Greater Cleveland’s ten megaprojects

The Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center is the first
phase of Bedrock’s Riverfront development in Downtown
Cleveland. Combined with the next phase in the development
would meet NEOtrans’ definition of a megaproject, becoming the
tenth such project in or near Cleveland’s urban core  (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Sometimes we’re in the weeds, hyperlocal, self-interested, pre-occupied with our own day-to-day lives. So sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the magnitude of things changing around us unless you step back and take a look at them in totality. NEOtrans did, and wow, there’s a lot of megaprojects to soak up just in Greater Cleveland!

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MetroHealth Line BRT meeting tomorrow

One of the most vibrant and, thus, congested enclaves in Cleveland
is the Ohio City Market District. West 25th Street through this area
hosts cars, trucks, bikes, dozens of on-street parking spaces, and two
bus routes that carry more than 1 million riders each. Figuring
out how to reduce transit travel time through this gauntlet is the
goal of a pending $50 million project (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

As plans for enhancing the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) MetroHealth Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) advance, a pinch point in those plans has become the subject of debate.

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George’s billboards rise on Opportunity Corridor

On a small piece of city-owned land at the northeast corner of the
Opportunity Corridor Boulevard and East 75th Street, in front of the
Orlando Baking Co. plant, will be a 25-foot-high, dual-sided, electronic
billboard (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Construction work began last week to erect two large billboards along the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard on Cleveland’s East Side. The billboards are the result of litigation that will allow the demolition of a billboard and a decayed building that supports it, located at West 25th Street and Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland’s Ohio City.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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