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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Scranton Peninsula makes space for 1,000 residents

Triton at the Flats nears completion on Scranton Peninsula next to Downtown
Cleveland (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In 2024, Cleveland’s Scranton Peninsula was home to a single resident. Now the construction of 609 homes ranging from studio to 3-bedroom apartments creates enough residential capacity for more than a thousand.

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Rafih Auto Group Development OK’d

Rafih Auto Group’s new home plus associated retail and office developments near the Inter-
state 90-Nagel Road interchange were approved by Avon Planning Commission this week,
opening the door to luxury auto dealerships to relocate from Cuyahoga County. The inter-
section of Chester and Jaycox roads is at the bottom of this image (Cresco).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two luxury car dealerships that first sought to redevelop part of Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted are now heading to Avon in Lorain County instead. It’s the latest symptom of urban sprawl that’s driving high-profile Cuyahoga County businesses into the collar counties.

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Sherwin-Williams HQ boosts office market

Occupancy of the new Sherwin-Williams HQ beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025 gave
a brief boost to Greater Cleveland’s office market which has been sagging since before
the pandemic (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Although the occupancy of Sherwin-Williams’ new 1-million-square-foot headquarters downtown has caused a brief boost to Greater Cleveland’s office market, a new report showed that longer-term, structural changes to the market are causing it to return to more pre-pandemic conditions.

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Bedrock Riverfront development evolves

Construction is happening on Bedrock Real Estate developments in Downtown Cleveland,
from the Rock Block seen here, to the Riverfront. But despite a masterplan approved less
than a year ago, some of the developments envisioned for the 38 acres of downtown land
Bedrock owns appear to be changing (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

According to sources and a recent presentation by Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage, Bedrock Real Estate’s Downtown Cleveland Riverfront plans are flowing like the Cuyahoga River, below the ice and out of sight. But the revisions reveal the desire of Rock Ventures owner Dan Gilbert to deliver tangible progress sooner than originally planned.

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West 25th bus lanes to move forward

Despite the opposition of some businesses in Ohio City’s Market District, GCRTA and City
of Cleveland officials pledged to move forward with plans to replace 55 on-street parking
spaces with bus-only lanes and traffic calming features, with or without a hoped-for
federal grant that could be announced as early as next month. (GCRTA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) officials today said they intend to move forward with plans to build bus-only lanes on West 25th Street through Ohio City’s Market District as part of its MetroHealth Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from Detroit Avenue south to Old Brooklyn.

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Five affordable senior housing developments emerge across Cleveland

Puritas Senior Apartments rises behind single-family homes on West 145th Street in Cleveland’s
Jefferson neighborhood (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

As the new year opens to a snowy start, a flurry of local construction activity is bringing four ongoing senior apartment projects totaling over 200 units closer to completion. A fifth, the 55-unit Hough Senior Living, has started site preparation after closing on financing.

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Two buyers getting nine apartment buildings

The largest single property that’s about to transfer to a new owner is the Van Aken
Crossing Apartments spread among three buildings on Van Aken Boulevard and
the light-rail transit Blue Line near Shaker Square in Cleveland (LoopNet).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Ownerships of a total of 177 apartments spread among nine buildings clustered together in two locations on the east and west sides of Cleveland are about to transfer to out-of-state buyers, public records show. While it’s too early to say what that may mean for the futures of those properties and their neighborhoods, they bear watching.

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Hough, Stockyards apartments’ financing closes

Hough Senior Living, on Hough Avenue at East 89th Street, is one of many significant
developments moving forward in this neighborhood, once a national posterchild of
urban decay (HD+S). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In less than one week, NEOtrans has shared news of multiple significant developments in Hough making progress with a fifth project now moving forward. But the West side need not feel left out, as Cleveland-based CHN Housing Partners announced a west-side project closed its financing this week, too.

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