Cleveland Amtrak routes surge; but expansion lags

Nearly 50 people prepare to board the westbound Lake Shore Limited at 4 a.m.
March 14 at Cleveland. This train is the nation’s single busiest train as it
links population centers on the East Coast with those in the Midwest (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

According to the latest data from national passenger railroad Amtrak, America’s most heavily used passenger train passes through Cleveland each night. And it, plus the other Amtrak route through Cleveland, were the two fastest-growing long-distance routes in terms of ridership last year. But getting more ridership or better departure times at Cleveland will be difficult absent new federal policies, said a nonprofit rail advocacy coalition.

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Leaning laundromat of Little Italy demolition due

The 19th-century building at the center with the white siding is visibly leaning to the
left, into Maxi’s Bistro which is owned by the same principal. The leaning building is
due to be demolished but it remains to be seen if plans for developing the property
are imminent (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Italy has its famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Cleveland has its leaning laundromat of Little Italy. But while Pisa’s was built in 1372 and is in no danger of falling, Cleveland’s 19th-century version is a danger to surrounding buildings and may be demolished soon after five years of consideration.

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Bibb: fate of Cleveland Federal Building “concerning”

About 4,000 people are employed at the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in Down-
town Cleveland. The Trump Administration has proposed to close and/or sell the 59-year-
old building without identifying where the federal services and the employees who
provide them would be located (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration offered hundreds of federal buildings and properties for sale or other disposition but quickly withdrew the list in the face of national criticism. Now, the General Services Administration is issuing a new, much smaller list of eight federal buildings to be cast off in an “accelerated disposition.”

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Euclid Beach Park arch relocation ready

This 1951 postcard shows the Euclid Beach Park arch from the waning years of the
amusement park’s heyday. The arch is being relocated and preserved in a new pub-
lic park adjacent to this location in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood
(Cleveland Public Library). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s Office of Capital Projects is ready to start work on relocating and rehabilitating a gateway arch from the historic Euclid Beach Park to its planned new home a few feet away. That home is a new greenspace in the 15900 block of Lake Shore Blvd. in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood, with trees and walkways and the landmark arch spanning the main walkway lined with benches.

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Goodwill to open at Gordon Square Rite Aid site

August 2024 marked the end of the Rite Aid drug store at West 65th Street and
Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. But Goodwill
announced last week that it will open a store here this summer (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

On Friday, Ward 15 Councilwoman Jenny Spencer shared on her Facebook page a letter to the community from Goodwill Industries that they will open this summer a store at 6512 Franklin Blvd. in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. The location is a former Rite Aid drug store that closed in August 2024.

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North Coast Yard pop-up to activate lakefront

A street-level view of the proposed pop-up park at North Coast Harbor,
next to the Steamship William G. Mather Museum, north of the Great
Lakes Science Center (NWDC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Like a company offering a free trial period to customers in the hopes of converting them into loyal subscribers, the city of Cleveland and North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation (NCWDC) officials hope to offer residents just that: a free trial period of lakefront activation and a tangible reason to support a permanent, fully-realized reimagining of an underutilized lakefront.

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Tower City Center lacks coherent future without more development, rail access

What was can be again, albeit modernized with trains now being manu-
factured for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, left, and
Amtrak, right. Tower City Center was built as Cleveland Union Termi-
nal — the city’s local, regional and long-distance passenger rail hub.
If Bedrock wants foot traffic and a vibrant Tower City Center,
restoring that rail hub will do that for them (Methodicle).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Like many who work in one of the dozen buildings of Downtown Cleveland’s Tower City Center complex, Nora Romanoff parks her car where more than 100 railroad passenger trains a day once pulled into or out of a labyrinth built as Cleveland Union Terminal. Just as rail travelers did from 1930-1977, she rides an escalator up into a grand railroad concourse that was significantly remodeled in 1988-90 to become today’s retail-heavy The Avenue at Tower City.

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Next apartment project at Detroit & Lake planned

At the angular intersection of Lake (foreground) and Detroit avenues,
where the person is walking, is where an eight-unit apartment
building with ground-floor retail is proposed to rise. It is planned
to help restore Detroit’s street presence in this neighborhood (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The next new apartment building at the intersection of Detroit and Lake avenues in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood is already in the works. But it’s planned to be quite a bit smaller than its to-be neighbor across West 75th Street.

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Cleveland Mayor calls Brook Park stadium ‘betrayal’

After yesterday’s comments by the owners of the Cleveland Browns,
 Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb responded (City of Cleveland).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Yesterday it was the owners of the Cleveland Browns, the Haslam Sports Group (HSG), accusing Cleveland city officials of “misguiding” its residents. Today it was Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb firing a return volley in kind.

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Cleveland, LISC unveil housing investment fund

This is one of several clusters of new homes built in Cleveland's Hough
neighborhood near League Park to address a shortage of quality
housing (Famicos Foundation). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Cleveland City Council and the Cleveland office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC Cleveland) announced details today of a major new initiative to address the affordable housing crisis facing Cleveland residents.

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Haslams say Cleveland officials misguided residents

The Haslam Sports Group’s proposed Huntington Bank Field in
suburban Brook Park promises to attract lots of year-round events
they say cannot be easily attracted by other facilities in the eastern
United States (HKS). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Haslam Sports Group (HSG), owner of the Cleveland Browns, submitted an amended complaint in an existing federal lawsuit against the city of Cleveland which is seeking to keep the Browns from moving to suburban Brook Park. In announcing its filing today, HSG said the city is “misguiding” its residents.

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Where Cleveland’s job-ready sites are assembling

 

The intersection of Grand Avenue and East 70th Street has been a dead-
end economically for decades. But that’s about to change for this
urban prairie. Recently called the Forgotten Triangle, this site is along
the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard seen in the background at
left. East 70th will be vacated and the land-bank lots around here will
be assembled and marketed to job creators (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Digging through public records can reveal a lot of interesting things sometimes. One of those is where Cleveland’s new Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund, Cuyahoga Land Bank and the city’s Department of Economic Development (ED) are focusing their efforts to assemble land for new employers.

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State lawmakers want Browns in Brook Park

  

A revised conceptual rendering of the proposed and enclosed Brook Park stadium
plus supportive development to the southeast of the stadium. This view looks
westerly from above Interstate 71 toward Cleveland Hopkins International
Airport beyond (HKS). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Barring a surprise, the last of the big hurdles appears ready to be surpassed for the Cleveland Browns football team's move from downtown to Brook Park. Yes, there's a million other things that can happen or not happen in the next year before financing might close and construction contractors are given the green light. But most of those hinge on events occurring now at committee hearings in our state's capital.

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Port OK’s financing for $93.5M worth of projects — West Side Market, Superior Arts District apts

The West Side Market and its signature clock tower in the Ohio City neighborhood are
one of Cleveland’s most recognizable landmarks. And it will endure thanks to Port of
Cleveland financing for $49.5 million in additional renovations to the market (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two transformative projects — a nearly $50 million West Side Market overhaul and a $44 million Superior Arts District mixed-use project — received significant financial support today from the Port of Cleveland following their approval by the board of directors.

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Bulkley Residences at Playhouse Square get spotlight

Downtown Cleveland’s newest residential offering is now available for leasing — The
Bulkley Residences at Playhouse Square (PHS). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.   

The stage is set for the debut of The Bulkley Residences in Downtown Cleveland’s Playhouse Square District. Its 84 apartments have layouts spanning four floors of the nine-story historic Bulkley Building, 1501 Euclid Ave. in the heart of Playhouse Square.

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Congressmen urge moving NASA’s HQ and its 2,500 employees to Cleveland

If a majority of Ohio’s Congressional delegation gets its way, the NASA Glenn
Research Center next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport would be the
new home of NASA headquarters. The Trump Administration will have the
final decision (NASA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Both of Ohio’s U.S. senators and 11 of its 15 Congressional representatives urged in a joint letter yesterday to Vice President J.D. Vance and NASA Director Jared Isaacman to relocate the space agency’s 2,500-employee headquarters to Ohio, specifically to Cleveland, after its Washington DC HQ lease expires in 2028.

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Baker Construction buys Cleveland Cement assets

A transaction that expands the reach of two Ohio-based construction companies —
Baker Construction and Cleveland Cement Contractors — was completed last week
and announced this week (CCC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

As part of an ongoing effort to expand the company’s presence across the U.S, Baker Construction of Monroe in Southwest Ohio announced this week that it will be purchasing the equipment assets from Cleveland Cement Contractors, a Brooklyn Heights-based full-service concrete contractor.

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Starbucks is next chain to arrive in Ohio City

This single-level building at the corner of Abbey and Gehring avenues in Ohio City’s
Market District will be home to a new Starbucks coffee shop at the near corner. To
the right will be four retail spaces for small businesses. Renovations are under
way (LDA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A shift to more chain businesses is under way in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. In February, NEOtrans was first to report that Chipotle is opening a store on West 25th Street in the neighborhood’s Market District. Now, we’ve confirmed that Starbucks has leased a spot near the West Side Market and across Abbey Avenue from the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) Red Line rail station.

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Hough Bakery plant site gets renewed interest

 

Waiting for a new future is the east end of Wade Park Avenue where it intersects with
Lakeview Road at the border of Cleveland and East Cleveland. That’s where the old
Hough Bakery plant still stands in the background, awaiting a new owner. At right is
the plant’s former employee parking lot where townhomes were approved several
years ago. And just past the house at left is where senior apartments are
planned (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A Central Ohio developer is proposing a senior affordable housing complex across the street from the long-vacant Hough Bakery plant, which appears to be a part of renewed interest in redeveloping this area. The site, in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood is also across the street from East Cleveland’s Circle East District.

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Warner & Swasey redevelopment on precipice of becoming reality

Sitting vacant and rotting since 1985, the former Warner & Swasey factory on
Carnegie Avenue at East 55th Street in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood
may finally be within months of being revived with affordable housing and
commercial spaces (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A coalition of developers from throughout the state of Ohio assembled at Cleveland City Hall Friday to discuss the transformation of the abandoned Warner & Swasey building in Midtown Cleveland. A project seven years in the making, representatives from developer Pennrose LLC's Cincinnati office, architect Moody Nolan of Columbus and Midtown Cleveland Inc. sought schematic approval for the adaptive reuse project.

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