Cleveland RTA riders face big service cuts

   

A budget crunch at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority could mean
service cuts starting next year, just as the transit agency is about to take possession
 of its first new trains since the Reagan Administration (contributed photo).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Due to higher operating costs, especially in healthcare for its employees, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) plans to make significant cuts to bus and rail services in 2026, cutting a lifeline to jobs, education and medical services.

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Progress Pics: the Shoreway Tower

A tower crane was being erected in place two weeks ago to build a similarly tall Shoreway
Tower apartments. This was the view from Edgewater Park. The Shoreway Apartments, at
left, were the result of an going redevelopment of a 19th-century industrial district into a
mix of uses, The Shoreway Tower is the next step in that redevelopment (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

For the first time ever, a tower crane has risen along Cleveland’s lakefront near Edgewater Park on the city’s West Side. It marks the spot and the approximate height of a new, luxury apartment tower that will rise next to it over the next 15 months or so.

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Report: Cleveland ranks 2nd in USA in redeveloping closed schools

At a sprawling 11 acres in the heart of a Hough neighborhood getting rediscovered, the site
of the now-closed Martin Luther King Jr. High School could be one of Cleveland’s largest
mixed-use redevelopments. Seen here in 2016, MLK High was still four years away from
closure due to declining enrollment (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While Cleveland is not unique among major cities in having a declining school population, it is proving to be adept at adapting. It is turning what would otherwise be a potential problem of blighted, vacant school buildings and lands that would drag down neighborhoods into redevelopment opportunities that might lift them up.

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Progress Pics: Cleveland Clinic advances on largest-ever building

Construction crews shuffle between floors at the Cleveland Clinic’s new Neurological
Institute (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Clinic is pushing closer to completion on a collection of new facilities across three different buildings. On Carnegie Avenue between East 89th and 90th streets, the 1-million-square-foot Neurological Institute has topped out with façade work nearly complete.

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Downtown AC Hotel construction to start

Renovations will start in about two months to convert the Holiday Inn Express in Down-
town Cleveland into the first AC Hotel by Marriott located in the city’s central business
district. This entrance on Euclid Avenue will be closed for the duration of the con-
struction work (SA Group). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Condominium owners and other tenants of the historic New England Building, 629 Euclid Ave., got word this week that renovations will start soon to convert just over half of the building from a Holiday Inn Express into an AC Hotel by Marriott. This will be the first AC Hotel in Downtown Cleveland.

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Warner & Swasey, Westinghouse redevelopments get Port financing

The five-story Warner & Swasey building at left and the eight-story Westinghouse
building at right are east- and west-side redevelopment stories that preserve Cleve-
land’s historical identity for new roles in the city’s post-industrial future
 (GLSD, AODK). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors today approved financing actions supporting two of Cleveland’s long-proposed major redevelopment projects. And it also approved a land transfer today to advance the Irishtown Bend Park in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood.

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Progress Pics: Lakewood Common fills ‘The Pit’

The former Lakewood Hospital site is cleared in preparation for the Lakewood
Common mixed-use development, from the corner of Detroit Avenue and Belle
Avenue (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Though the $119 million Lakewood Common project celebrated its groundbreaking in late September, the former Lakewood Hospital site has remained dormant for more than a month.

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Tech firm expands in Downtown Cleveland

Data integration firm NE2NE expanded into new offices on the third floor of Downtown
Cleveland’s Caxton Building on Huron Road, seen here from its intersection with
Prospect Avenue. (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Growing technology company NE2NE today announced the opening of its new headquarters in the historic Caxton Building, 812 Huron Rd., in Downtown Cleveland. This move marks a significant milestone in the young company’s journey and a renewed commitment to fostering community and innovation in its hometown.

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Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and Museum gets new home

A grand-opening ceremony will be held next week for the Urban Community School’s
new Roundstone Athletic Center on West 47th Street on the city’s West Side
 (Kaczmar). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After more than a year of construction, the Urban Community School today announced that it is scheduled to open the Roundstone Athletic Center (RAC) with a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 21.

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River Recycling plant to be rebuilt

Although difficult to see from Bradley Road in summer time, River Recycling Industries,
Inc. will be more visible this winter, especially as demolition and reconstruction work
take place following a destructive fire in September (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A start-from-scratch rebuilding project was launched today following a late-September fire at River Recycling Industries, Inc., 4195 Bradley Rd., in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood. The fire ignited multiple rounds of live bullets that were among spent casings to be recycled along with a propane tank that exploded.

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Progress Pics: Ohio City adding hundreds of homes

A 29-unit new-construction apartment building rises on the north side of Franklin Avenue
at West 32nd Street. It is the first phase of the Franklin Yard development that includes
historic redevelopment of a Victorian-era mansion and an early 20th-century
YWCA (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

High construction costs, tariff uncertainties, and changes to city tax abatement policy have brewed skepticism that current development momentum can continue — especially in urban neighborhoods like Ohio City.

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Ambitious Metroparks riverfront plans to progress

The Historic Coast Guard Pier and Station at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River was under
renovation this past summer as evidenced by the crane and barge on site with Downtown
Cleveland in the hazy background. The Coast Guard Pier and Station renovation is one of
the Cleveland Metroparks’ many downtown waterfront projects under way (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There’s no slowing down the Cleveland Metroparks next year — at least according to updates recently shared with the public. Several projects are under way or proposed that will drastically change the downtown Cleveland riverfront over the next five years. New details and lingering questions paint a picture of what comes next for the Cuyahoga River.

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Wade Park Station wins final OK

Wade Park Station senior apartments are planned next to an elevated railroad line and
the Red Line rapid transit tracks at the corner of Wade Park Avenue and Lakeview
Road (RDL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A Central Ohio developer was awarded millions of dollars worth of tax credits based a conceptual plan for a senior apartment complex called Wade Park Station, located where Cleveland’s University Circle and Glenville neighborhoods meet East Cleveland.

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County to spend $865K on new HHS offices

Not only has the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections moved to the former Plain Dealer
Plaza, but so will some Health & Human Services offices. While costing money up front,
the moves are expected to save money in the long run (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While Cuyahoga County officials contemplate how to address a $20+ million budget shortfall in each of the next two years, the county and its real estate contractors are planning to spend $865,000 to renovate office space at the former Plain Dealer (PD) Plaza, 1801 Superior Ave. in Downtown Cleveland.

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Bridgeworks demolition plan approved by city

Former Cuyahoga County Engineer’s offices and garage await their fate at the west end
of the Detroit-Superior Bridge. It appears that a demolition permit is due to be issued
soon to clear these structures so a seven-story apartment building can be constructed
(NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There is a saying in real estate deal-making that “November is the month where we ask — are we doing this or not?” The reason is that many in the real estate business want to get deals closed and projects under way before the end of the year.

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Hough apartment tower transformed

The apartment tower 9410 Hough has cleaned up nicely thanks to a $47 million
renovation and construction project. Not only does work include restoring the 10-
story tower and its 106 apartments, but it also involves new construction of The
Hub community center next door, seen at right (Harrison Whittaker).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Some said 9410 Hough Ave. couldn’t be saved. Others doubted the development team’s ability to move the rebuilding project forward. But Gina Merritt doesn’t succumb to those who doubt her or the endeavors she pursues.

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First W. 117th project south of I-90 in years

  The first major investment on West 117th Street south of Interstate 90
in years is an expansion of this used car dealership. It would result in
the development of a vacant lot and the demolition of a century-old
structure (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

West 117th Street south of Interstate 90 hasn’t seen a lot of development in the past 20 years or so, unlike the areas to the north of the highway. But that may be starting to change for this portion of Cleveland’s Westown neighborhood.

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A 5-mile-long lakefront redevelopment

Highways, rail lines, a seldom-used stadium and, most of all, Burke Lakefront Airport
stand in the way of Cleveland repurposing its lakefront into a setting that the public
can enjoy anytime it wants to (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Burke Lakefront Airport is an obstacle. You can’t build a decent-sized park on the lakefront because of it. You can’t build lakefront high-rises because of it. And you can’t access much of the water’s edge near Downtown Cleveland because of it and other nearby barriers, Huntington Bank Field, the Shoreway and the Port of Cleveland.

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Downtown Cleveland’s next transformations

While Downtown Cleveland adds a new tower every couple of years or so to its sky-
line, an average of nearly three office buildings were converted to new uses per year
for the past dozen years. It is the not-so-visible transformation to downtown's skyline
and it is ongoing (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While downtowns in large and fast-growing cities always seem to have at least several new buildings under construction, it may come as a surprise to many people that Downtown Cleveland has seen construction on several buildings each year too. The difference is that Cleveland’s construction is occurring inside already existing buildings.

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Greater Cleveland housing prices keep rising

  

Housing prices are rising faster in Greater Cleveland than in many
other major metropolitan areas according to a new report (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If it seems like housing prices in Greater Cleveland are rising at rates faster than they used to, there’s new data to back up your experience. Yesterday, the S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) released the latest housing price changes in the S&P Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Case-Shiller Index.

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