Saturday, August 9, 2025

Cleveland’s second mass-timber building planned

This conceptual design for a proposed boutique hotel in Cleveland’s Ohio City neigh-
borhood shows wood-timbered columns, framing and flooring above the reinforced
concrete first floor and foundation. It was part of the documentation for a construc-
tion permit application of the hotel’s foundation and superstructure (DLR).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In May, real estate developer Dan Whalen left a Landmarks Commission meeting with a design approval in his pocket and a range of possibilities in the back of his mind. Those led him to consider building his latest development, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio boutique hotel, 1950 W 26 St., in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, with an extensive amount of mass-timber construction.

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Friday, August 8, 2025

UC’s Skyline On Stokes is urban resort

Marquees on the parking lot and Stokes Boulevard sides of University Circle’s latest
residential offering introduce prospective tenants to a new way of living that rewards
residents for spending more time outside of their apartments (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If you end up spending little more than sleeping time in an apartment at Skyline On Stokes, you’re probably enjoying the lifestyle offered by University Circle’s latest residential property. And it’s not just because of where the new building is located. It’s also because the amenities inside the building are large, both in scale and in variety.

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Thursday, August 7, 2025

Ohio City development plan returns after fire

he new plan for the 45 West mixed-use development offers a more commanding
presence on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. But a design-
review committee suggested that larger presence at the south end should allow it
to reduce the building’s scale at the north end, next to smaller homes (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

At 1 a.m. April 10, 2024, a former funeral home dating to 1865 at 4434 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood went up in flames. So too did real estate developer My Place Group’s plans for renovating it as part of a larger mixed-use development called 45 West.

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CSU, GCRTA restart talks on U-Pass

Thousands of Cleveland State University students use the university’s U-Pass program
each semester for free travel on Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority buses and
trains regardless of purpose. Last week, CSU announced it was ending the program. This
week, the transit agency and university officials were working on options to provide
fare benefits to students (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

One week ago, Cleveland State University (CSU) notified its students that it was ending its U-Pass that provided fee travel on Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) buses and trains. Today, GCRTA announced that conversations were occurring to continue to offer fare discount benefits to thousands of CSU students.

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Wednesday, August 6, 2025

ODOT plans first-ever SmartLane in NE Ohio

The Ohio Department of Transportation will create a SmartLane along a congested
stretch of Interstate 90 near Downtown Cleveland, through Dead Man’s Curve. This
unofficial rendering looks west toward downtown and the curve. The inner lane at
left will be the SmartLane (Methodicle). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With reconstruction of the Interstates 90/77 Central Interchange in Downtown Cleveland expected to begin next year, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has its sights set on the next phase of the massive Innerbelt project — and that next phase may include a technology that’s brand new to Northeast Ohio.

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Tuesday, August 5, 2025

GCRTA to add more railcars to order

Greater Cleveland’s new rapid transit trains are starting to look like trains at the
Siemens Mobility factory in Sacramento, CA. These are two halves of a rail car
that will be connected to each other at a hinge to create a single “articulated”
car. Cleveland will get 60 of these starting next year (GCRTA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In two weeks, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will likely authorize completion of its 60-car order of new trains to replace the oldest rail transit fleet in the nation. The Cuyahoga County-based transit agency is hurriedly trying to round up the last funding and complete the order before costs rise further.

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Monday, August 4, 2025

Euclid Avenue building demolition postponed

This century-old structure on Euclid Avenue at East 71st Street in Cleveland’s
Midtown neighborhood is proposed for demolition to avail a future development
site. But the demolition was postponed by the Planning Commission which sought
more information. The site is next to a station on the HealthLine bus rapid
transit (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Neither Mother Nature, the Cleveland Foundation or the Cleveland Planning Commission have so far been able to demolish a century-old building at Euclid Avenue and East 71st Street in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood. The tornado-damaged former showroom and warehouse of the Baker Electric Car Company, 7107-7113 Euclid, is in the crosshairs of a nearly four-acre redevelopment site.

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Saturday, August 2, 2025

Cleveland leaves door open for Browns to stay

Fifty acres of developable Downtown Cleveland lakefront land, lightly shaded and outlined
in blue, with another 15 acres set aside for public spaces are the subject of a pending offer
to prospective developers. That includes the 22-acre site of Huntington Bank Field where
the Cleveland Browns play roughly 10 home games per season until their lease with the city
runs out after the 2028 football season (NCWDC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While it may be unlikely the existing Huntington Bank Field will remain standing if and when the Cleveland Browns leave it, the head of a nonprofit corporation overseeing lakefront development kept the door open for the National Football League team to return if it chooses. But the clock is running for the Browns’ owners to compete with other prospective lakefront developers to respond to a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued last month.

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Friday, August 1, 2025

Cosm gets initial OK from Planning Commission

Rather than submit detailed plans for the Cleveland Cosm to the Cleveland Planning Com-
mission, the project architect sought feedback from pictures of existing Cosm locations
and this rendering of the Detroit Cosm, now under construction at Cadillac Square,
 adjacent to Campus Martius Park (Rossetti). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Bedrock Real Estate, Cosm and a project architect are already moving forward with plans to build a new immersive entertainment and hospitality venue in Downtown Cleveland known as Cosm Cleveland. And those conceptual plans crossed their first big hurdle today with unanimous support from the City Planning Commission.

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Thursday, July 31, 2025

Downtown Cleveland adds new retail tenants

The Klutch Cannabis store on lower Prospect Avenue in Downtown Cleveland has
a sign that used the same style as the original Record Rendezvous sign dating from
when the store opened here in the 1940s. The entire 1908-building was renovated
for $1.6 million (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There is a recent surge of retailers opening in Downtown Cleveland due in part to a growing traffic base coming from several sectors. One is the continued strong residential population growth. Another is the increasing number of return-to-office requirements by employers. And the last is the growing number of year-round entertainment options downtown, based on the hours of operation of the new retailers.

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Wednesday, July 30, 2025

CSU abruptly ends U-Pass deal with GCRTA

Cleveland State University has long been a close partner to the Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority in many ways, including its sponsorship of the bus rapid
transit-light route along Clifton-Lake through Cleveland and its West Shore suburbs.
But the financially troubled university has left transit riders at the curb by exiting
the U-Pass program (GCRTA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland State University (CSU) notified its students this morning by e-mail that it will immediately discontinue its participation in the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA or RTA) U-Pass program. This program provided to CSU students vastly discounted monthly GCRTA passes which they could use for other transportation — to work, medical appointments, grocery shopping and more.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Downtown’s latest high-rise gets finishing touches

The highest swimming pool in Cleveland is now open with more than a month to go
until Labor Day. And right after Labor Day is when the finishing touches on Skyline
776 are due to be completed (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Fifty weeks ago, NEOtrans got a tour of the Skyline 776 apartment tower just as its first tenants were moving in. But those tenants were moving into a 23-story high-rise that was still under construction and recovering from a sudden transition. Nearly a year later, work is still be done on the building, at 776 Euclid Ave. in Downtown Cleveland. But a lot has been done and there is finally an end-date in sight.

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Monday, July 28, 2025

Next lakefront trail extension to start in January

Aerial rendering of the soon-to-be-built Euclid Beach Connector Trail. When combined
with the existing trails in Euclid Beach and Wildwood parks to the east, or left in this
view, the total length of this trail will be about 1 mile long when complete in early
2027 (Cuyahoga County). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s much nicer to consider a new lakefront trail project now in July rather than in January when construction is due to begin. But between now and then, the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the Cleveland Metroparks will be finalizing agreements for the construction and maintenance of the Euclid Beach Connector Trail.

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Friday, July 25, 2025

Downtown Lakefront Multimodal Station can equal Browns Stadium in annual visits. Here’s how…

Many people might see two undeveloped rail stations, a highway barrier and an endan-
gered stadium. Planners with vision see a canvas on which Downtown Cleveland’s lake-
front access and development can be vastly improved to energize this mostly languid
part of the urban core (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Clevelanders have often lamented the large number of downtown lakefront redevelopment plans that have come and gone without producing much, if anything — other than more paper. Sadly, so have the large number of plans for a downtown intermodal transportation hub. They’ve sparked as much as a match in a vacuum would.

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Thursday, July 24, 2025

Cleveland Office, industrial markets dip in 2nd quarter

Downtown Cleveland’s Nine-Twelve District is hurting these days. This office building
at 1100 Superior Ave. is a emblematic of it. The building is headed to auction next month
due to lagging occupancy. But some buildings visible here have even more vacancies but
are awaiting conversion to residential — 925 Euclid, Ohio Savings and 800 Superior
(LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s not a good situation when the two major commercial segments of the market — office and industrial — are both seeing sluggish times in terms of leasing activity. In fact, both sectors in Greater Cleveland saw tenants give back more space to the market than they absorbed due to some large, high-profile departures.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Lorain County Airport may help close Burke

Burke Lakefront Airport’s proximity to Downtown Cleveland is both an asset to Cleve-
land and, according to a city-commissioned study last year, an opportunity cost preventing
the city from enjoying even more benefits from this huge lakefront site. Yet the airport
cannot be closed unless other Greater Cleveland reliever airports offer the same or better
facilities at Burke (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While NEOtrans usually doesn’t cover development news in the collar counties around Cuyahoga County, the funded expansion of Lorain County Regional Airport could have a significant impact on the urban core of Greater Cleveland. Specifically, it could provide a runway for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow the closure of Burke Lakefront Airport in Downtown Cleveland.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Downtown multimodal station gets design funds

Circled in red is the potential location of and facilities for a new multimodal trans-
portation center on the Downtown Cleveland lakefront for bus and rail services plus
an extended port access roadway. The goal is to advance planning to a 30 percent
level of design so that the city will know how much funding will be needed to
finalize the design and build it (FO). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Improving access to a re-envisioned Downtown Cleveland lakefront by more than just driving has been a focus of the city’s lakefront master-planning process. But the details on how that could be done so far have been vague and conceptual. That will change as a result of a $960,000 federal grant awarded this week to the city.

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Monday, July 21, 2025

Westinghouse redevelopment is ‘Back on track’

An early rendering of a redeveloped Westinghouse factory shows several features still
in updated plans. The most prominent is the eight-story tower reflecting a sunrise over
Downtown Cleveland. Next is the façade of the old foundry which will remain, but this
doesn’t show the new foundry building proposed behind it. And in the background is a
 phase-two development idea that remains to be seen if it is still relevant (AoDK
Architects). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After two years of outward silence, redevelopment of the former Westinghouse plant is showing new signs of life. Those signs are in the form of updated plans for the project which have become public. The vacant Westinghouse plant is located at 1200 W. 58th St. in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.

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Saturday, July 19, 2025

Soccer interests reject lakefront stadium

When the Cleveland Browns’ lease ends after the 2028 football season, could the
second level of Huntington Bank Field be removed and remainder of the facility
be converted into a soccer stadium? This is what it could look like (Methodicle).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued by the city of Cleveland last week for the development of lakefront land, all but 22 acres of it has a city masterplan established for it. That 22-acre exception is the site occupied by Huntington Bank Field which the city is offering up as a blank slate for those with ideas and other wherewithal.

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Friday, July 18, 2025

537 apartments for Cleveland’s East Side get boost

Signet Real Estate Group’s proposed Midtown development was rapidly advanced
from a conceptual design application to final approval today by the Cleveland Plan-
ning Commission’s Design Review Committee. It is just one of projects moving for-
ward on the city’s East Side (Vocon). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In recent weeks, five major residential developments on Cleveland’s East Side are seeing substantial progress that could propel them to construction by the end of the year. And, 12-18 months thereafter, 537 new apartments, many of them with below-market rents, could be ready for residents to move in.

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Sherwin-Williams returning to office 100% in 2026

Sherwin-Williams' new headquarters tower at the west side of Downtown Cleveland's
Public Square awaits a move-in of employees in the coming months from its old
headquarters offices nearby. And employees will be moving in at the end of the
year from their offices at home where many have worked at least two days a week
since the pandemic (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) executives allowed the company’s office workers to either work from home, the office or a hybrid mix. That continued during the “Building Our Future” planning and construction of the new Downtown Cleveland headquarters and research center in suburban Brecksville. Until now.

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Thursday, July 17, 2025

Three-building apartment complex planned on Euclid, Chester in Midtown

A three-building apartment complex is planned by Signet Real Estate Group with one
building fronting Euclid Avenue shown here, another on Chester Avenue and a third
in between. A driveway to the parking lot and the middle building runs under the
Euclid building which will also have a retail space at the far end (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After experiencing success with two other apartment complexes it built in recent years on Cleveland’s East Side, an Akron-based developer is pursuing a third. But each of the three developments by Signet Real Estate Group has used a different design approach,

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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Ohio City townhomes may be stalled into 2026

As viewed from West 48th Street, it is clear that construction progress on the
Equinox Townhomes stopped months ago based on the condition of the site.
The reason is due to legal battles underway regarding the project’s finances
(NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Eleven townhomes in various states of construction progress have been sitting idle since last fall and are becoming a worry to neighbors, based on social media posts and inquiries to NEOtrans. But based on court filings, further construction progress on the Equinox Townhomes, 1420 W. 48th St., in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood may not happen for months.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Cleveland offers lakefront stadium site to developers

The 1999-built Huntington Bank Field on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront could be
gone in 2029 or soon thereafter. The city is asking developers who has the best ideas
and wherewithal to repurpose or replace it and activate the land around it, right up
to the water’s edge (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Huntington Bank Field may not be located on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront for much longer after a new, enclosed stadium is built in suburban Brook Park. If so, what should replace it? And who should do it? The answer to those questions will be the result of a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued by the city and its partners today.

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Monday, July 14, 2025

Now arriving: Cleveland’s newest water taxi

Seen at the Flats East Bank’s boardwalk, the Cleveland Water Taxi’s Harbor Hopper
looks like a waterborne school bus from this view along the Cuyahoga River in
Downtown Cleveland (GCP Instagram). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

First there was the Holy Moses Water Taxi. Then there’s The eLCee2 Water Taxi, which still operates on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Next, starting on July 21, the Cleveland Water Taxi’s Harbor Hopper plans to offer daily schedules and intends to serve many more waterfront destinations in the future than its predecessors.

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Saturday, July 12, 2025

GCRTA breaks ground on new E. 79th rail station

Local, state and federal dignitaries braved the hot sun to flip some dirt at the start of the
replacement of the East 79th Street Blue/Green Line station. The station is closed during
the 14-month-long, $10 million reconstruction project that is intended to boost and be-
nefit from the redevelopment of job-producing sites along the Opportunity Corridor
(Rep. Shontel Brown). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Sometimes a piece of underutilized infrastructure can be revived to be a part of not only its own rebirth, but that of its surrounding area. And in return, that rebirth helps to justify the existence of the infrastructure in the first place. In this case, the infrastructure is the East 79th Street Blue/Green Line station that was considered for closure a decade ago.

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Friday, July 11, 2025

Haslams buy $25M beachfront mansion in Florida

It’s not the purchase of a Florida mansion that raised eyebrows among several media
outlets but its timing, coming just three days after $600 million of Ohioans’ unclaimed
funds were given by state elected officials to the Haslams for their planned new sta-
dium in suburban Brook Park (Traded). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Three days after Ohio officials approved $600 million in state funds for the Haslam Sports Group’s new stadium in suburban Cleveland, billionaires Dee and Jimmy Haslam closed on the purchase of a $25 million beachfront mansion in Florida. The two events are either a remarkable coincidence or some tone-deaf scheduling.

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CHEERS permits drag on, Port makes interim move

he lakefront east of downtown and the harbor north of it are all connected to the Port’s
Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS). Dredging of
the harbor to keep it open for shipping is deposited at the northeast corner of Burke
Lakefront Airport, seen at left. A dredging barge is visible just left of center (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With federal permitting dragging on to allow the Port of Cleveland to build on offshore island east of downtown, the Port board yesterday awarded a $4 million contract so the port could continue to deposit sediment from the Cleveland harbor and Cuyahoga River at the northeast corner of Burke Lakefront Airport until 2029.

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Cleveland developments to benefit from HB96

During a topping-off ceremony on July 8, crews set into place the last piece of struc-
tural steel (painted white) for the new Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance
Center for the first phase of Bedrock Real Estate’s Riverfront Cleveland develop-
ment. More projects on the riverfront and elsewhere downtown could be aided
by increased public incentives in the two-year state budget passed on
June 30 (Bedrock). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When sifting through the many development incentives in the state’s newly passed two-year budget, it becomes clear that a lot of Cleveland urban core projects are going to be eligible for them and potentially benefit from them. But, as we saw from a state program to aid megaprojects, a program will only benefit a region if there are projects and their sponsors in that region who will apply for them.

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Thursday, July 10, 2025

Year-round beer garden planned for Ohio City

Proposed for the southwest corner of Lorain Avenue and West 38th Street, the Noble
Market Biergarten involves renovating an existing building while adding a greenhouse
and patio for a year-round beer garden. The project’s backers say it will be the first such
beer garden in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood (Horton Harper).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A long-vacant gas station and underutilized historic building at the southwest corner of Lorain Avenue and West 38th Street is proposed to become a near-west-side expansion for Noble Beast Brewing Co. But this wouldn’t be another brewpub in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. Instead, if realized, it would be the neighborhood’s first year-round beer garden.

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Port OKs financing for Berea, Cleveland, Lakewood, Richmond Hts developments

Redevelopment of the Lakewood Hospital site by CASTO of Columbus will be
called Lakewood Common. It was awarded financing today by the Port of Cleveland
to get that project underway (Dimit). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Port of Cleveland board of directors today approved bonds for five major development projects in four communities across the region — Berea, Cleveland, Lakewood and Richmond Heights. The total investment from the developments in these communities total more than $405 million.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Collinwood site picked for modular home factory

Eleven years after it closed and less than a year before it was demolished, General
Electric’s Pitney Glass Works on East 152nd Street in Cleveland stood silent in July
2022 as a powerful reminder of America’s industrial prowess. Now cleared, the site
was named as the city’s preferred location for the construction of a modular home
factory (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A 22-acre site at 1133-1175 East 152nd Street in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood was selected by city officials as the future home of a new factory for manufacturing affordable, modular homes. Now, the city has to decide which of four candidate companies it will offer the site to build its factory.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Cosm was planned for Haslam’s Brook Park site

In a rendering that’s been circulating publicly for months, showing the planned,
enclosed Huntington Bank Field in Brook Park, closer inspection reveals that a
Cosm venue was planned for the mixed-use district adjacent to it. Cosm was con-
sidering it seriously enough to allow its logo to be used in this official rendering.
But Cosm ended up locating in Downtown Cleveland (HKS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

This could be a battle to watch in the coming years — a battle of the billionaires and their venues for Northeast Ohio’s entertainment dollars. And in the latest round, the win goes to Dan Gilbert, David Blitzer and Downtown Cleveland for securing the fifth US location of Cosm, an immersive technology sports and entertainment attraction. But it almost went to suburban Brook Park.

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Monday, July 7, 2025

Cosm confirms it is coming to Downtown Cleveland

Based on preliminary site plans secured by NEOtrans, the external design of the
Dallas Cosm is comparable to what is planned for Downtown Cleveland. The site
plan revealed by NEOtrans several weeks ago suggests that this will be the north-
west corner of Cleveland’s Cosm, surrounded by new parking facilities and future
development (Cosm). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cosm, Bedrock, and Rock Entertainment Group (REG) announced today that Cosm, a leading immersive technology, media and entertainment company, will anchor Bedrock’s mixed-use Rock Block development in Downtown Cleveland’s Gateway District. NEOtrans was first to report on this pending development three weeks ago when site-preparation plans were submitted to the city.

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Saturday, July 5, 2025

Sherwin-Williams set to open new R&D Center

Finishing touches are being put on Sherwin-Williams’ new Morikis Global Techno-
logy Center in Brecksville. Employees will start moving into the sprawling facility
in late-September and be done with the relocations by Christmas (Sherwin-Williams).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Schedules are coming into focus for the relocation of about 900 Sherwin-Williams’ employees who will be moving into the global coatings giant’s new Morikis Global Technology Center in south-suburban Brecksville. The change will also affect hundreds of Sherwin-Williams employees in Downtown Cleveland and in east-suburban Warrensville Heights.

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Thursday, July 3, 2025

Warehouse District megaproject site offered

With the Rockefeller Building hitting the market at the same as the neighboring
Warehouse District parking lots owned by Stark Enterprises, it makes the larger
site more attractive to out-of-market investors. This rendering of the Rockefeller
Building and a conceptual neighboring tower on West Superior Avenue is part
of  the marketing (Leopardo-Heart). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s not often that a 4.2-acre canvas in the heart of a busy central business district can be marketed to investors. But that’s what a swath of property in Downtown Cleveland’s Warehouse District can offer now that the Rockefeller Building is back on the market. And the larger property offering allows the Rockefeller to potentially be sold at a discount.

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Wednesday, July 2, 2025

GCRTA to aid in the expansion of two parks

Several parcels belonging to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, below
its soaring Cuyahoga Viaduct near Downtown Cleveland, will be licensed to the
Cleveland Metroparks for an expansion of its Rivergate Park, seen here on the other
side of the Cuyahoga River (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two parks in Cleveland are due to expand thanks to contributions of land by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). The two parks involved are the Cleveland Metroparks’ Rivergate Park in the Flats near Downtown Cleveland and Hillside Park in the Kinsman neighborhood on the city’s East Side.

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Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Winners, losers from the Browns’ new stadium

In four years, this will likely be the scene at Brook Park, Ohio when the Cleveland
Browns open their 2029 season to fans and to critics alike. In fact, every winner in
this scenario has a down side, just as every loser has an upside (HKS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There are winners and there are losers in the Haslam Sports Group’s effort to build a new, enclosed stadium in suburban Brook Park. But it is worth noting that all of the winners have lost something just as all of the losers have won something. And there are variables to this equation that will remain unknown until the future and those who choose to shape it reveal them.

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Monday, June 30, 2025

Cleveland wins WNBA team, new downtown activity

Rocket Arena is going to be active year-round thanks to Cleveland winning a WNBA
women’s basketball pro franchise. It might even help Downtown Cleveland businesses
offset some of the loss of the Cleveland Browns leaving downtown for suburban
Brook Park (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Starting in May 2028, Cleveland’s new Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) team will begin playing in Downtown Cleveland at Rocket Arena. The expansion team will play half of its 44-game schedule at home and, if attendance is at least near the league-wide average, will help soften the impact of the Cleveland Browns football team moving from downtown to suburban Brook Park the following year.

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Saturday, June 28, 2025

Port to start $25M rehab of huge warehouse

Outlined in red, the 50-year-old Warehouse A at the Port of Cleveland is about to get
$25 million worth of improvements and updates thanks to recent awards of federal
and state funds. Warehouse A is the port largest warehouse — as large as two
ships  (Port of Cleveland). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In the coming weeks, major improvements will be made to the Port of Cleveland’s largest warehouse, a terminal warehouse that’s so large it equals the size of two ships. Plans for those improvements were submitted yesterday to the city in an application for a building permit to get started on the work as soon as possible.

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Friday, June 27, 2025

Haslams acquire Brook Park land for stadium

Earlier this week, 179 acres of land in suburban Brook Park transferred to an affiliate
of the Haslam Sports Group for a new sports and entertainment complex that will be
the site of the Cleveland Browns’ home football games (Myplace.cuyahogacounty.gov).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Although the deed transfer was signed June 24, the document transferring 179 acres of land to an affiliate of the Haslam Sports Group for a new stadium in Brook Park didn’t become public until today. Nonetheless, this is the deal that helps set the stage for the construction of a new $3.6 billion enclosed stadium and proposed supportive development for the new home of the Cleveland Browns.

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Hough senior housing tests first new zoning in 96 years

At the southeast corner of Hough Avenue, left, and East 89th Street, CHN Housing
Partners plans to build Hough Senior Independent Living. This project was rapidly
approved by the city and improved in its design because it is located in one of Cleve-
land’s four new Form-Based Code zoning pilot areas (HD+S).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland City Planning Commission today approved designs for a 55-unit affordable senior housing development in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood. While that isn’t such a big story anymore, given the heightened pace of investment in this former poster child enclave of urban decay, it is when you consider the plans for this project were submitted to the city only in May.

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Thursday, June 26, 2025

Development near Edgewater Park revived

A two-phase, 72-unit development is planned on Lake Avenue near Cleveland’s Edge-
water Park. A larger project was planned here previously but proved too expensive to
construct. The city’s new form-based zoning may allow this project to proceed
(Horton Harper). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Three years ago, a team led by Beachwood-based Property Advisors Group (PAG) planned to build a large residential development at 8400 Lake Ave., overlooking Edgewater Park in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. But with construction costs and interest rates rising, the timing wasn’t right. While costs are still high, the city’s new form-based zoning code may make a scaled-down project achievable and in a timely manner.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Fenn Tower leads historic tax credit winners

A $50.4 million renovation of Fenn Tower at the east edge of Downtown Cleveland by
Cleveland State University got a big boost today by the Ohio Department f Develop-
ment when it awarded a maximum $5 million historic tax credit to the project (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Northeast Ohio did well in the latest round of Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program awards, garnering nearly half of all awards in terms of dollar amount and total number of projects aided today. By contrast, only one project in fast-growing Central Ohio was awarded historic tax credits by the Ohio Department of Development.

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Cleveland Clinic to nearly double Avon Hospital’s size

This simplified rendering, called a massing, shows only the scale and placement of pro-
posed structures at Avon Hospital. Their final design will change. This also doesn't
show a proposed parking garage or where it might be built. North is to the lower-left
corner of the image (Cleveland Clinic). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

To meet the growing demand for patient care on Cleveland’s west side, a growing Cleveland Clinic announced plans to significantly expand both Avon Hospital and Richard E. Jacobs Family Health Center. The $340 million project would nearly double the size of the campus, which is located just north of the Interstate 90-Nagel Road interchange in Avon.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Ports of Cleveland, Shannon Foynes to link USA, EU

The routing of ships between Cleveland, Ohio, USA and Shannon Foynes, Ireland, EU
will be a direct route via the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway and North Atlantic
Ocean. That puts Cleveland closer to Ireland’s second-largest port than all of the
USA’s East Coast ports south of New York-New Jersey (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Officials from the Port of Cleveland have signed a strategic agreement with those of Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC), Ireland’s second-largest port operator, to strengthen trade ties and unlock new business and economic opportunities between the Great Lakes region and Europe.

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Monday, June 23, 2025

Sinito walks away from running Millennia

Key Tower is owned by and is the headquarters of The Millennia Companies, one of the
largest affordable housing property owners and managers in the United States. It is re-
ducing its affordable housing portfolio, expanding into market-rate multifamily pro-
perties and, this month, went through significant leadership changes (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Frank T. Sinito, founder of Millennia Companies, has stepped away from managing the day-to-day business of one of the nation’s largest owners and managers of affordable housing properties. In announcing this and other leadership changes, the company said it will be selling off parts of its affordable housing portfolio and expanding investments into market-rate housing.

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Friday, June 20, 2025

Downtown Cleveland won’t miss the Browns

Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront will be much more vibrant and publicly accessible
year-round without the massive Huntington Bank Field blocking its use to the public
on the public’s schedule. This unofficial rendering also assumes that Burke Lakefront
 Airport would be closed so that high-rise structures could be built on or near the
lakefront (Ardoonave). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A downtown is a horrible place for a National Football League (NFL) stadium. It’s why half of the 32 NFL teams don’t play their home games at downtown-based venues. And when the Cleveland Browns leave downtown for suburban Brook Park, it will be Downtown Cleveland that gains the most their move, not Brook Park. The reasons for this are many.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2025

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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