Rockefeller Building’s future in limbo

One of Downtown Cleveland’s most famous buildings is in limbo after buyer interest in
the Rockefeller Building has faded due to repairs needed to the structure and a softening
residential market (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The future of the Rockefeller Building, 614 W. Superior Ave., one of Downtown Cleveland’s most famous and historic buildings, is in limbo after all of its existing interested buyers reportedly walked away in recent weeks. Interest in the property has faded despite $70 million in public incentives that have been amassed and remain available to redevelop the property.

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Port OKs $82M for Richmond Hts, Seven Hills, Valley View, Cleveland Port projects

The massive Belle Oaks Marketplace redevelopment of the former Richmond Town Square
Mall in suburban Richmond Heights got a big boost yesterday with new financing from
the Port of Cleveland (Bialosky). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Port of Cleveland Board of Directors yesterday approved a series of major actions that provided $82 million in financing for redevelopments across Northeast Ohio, enhancements to regional public safety infrastructure, and continued progress under the Port’s federally funded clean energy initiatives.

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Row on Garden in Brooklyn Centre OK’d

The Row on Garden is the two identical-looking buildings at left along Garden Avenue.
They are intended as a step-down in scale from the larger buildings along Pearl Road
at right which are part of the same development by ALMiCO Group (Brandt).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s been more than two years of back and forth with the city, but a proposed residential development in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood finally got approved today by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission.

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Fairview Hospital North Campus joins West Park developments

Kamm’s Medical Building rises behind City Dental Care on Lorain Avenue in the
Kamm’s Corners neighborhood of Cleveland (Harrison Whittaker).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In Kamm’s Corners, construction on the first phase of a $150 million North Campus redevelopment at Cleveland Clinic’s Fairview Hospital is now underway. It joins several other projects across West Park, including the 19-unit Parker Townhomes and the mixed-use Kamm’s Medical Building.

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New owner for closed steel plant

The former Heidtman Steel in Cleveland’s industrial valley was acquired and then closed by
Worthington Industries. It will gain new life with two industrial owners, each acquiring
50 percent of the property (Cresco). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

One year ago, Worthington Industries Inc. shut down its Samuel Coil Processing plant at 4600 Heidtman Parkway in Cleveland’s industrial valley. Today, Cushman & Wakefield-CRESCO announced that the plant has sold to two companies that are sharing the ownership equally.

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Biz park expansion sought near airport

Although Scannell Properties hasn’t released any renderings of its proposed expansion
of the Cleveland Business Park near Hopkins International Airport, this is a conceptual
building design used by Scannell for its other light-industrial and warehouse projects
around the country (Scannell). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Although it’s still early on, plans are coming together for a major light-industrial and/or warehouse real estate development near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The roughly $75 million project is proposed to offer up to four new buildings totaling 700,000 square feet set on about 34 acres of city-owned land along Rocky River Drive.

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Downtown ‘reset’ a challenge, opportunity

Year-in-review reports like Downtown Cleveland Inc.’s State of Downtown offers an oppor-
tunity to reflect on the past year’s achievements and challenges and what to look for and
pursue in the coming year CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Multiple forces are likely to affect Cleveland’s central business district in 2026, according to the nonprofit development corporation Downtown Cleveland Inc. (DCI). It’s a setting that has housed Cleveland’s fastest-growing residential neighborhood this century while also suffering the loss of office jobs to remote working, intensified by the 2020 pandemic.

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Cleveland Clinic plans two huge garages

The largest structures on Cleveland Clinic’s Main Campus aren’t medical buildings. They’re
parking garages and two more are planned to see construction start this year (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The largest single structure built by the Cleveland Clinic isn’t a medical building like the new, 1-million-square-foot Neurological Institute on Carnegie Avenue. Instead, it’s the 1.56-million-square-foot parking garage immediately west of it. And there will be another garage of similar size added just west of that.

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Variety Theater has a buyer

Following its pending sale, there is a new future for the Variety Theater, its ground-floor retail
spaces and second-floor apartments. But what that future holds remains to be seen (LDA Architects).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In the 36 years following the Variety Theater’s closure, a parade of owners have sought things for the 99-year-old venue — new uses, money and luck. Sadly, each of those have been beyond the grasp of each proprietor. Now, another owner is bringing another opportunity to change the theater’s fortunes.

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Seeds & Sprouts 35 – Public House, National Foods Packaging, A to Z Furniture to expand, Downtown warming shelter, Airport cargo demo

Two historic buildings on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland’s Kamms Corners neighborhood are
about to unite in ownership for the first time. At left is a 151-year-old building at the south-
west corner of Lorain and Rocky River Drive built by Oswald Kamms. At right is the
Public House, built 100 year ago (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In this edition of Seeds and Sprouts, business expansions are happening with the Public House in Kamms, National Foods Packaging in Cudell, and A to Z Furniture in Kirtland-Goodrich. Meanwhile a Downtown warming shelter for the homeless is coming and a Hopkins Airport cargo building is going away.

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Parkside Homes give East Side boost

On East 91st Street in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood, Parkside Homes fills two lots that sat
vacant for more than a decade (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

As older Cleveland homes continue to age beyond repair, reactivating a vacant or abandoned property can feel like taking one step forward while the neighborhood takes two steps back. In Glenville, Hough, and Buckeye-Shaker, CHN Housing Partners is reversing that momentum — filling empty lots by the dozen.

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As Amtrak invests in Downtown Cleveland, Greyhound leaves it

Cleveland’s Amtrak station bustles with activity each night but is silent during the day. It’s
that nighttime activity that requires improved access — and that’s what Amtrak plans
to address with a planned $6.3 million project (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Starting this spring, Amtrak will undertake two years worth of construction and improvements to its Cleveland station on downtown’s lakefront. Meanwhile, downtown’s Greyhound bus station closes today after 78 years, in favor of a modular depot in suburban Brook Park.

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Battery Park’s next big project

This apartment complex is planned at the southeast corner of West 73rd Street and Battery
Park Boulevard in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. This view is looking south
(EAO). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

J-Roc Development is one of those Cleveland real estate firms that, when they advance an idea into construction, it’s advisable to look around to see what they’re planning to build next. The reason? They aren’t content to sit and collect rent from their last project.

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Irishtown Bend hillside ready for next step

Irishtown Bend was in the midst of a hillside stabilization effort last summer as a crane
installed a new bulkheads along the Cuyahoga River. This followed the removal of fill
dirt that in the 1960s was placed on the hillside in the background which, over time,
increasingly threatened to slide into the river and block commercial navigation
(Port of Cleveland). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

As project sponsor, the Port of Cleveland has officially completed the stabilization of the Irishtown Bend hillside, marking a historic milestone for public safety, economic resilience and environmental stewardship along the Cuyahoga River.

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New $2.9M gym, multi-use center offer Breakthrough for East Side

At the opening ceremonies for Breakthrough Schools’ new Woodland Hills gymnasium,
students got a chance to try out the new facilities (Photo by Ashley Lemley, Jetpack
Group). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Breakthrough Public Schools held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony this week for its new gymnasium and multi-purpose space at the Breakthrough Woodland Hills Campus, 9201 Crane Ave. in Cleveland. The new facilities offer a modern, affordable and safe hub for school and community activities.

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Ohio City hotel gets financing extension

Backers of a proposed $55 million hotel for Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood continue
to push ahead for the project but are fighting financial headwinds in the hotel and
hospitality market (DLR). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A state panel this week extended its offer to help finance construction of a new 129-room boutique hotel in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. While that doesn’t guarantee the hotel will move forward, the developer leading the project said construction can’t start without the state’s financing.

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Bedrock buys more riverfront land

The property that has the single-level building with the black roof in the center-foreground
is being acquired by an affiliate of Bedrock Real Estate. But the reason for the purchase is
not yet officially known (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While public records show Bedrock Real Estate is buying more Downtown Cleveland land along the Cuyahoga River, so far only rumors give any indications as to why. Interestingly, the targeted property is not included in Bedrock’s $3.5 billion Riverfront development masterplan. Then again, neither is the rumored land use.

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Port wins state funds for major projects

  

One of the subject locations of today’s grant award is the Port of Cleveland’s Dock 22,
located at the center of this photo, at the bottom of the West 9th Street ramp at left (Photo
by Tim Evanson-Creative Commons). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland–Cuyahoga County Port Authority was awarded $4.2 million for two major projects to advance them from planning into construction. The funding was awarded through the Ohio Maritime Assistance Program (MAP), a competitive Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant program supporting strategic maritime infrastructure investments across Ohio.

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Investors’ make next play in Old Brooklyn

 Six townhomes will populate a vacant lot on Stanford Avenue in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn
neighborhood and help boost the nearby Pearl Road commercial corridor where the town-
houses’ developers have already begun to make a difference (RSA Architects).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Some developers focus on building homes in all-residential neighborhoods. Others focus on building and renovating commercial spaces on busy streets. It’s not often that a developer pursues both with the goal of each supporting the other. But that’s what a new development firm comprised of experienced real estate professionals is pursuing in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

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Buyer emerges for prime TOD site

At the northeast corner of West 117th Street and Berea Road, and next to the Red Line train sta-
tion in the background, is a self-storage property that’s being acquired by a national self-storage
company. So it’s likely to remain a storage facility despite past efforts to redevelop it with tran-
sit-supportive housing and mixed uses (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A Michigan-based self-storage company that has been expanding its property holdings in Ohio is adding another. This time it’s a property that’s been courted for decades by developers and planners as a potential site for Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

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