor in a high-profile location. And, of course, everyone loves ice cream, especially when it’s enjoyed before or after a show at America’s second-largest theater district, Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.

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Tony George buying Lake Avenue site

This office and warehouse at 8110 Lake Ave. on Cleveland’s west side is near to
being acquired by the George Group of Lakewood to apparently remain a
commercial use in a neighborhood with lots of residential development
(NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A high-profile businessman is near to acquiring a piece of property between Cleveland’s stable Edgewater neighborhood to the west and the fast-growing Gordon Square neighborhood to the east. But despite the number of new residential developments emerging nearby, this commercial site is apparently going to stay commercial — possibly charitable.

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Rose Building sign not a sign of construction yet

This proposed sign for Project Scarlet, a renovation and conversion of the former
Medical Mutual headquarters into apartments and a hotel, is sought to stir up
interest and create buzz about the project (Diamond Signs & Graphics).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Landmarks Commission is due to hear a proposal this week for the addition of a visible, unique sign atop an important building in Downtown Cleveland. But while the proposed sign on the Rose Building, 2060 E. 9th St., is touted as a “Temporary construction duration banner” — there is no sign that construction of a planned hotel-apartment conversion is imminent.

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NE Ohio Soccer HQ, training facility search begins

A FIFA-regulation-size soccer pitch measures just under 2 acres, like this one in at
the Old Crew Stadium in Columbus. In the winter, the field is covered with an air-
supported bubble dome that is usually 20 degrees warmer inside than it is outside
(KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) has issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) to municipalities, civic leaders and community development partners to establish a new headquarters and training facilities for two professional soccer teams debuting in 2026 — a men’s team and Ohio’s first women’s professional soccer team that will be announced soon.

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Next in Cleveland’s BVQ District: Vega Ave. Studio Lofts

The Vega Avenue Studio Lofts doesn’t just overlook its namesake street. The apartment
building, clad in wood shiplap siding, will also overlook Interstate 90, set immediately
south of the BVQ Lofts in the former J. Spang Bakery Building (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If it seems like a new development is popping up just about every month in Cleveland’s Barber-Vega-Queen (BVQ) District, you’re right. The latest to pop up on public records is the Vega Avenue Studio Lofts.

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MGK’s Shooters Yacht Club gets go-ahead

Formerly Shooters on the Water had a 37-year run on Cleveland’s West Bank
of the Flats. It will be renovated as Shooters Yacht Club, whose ownership
group is led by musician and former Clevelander MGK (Share The River).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A new direction for a longtime Flats West Bank restaurant site on the Cuyahoga River is about to get underway. But it may be early August before before the public will have the opportunity to enjoy it, according to a spokesman for the construction contractor.

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National Acme redevelopment site to expand

Long abandoned and neglected, the former National Acme plant on East 131st Street
at Coit Road is getting demolished and its site cleaned up to make way for a new end
user offering new jobs for Cleveland’s Glenville and Collinwood neighborhoods.
And now it will expand with the addition of a neighboring former Republic
Steel site (Cuyahoga Land Bank). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The fate of the National Acme plant at 170 E. 131st St., where Cleveland’s Glenville and Collinwood neighborhoods meet, is an all-too common story about the demise of a major employer-turned-abandoned factory. But community leaders today said they hope that the rebirth promised for this neglected, toxic site will also become a common story for Cleveland’s many problematic properties.

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Cavs, Clinic extend partnership at riverfront center

The Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center is under construction in
Downtown Cleveland as the first phase of Bedrock’s planned massive riverfront
development (Populous). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Cavaliers pro basketball team and Cleveland Clinic healthcare system have finalized a 25-year extension of their partnership, lengthening the relationship to more than 55 years altogether. That makes it one of the nation’s longest continuous partnerships between a professional sports organization and a healthcare provider.

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