University Circle rising to become Ohio’s largest employment hub

The high-rise The Artisan apartments is about to be joined by another 24-story tower on the lot where
the construction fencing is going up. Constructing it is the same development team as The Artisan
which leased out in one year despite top-of-the-market rents. It’s the next crane-inducing construc-
tion project in booming University Circle (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Construction of high-rise apartment towers are indicative of more than just strength in a housing market. It’s often indicative of strengths of employment and amenities in the immediate vicinity, supported by a walkable setting.

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CSU, Play House deal ‘transformational’

The Allen Theater at left is the home of the Cleveland Play House. In the distance is Cleveland
State University. A alliance between the two will capitalize on their proximity and align their
programs (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) and Cleveland State University (CSU) announced an alliance they called “transformational” that will deepen the relationship between America’s first professional regional theatre and Cleveland’s only public urban research university.

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Mayfield Theater begins restoration in Little Italy

The historic Mayfield Theater has begun renovation work on the south side of Mayfield Road
in Cleveland’s Little Italy (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Little Italy’s Mayfield Theater, opened in 1923, has sat vacant at 12300 Mayfield Rd. for over 40 years. Its owner, restaurateur Terry Tarantino, appears to be finally realizing plans to restore the historic structure as a dinner theater, bar and lounge.

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Swagelok adding 1,200 jobs in 2026

Swagelok built this 119,000-square-foot headquarters building and innovation center in 2020 at the
southwest corner of Solon and Cochran roads in suburban Solon, adding 400 new jobs. But that
was just a precursor of more hiring to come (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Solon-based Swagelok announced this week that it is planning a major expansion this year and next. That expansion will start by hiring 1,200 people this year with more due to be added in 2027. And most of that hiring will occur in Northeast Ohio, company officials said.

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DVA has designs on Halle Building

The old Van Auken Akins Architects, rebranded in 2024 as DVA Architecture, is moving to
new digs in the Halle Building but staying in Downtown Cleveland’s Playhouse Square
district (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A growing, rebranded architectural firm can seem a little more fresh when it sheds its old digs and moves into new offices, especially when it gets the chance to design them. So when the opportunity arose to gain a new address, DVA Architecture LLC decided to draw.

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UH wins its biggest-ever federal grant

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center won its largest-ever federal grant for
pediatric emergency preparedness (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center announced today that it was awarded a five-year, $56.25 million cooperative agreement from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – $11.25 million annually – to lead the newly established Pediatric Prevention Network (PPN). It is the largest grant UH has ever received and marks a major national investment in pediatric emergency preparedness.

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Ohio helps fund Cleveland Housing Innovation District

It may look like a park from the air, but the amount of greenspace on Cleveland’s near-East Side is
the result of abandonment — something the city is trying to reverse by investing in infrastructure,
creating job-ready sites and sponsoring new, affordable housing construction. This view looks
west toward downtown, down Payne Avenue, from east of east of East 55th Street (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine yesterday announced $14 million in grants to support the creation of workforce housing in 10 counties. Cleveland got one of the larger grants which Mayor Justin Bibb welcomed as a recognition of the city’s efforts.

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University Circle high-rise construction starting

As seen from the Wade Lagoon in front of the Cleveland Art Museum, the new East Stokes
\mixed-use tower will be near some of University Circle’s most notable attractions, as well
as its many growing employers (SCB). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In a booming area like University Circle, it just doesn’t seem right not to have at least one construction crane looming over it. Fortunately, that visual injustice is about to be righted in the coming months with another major, crane-inducing project.

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GCRTA to delay further service cuts

A light-rail train from Shaker Heights pulls out from Tower City Center downtown onto the
Cuyahoga Valley viaduct where it will switch tracks and return east. If a transit levy passes
in May, light-rail trains from Shaker Heights could continue expand service west of
downtown to the airport (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) General Manager and CEO India Birdsong Terry accepted the recommendation from GCRTA’s staff and decided to delay a second round of service cuts until after the planned May special election in 2027.

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City tables UH’s E. 115th demo request

This East 115th Street residential neighborhood in Cleveland’s University Circle will stick around a
little longer but could eventually succumb to the expansion of University Hospitals’ Main Campus
based on feedback from a city design review panel (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The historic East 115th Street residential neighborhood in Cleveland’s University Circle may have gotten a stay of execution today thanks to a city design-review panel. But that doesn’t mean people are going to start moving back into any of the homes or apartments soon — if ever.

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Port sets 3 suburban projects in motion

The Allium, a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Southland shopping center in suburban
Middleburg Heights, was awarded $50 million in financing from the Port of Cleveland (Dimit).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

For the first time in a while, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Board of Directors today approved financing for three development projects that didn’t include one in the city of Cleveland. Instead, its aid will support new housing, retail, hospitality and job creation in Middleburg Heights, Strongsville and Richmond Heights.

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CWRU gets large gift to support new science, engineering building

The addition of this outdoor terrace to Case Western Reserve University’s new Interdisciplinary
Science and Engineering Building will be one of the most visible features resulting from a large gift
from the Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation (CWRU). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation has committed $15 million to support Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB), 10900 Euclid Ave., a new research facility designed to advance collaboration and discovery across disciplines.

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GCRTA wins $20M to rebuild Shaker Hts rail stations

On a snowy Feb. 27, 2015, a Green Line light-rail train gets ready to board passengers at the Green
Road station which is ADA-compliant. So are the Warrensville and Lee stations along Shaker
Boulevard in Shaker Heights (Kevin Goodman). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In 1990, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act became law. It was civil rights legislation which prescribed that no one could be excluded from a public facility or public transportation because of their physical abilities.

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UH asks city to erase E. 115th Street

Every structure visible in this northward looking view from Cornell Road in University Circle, freom
from the brick Foley Building at left, to 12 houses on East 115th Street including the street, to the
Fayne Apartments at right, are proposed to be removed from this scene in the coming years by
University Hospitals for temporary parking lots (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

University Hospitals will seek a recommendation tomorrow morning from a city design-review committee to demolish 12 historic homes it owns along East 115th Street in Cleveland’s University Circle district. Two neighboring buildings, one with offices and the other with 44 apartments, may also join them soon on the take-down list.

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Erieview Tower financing has officially been completed

Downtown Cleveland’s fifth-tallest building, the 62-year-old Erieview Tower, now has the
resources for major renovations to begin for converting it from offices to mixed-use
(NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Despite prior declarations by Erieview Tower’s redevelopment team that it was moving forward with its project, an investment bank that was tasked with delivering the financing finally confirmed today its fiscal resources are now in place.

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Clinic’s expanding Emergency Dept. has a big price tag

Cleveland Clinic’s to-be expanded Emergency Department on Cedar Avenue at East
90th Street in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood will push out its parking to nearby blocks
currently occupied by homes. The demolitions will start next week (Cleveland Clinic).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Way back in the good old days of the early 2000s, $230 million would be enough money to afford building a landmark 50-plus-story skyscraper. Today, with inflation and a very specialized building to construct, that same amount of money will achieve a structure of far less scale.

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Tremont Treehouse apartments to sprout

Built around The Treehouse Pub in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, a new apartment complex
 that borrows on the pub’s name could see construction start by the end of this year (GLSD).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Sometimes a proposed development in Cleveland sees a flurry of public activity when it’s first announced, then fades into the background for months or even years, then suddenly pops back up again when everything finally comes together for that project.

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Arch at St. Michael is reborn

They don’t make ’em like this anymore. So it would have been a veritable sin to lose this High
Victorian Gothic architectural gem from Cleveland’s landscape. Fortunately, the former Catholic
School has found a new use as senior housing after a $28 million renovation (CHN Housing
Partners). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In the late 2010s, the former St. Michael School, 3146 Scranton Rd., where Cleveland’s South Tremont neighborhood meets Clark-Fulton, appeared destined for a fall from grace.

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Clinic opens two new research buildings

Construction and even landscaping was completed by July for a pair of new Cleveland Clinic
research buildings along Cedar Avenue in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood. Those buildings
officially opened today (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Clinic today celebrated the opening of two new state-of-the-art research buildings, part of the largest research investment in the health system’s 105-year history.

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Blue, Green lines on track for rapid modernization

A brand-new Van Aken-Warrensville Rapid Station, under construction on Tuttle Road in Shaker
Heights, will feature a heated indoor waiting area and public restrooms (Harrison Whittaker).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Between new railcars, upgraded stations, rebuilt tracks, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) Blue and Green lines are benefitting from hundreds of millions of dollars in investment that could reshape the future of the city’s least-used rail transit lines.

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