Apartments planned at ex-elderly care facility in Ohio City

Dalad Group is proposing to redevelop this 19th-century mansion
turned-elderly care facility on Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland's
Ohio City neighborhood into 38 market-rate apartments (Gibbon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

UPDATED AUG. 5, 2021

A first step in the approval process is starting Aug. 5 for a roughly $12 million redevelopment of a former elderly care facility into a market-rate apartment complex at 3105 Franklin Blvd. in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood.

Dalad Group of Independence is seeking conceptual approval from a neighborhood-level design-review committee of Franklin Yards. Its vision is to redevelop the former Vantage Place assisted living facility with 38 apartments.

Proposed are 26 one-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom apartments spread among two buildings totaling 54,411 square feet. A third historic building previously used for storage and located on West 32nd Street has no definitive plan for re-use as yet, according to documents provided to the city and Ohio City Inc., a community development corporation.

Seven apartments would be located in what was originally a late-19th-century mansion. The rest would be in a building constructed in 1915 along West 31st Pl. as a women's residential center by the Young Women's Christian Association. The facility's former parking lot on the east side of West 31st would be reactivated to provide 42 of the proposed 48 parking spaces for Franklin Yards.

Site plan for the proposed Franklin Yards, 3105 Franklin Blvd. (Gibson).

"We like historic rehab projects," said Andrew Iarussi, president of construction at Dalad Construction and senior vice president of development at Dalad Group. "They present an opportunity to create something that you can’t quite accomplish by building new today."

He said Dalad was drawn to this location because of Ohio City's historic character. It's also close to shops, cafes and restaurants on West 25th Street and in Hingetown. And it's less than a quarter-mile walk to the Irishtown Bend Park and Lake Link Trail.

"We were also drawn to this particular property because of the large internal courtyard," Iarussi said. "It sets up nicely for a dynamic green space which is always a main component of our projects."

Plans show one-bedroom apartments would measure 558-673 square feet and two-bedroom units 900-1,052 square feet. In the 1915-built residential building, there would be eight basement units but all will have windows and one will have a sunken outdoor terrace on the west side of the building.

Proposed floor plans for the residential structures in the
Franklin Yards development (Gibbon).

Units will have access to several outdoor patios as part of the interior courtyard that would be opened up by demolishing a 1960-built, one-story common area for the former residential facility. Franklin Yards will also have a small fitness room, community living room and tenant storage areas, plans show.

The storage building on West 32nd, which dates to 1915 and measures just 2,172 square feet, may be renovated as a small office or possibly as a neighborhood retail space. The building cannot be demolished due to restrictions from Dalad Group receiving an historic tax credit of $1.9 million from the Ohio Development Services Agency. 

"Our project team is still working through the design development, and at the same time we’re exploring financing that will allow us to deliver a middle-market rate product," Iarussi explained.

He said the goal is to offer apartments that are affordable to a renter in the 80-120 percent range of the region's average median income. That would equate to rents for one- and two-bedroom units ranging from about $950 to $1950 per month. Ohio City Inc. Executive Director Tom McNair was not immediately available to comment today.

Site of Franklin Yards as seen in May from the southeast corner
of Franklin Boulevard and West 32nd Street (KJP).

"Over the past year, we have been working under a demolition permit to remove non-historic building elements and old mechanical systems," Iarussi said. "We hope to gain approvals and a construction permit to start the renovation work later this year."

NEOtrans broke the news on the sale of Vantage Place to Dalad Group in October 2018. The sale was closed two months later but a purchase price was not disclosed in county records. However, a Dalad Group affiliate created for acquiring the 1.376-acre property secured a $1.35 million mortgage to create a lien and security interest in the property. In 2018, the property was valued at $1.3 million by the county for tax purposes.

Sixty years ago, the property was purchased by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary as a residence for the Sisters teaching at Lourdes Academy first located across the street at 3007 Franklin and later moved to 4105 Bridge Ave., according to former resident Sister Mary Hurley, HM. It became a private healthcare facility starting in 1976 when the Coury family of the Aristocrat Berea Nursing Center purchased it.

Called Vantage Place since the late-1980s, the property went through other owners until it was acquired by Thomas Scheiman. Reportedly faced with federal budget cuts for elderly care facilities and his own retirement, Scheiman decided to sell the property to Dalad Group.

As many as 86 elderly residents, many with mental illnesses, were relocated to other care facilities in Greater Cleveland at the end of 2018 when Vantage Place was shut down. The property has been vacant ever since.

Tyler Kapusta contributed to this article.

END

Lakefront developments at East 55th alive again

The Landmark Companies' Shoreline apartments is, for the time being,
the only lakefront residential development east of downtown Cleve-
land to Bratenahl. That could soon change if two newly revived
developments are realized (Kyle Lanzer-Metroparks).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two significant lakefront developments near Gordon Park were put on the back burner by their developers during the depths of the pandemic. But now, both developers are bringing their projects forward to get them cooking again.

Part of the reason is the Cleveland Metroparks is leading a comprehensive effort to improve the lakefront near its Gordon Park and East 55th Street Marina which is a popular recreational area.

One project is a mixed-use development sought by Knez Homes on the south side of Interstate 90 and just east of East 55th. Up to 150 market-rate residential units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space are proposed for the former site of a 12-story Howard Johnson's hotel razed in 2009.

The other project is a residential development by The Landmark Companies on the water's edge of Lake Erie, north of I-90 and just west of East 55th. Proposed is a five-story building with 212 market-rate apartments called The Shoreline Phase II.

Location of the two proposed developments at the interchange of
Interstate 90 and East 55th Street east of downtown (Google).

Bo Knez, founder and president of Knez Homes, said he has asked his development team to bring its project at 5700 South Marginal Rd. back to the fore. The site measures 4.24 acres of city-owned land which Knez has an option to buy.

"We're back on the drawing board for East 55th," Knez said in a phone interview. "We're giving RSA (Architects LLC) directions to move plans forward."

In February 2019, Knez proposed a conceptual plan with 50-60 townhouses including eight homes above commercial spaces such as restaurants, retail and/or offices along South Marginal. Tucked behind would be 90-100 apartments in a five-story building.

But back then, some City Planning Commission members said the project was too dense and not connected to the surrounding neighborhood. Knez, who was born in Slovenia and raised nearby in the East 55th-St. Clair Avenue neighborhood, said there's no immediate neighborhood within an easy walk. Instead, he would be creating one.

The most recent rendering of Knez Homes' East 55th development
that dates from 2019 will be refined prior to resubmittal to the
City Planning Commission for final approval (RSA).

RSA Architects will refine the plans in order to secure final approval, Knez added. But he said he did not know when those revised plans would be ready to be submitted to the city. 

On the other side of Interstate 90 and East 55th, The Landmark Companies began pursuing city approvals for Shoreline Phase II. It's the next phase after the former Nicholson Terminal warehouse was renovated into Quay 55 and 138 apartments in 2002. Landmark bought Quay 55 in 2017, renamed it The Shoreline and converted some of its indoor parking into 29 additional apartments.

Phase II would result in a second, five-story building just east of the first, bringing more apartments, a larger swimming pool and 322 more outdoor surface parking spaces plus 95 indoor spaces. In Phase I are 63 indoor and 67 outdoor parking spaces. Total parking would be 561 spaces. City Planning Commission approved the conceptual designs two years ago.

John M. Carney, a principal with Landmark Management said the project was delayed by the pandemic and by having to secure some additional property from the city. But, contrary to rumors that the project was dead, he said the project is most definitely active.

The Landmark Companies' Shoreline Phase II is proposed to add
more than 200 apartments to Cleveland's lakefront (Vocon).

"Right now, we're working it," Carney said in a brief phone interview. "The plan is to proceed per the plans that received preliminary approval from the city. We're working on a few things with the city of Cleveland on the east boundary."

Although Carney wouldn't specify exactly what is being pursued, there is a vacant piece of city-owned, waterfront land measuring just over 1 acre immediately east of the 10 acres Landmark owns. Of that 10 acres, phase two would rise on 4 acres of vacant land at 5455 North Marginal Road.

This area along the lakefront, from Burke Lakefront Airport east to the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, is the subject of a multi-agency planning effort led by the Cleveland Metroparks. Called the Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Study (CHEERS), the goal is to accommodate dredge disposal, create additional aquatic and terrestrial habitat, protect existing highway infrastructure and enhance the lakefront.

Cleveland Metroparks plans a major expansion of Gordon Park
by using lake and river dredgings to extend the shoreline and
create an island. The development of more recreational and
public spaces along the lakefront could boost residential
development south of I-90 where FirstEnergy's
power plant stood until 2017 (Metroparks).

I-90 has been battered in recent years by storm-driven waves that pushed abnormally high lake levels onto the roadway and into a water inlet below the highway. Water from that inlet was used by the former FirstEnergy Lake Shore Power Plant until it was closed and demolished in 2017.  

With the power plant gone, there was no longer a reason for I-90 to be routed around it next to the lake. Some wanted to see I-90 moved south, through the former power plant's property. Instead, a less costly option was embraced by the CHEERS effort -- push the lake shore farther north, including the creation of a park island and a cove between it and the lake shore.

The Green Ribbon Coalition, which promotes an enhanced and more accessible lakefront, said the Metroparks' proposed improvements could lead to additional development and expansion of public spaces. That may include redeveloping much of the 62 acres of land on which the power plant sat. FirstEnergy said the site was cleaned of pollutants when it demolished the plant.

END

'Temporary', huge parking lot planned on downtown lakefront

An 18-acre swath of city-owned land is proposed to be developed
with a surface parking lot that would offer up to 2,000 spaces for
cars. But the plan is meeting early resistance (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

UPDATED AUG. 2, 2021

A parking lot with nearly 2,000 parking spaces is proposed to be built on 18 acres of downtown lakefront land, with parking spaces being placed right up next to the water's edge of Lake Erie. That's according to a building permit application submitted to the city this past week.

The application, drafted by Osborn Engineering, proposes to add 1,175 parking spaces to the 775 spaces that are already existing along and immediately north of Erieside Avenue and First Energy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns. The total number of parking spaces would be 1,950 if the application is approved by the city's Building Department.

Existing parking on the site is located more than 300 feet away from the water's edge and, for the most part, was used by a smattering of workers at the Port of Cleveland, stadium employees and visitors to North Coast Harbor. The existing and proposed parking lot land is owned by the City of Cleveland.

But most of the spaces were placed there for use by fans and workers attending eight regular season and one or two preseason Cleveland Browns football games per year. That is how the additional spaces are proposed to be used, too.

Site plan for the parking lot expansion north of First Energy Sta-
dium, seen at bottom. Lake Erie is on the top. Port of Cleve-
land property is on the left and the Steamship William G.
Mather Museum is at the right. This site plan was
spread across two pages that were combined
electronically for clarity (Osborne).

The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission was listed on the application as the sponsor. Meredith Painter, director of marketing and communications at the commission said they are not involved with the parking lot expansion.

"Unfortunately, our team is not involved in any development conversations regarding the land north of First Energy Stadium," Painter said. "During the 2021 NFL Draft in quarter one of this year, the city of Cleveland partnered with us to create a space for the NFL Draft and main stage, however, we have not been involved in any further conversations."

In the permit application to the city, Jon-Michael Lemon, director of civil engineering at Osborn Engineering, wrote "We are planning to restripe a large portion of the existing parking lot, north of Erieside."

But much of the site proposed for the additional parking spaces was never a parking lot. Until this winter, there were two vacant port warehouses on the city-owned land. They were demolished, their foundations removed and the site paved to host a temporary stage and support facilities for the National Football League's 2021 Draft to select eligible players to play professional football.

Osborn Engineering estimated the cost of adding the 1,175 parking spaces to the downtown lakefront at about $80,000, according to the permit application. The parking lot is proposed to be "temporary" as the Haslam family, owners of the Cleveland Browns, are proposing a major redevelopment of the lakefront. Osborn is part of the redevelopment team. The Haslam's Harbor Development Plan includes new housing, offices, hotels, restaurants, retail and public spaces.

In April, the National Football League erected this temporary
stage on the downtown lakefront where the proposed park-
ing lot is now proposed to go. The stage and its ancillary
structures were kept only briefly, used for the foot-
ball draft from April 29 to May 1 (NFL).

But some city officials and lakefront advocates said such plans are years away from being realized. Instead, they wondered why a temporary greenspace wasn't proposed instead of a temporary parking lot. Some vowed to fight the proposed parking expansion.

"Generally, using our waterfront for parking is a terrible idea," said Ward 3 City Councilman Kerry McCormack, whose ward includes downtown. "I would hope that we are trying to correct this type of use (surface parking) that we already have too much of in Cleveland."

Dick Clough, executive board chair of the Green Ribbon Coalition which promotes public access to and use of the lakefront, responded angrily to the idea of putting a parking lot on the downtown waterfront.

"It just amazes me that we would devote prime lakefront land for eight Browns dates versus developing a public park that could be enjoyed every day during three seasons," Clough said. "As usual, it's a complete lack of vision and a huge missed opportunity."

Proposed by the Haslam family, which owns the Cleveland Browns
football team, this Harbor Development Plan would transform
the downtown lakefront. But it will be years, at best, before
this plan can be realized. Thus any "temporary" changes
to the lakefront may remain for a long time (Browns).

He suggested that the city or the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission should partner with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) to encourage Browns fans to use public transportation to attend Browns games thereby reducing the parking needs.

Clough pointed out that the $80,000 proposed to be spent on expanding the parking lot with 1,175 parking could instead buy GCRTA day passes for 2,000 fans for eight Browns regular season home games. Or they could sell the passes at a discount and make them last for two or more seasons, he said.

"We could recreate the Donald Gray Gardens on that site," Clough added, referring to a public gardens that existing on the north side of the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium that stood where First Energy Stadium is now.

"A great lakefront does not include dedicating prime land with lake access for a giant parking lot used for a few hours on a few days," Clough said. "We're awaiting the implementation of the recently announced Browns Harbor Development Plan which is probably five or 10 years down the road. In the meantime, the only temporary thing we should be creating is a public green space on the real estate north of the stadium."

END

Higbee's Public Square façade to add outdoor gambling

The first floor of the JACK Cleveland Casino, formerly the Higbee's
department store downtown, is proposed to be opened up to create
an outdoor gaming patio. To the right of the casino's Ontario Street
 canopy (at left) and around to the front of the casino facing Public
Square (at right), windows will be removed and the lower part of
their openings will gain pre-cast concrete planters (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

For generations, from 1931-2002, many of us did what Ralphie Parker and his friends did in the movie "A Christmas Story." We fogged up the icy Public Square windows at Higbee's department store downtown while looking at the latest toys and gifts that were available inside.

Even today, as one-armed bandits and card games on green felt tables were played inside, the Higbee Building's Public Square windows of the JACK Cleveland Casino still displayed a holidays-themed motif featuring items from the 1983 movie for people strolling past.

If plans submitted by JACK Entertainment are approved by the city, those will no longer be seen on Cleveland's Public Square and a short section of the Ontario Street side. The reason is that the first floor of the casino facing the square will have its glass windows and front entrance removed to create an outdoor patio offering year-round gambling using electronic gaming terminals.

In front of and below the window openings will be concrete planters. Beyond that will be an open space which design documents called a moat to separate the gaming area from the cold and heat of Public Square and Ontario Street. Above and below the gaming area will be an extensive heating and cooling system.

The outdoor gaming patio will be isolated from the rest of the casino by glass and a vestibule. For patrons, the only access to the patio will be by entering through other parts of the casino first. However a direct exit from the outdoor gaming area to Public Square will be provided.

Ground floor plan for the JACK Casino Cleveland with Public
Square and the outdoor gaming patio (shaded area) seen at left.
Ontario Street is along the top, Prospect Avenue at right and
Tower City Center along the bottom (Cupkovic).

Entry to the casino from Public Square will be via the Tower City Center portico. However most patrons enter the casino via the skywalk over the intersection of Ontario Street and Prospect Avenue, from the casino's parking garage.

Aleksandra Breault, public relations and communications manager for JACK Entertainment, acknowledged the project was an expansion of the gaming floor of their Cleveland casino but was unable to provide additional details right now.

Ward 3 City Councilman Kerry McCormack, whose ward includes downtown, was generally supportive of the casino's new gaming concept although he had not seen the detailed plans yet.

"In general, I am supportive of patio usage as a way to support street life," McCormack said.

But a noted local preservationist and architect Steve McQuillin was not supportive of the plans that would salvage and put into storage historic storefronts, ceilings including the backlit ceiling clouds and lighting, and glass work. However, the former department store's canopies and awnings will remain, plans show.

This more detailed view shows the darkened area with the changes
to the ground floor plan associated with the outdoor gaming patio.
Tower City's Public Square portico is at the bottom (Cupkovic).

"These are pretty serious changes," he said. "The concept seems very disrespectful to historic preservation and to the downtown ambience. As you may recall those were originally display windows visible from both sides via an open air walkway. It's pretty terrible."

McCormack had not seen the plans because they do not require any design review by the City Planning Commission or City Council, even though the Higbee Department Store remains on the National Register of Historic Places. It was added to the register in 1976 when the entire Cleveland Union Terminal Group of buildings, including Terminal Tower, was designated.

That changed when the National Park Service, which oversees the historic register, rejected plans for the skywalk over the Ontario/Prospect intersection. The skywalk could still move forward, but the casino had to give back historic credits it received to renovate the casino in 2013. Thus, future renovations no longer required anything more than a building permit from the city's Building Department. 

"Since the casino gave back the tax credits because of their overhead walkway, there is no longer any preservation review," McQuillin said. "All they need to do is get the city’s okay and that’s basically routine."

END

Library Lofts high-rise construction starting soon

Although site work on the first new tower at Circle Square in Uni-
versity Circle began three months ago, a formal groundbreaking
ceremony was held July 29 for the 24-story Artisan apartment
building. Site preparation work is due to start next week for
the next tower at Circle Square - the 11-story Library Lofts
offering apartments over a new library (Chris Ronayne).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Here comes another major construction project that will produce a tower crane in the sky over Cleveland, and over University Circle in particular. And we're just getting warmed up, Cleveland.

Site preparation work is scheduled to start on or about Aug. 2 for Library Lofts -- the next phase of the massive Circle Square development. A tower crane for this project will likely arrive on the site well before Thanksgiving. And with all of the construction happening in Cleveland, there will be a lot for which to be thankful.

Chris Ronayne, president of the neighborhood development corporation University Circle Inc., confirmed to NEOtrans about the start of construction work for Library Lofts, 10541 Euclid Ave.

Cleveland-based Midwest Development Partners' roughly $55 million, 11-story building will feature 207 market-rate apartments above a new, two-story Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Branch of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) -- hence the name Library Lofts.

It will be the second of as many as six towers to rise in the $300+ million Circle Square development, bounded by Euclid, East 105th Street, Chester Avenue and MLK Drive.

Designed to look like bookshelves, the 11-story Library Lofts will
provide round-the-clock source of customers to retailers and restau-
rants in a growing University Circle (Bialosky, SO-IL/JKURTZ).

It is near the location of where a dense, vibrant neighborhood called Doan's Corners stood. It was Cleveland's second downtown. But its theaters, shops and residential hotels declined starting in the 1950s and, except for the 13-story Fenway Manor, was completely demolished by 1990.

Work began in early April for the Artisan, 10600 Chester, a 24-story, 267-foot-tall residential-over-retail tower that will be the tallest building in University Circle. Artisan will have 298 market-rate apartments and 287 parking spaces over 14,005 square feet of ground-floor retail. It will overtake One University Circle which held the title as University Circle's tallest since 2018.

"University Circle was Cleveland's second downtown a century ago. And it is again thanks to investments like Circle Square," said Ronayne, who announced nearly a month ago he is running for the office of Cuyahoga County Executive.

The MLK Branch Library will remain open during construction. Once the new library is opened, the existing one, built in 1970, will be demolished for a future phase in the Circle Square development. Plans show a residential tower or possibly a hotel could rise on the old library site.

After the city approved Library Lofts' final design May 21, general contractor Panzica Construction set up a construction timetable for the project. That schedule shows, starting about Aug. 2, Chicago-based Power Construction will build 50 temporary library parking spaces on the east side of Stokes Boulevard and add traffic control measures. Fencing and signage around the building site will follow a week or so later.

Site plan for the huge Circle Square development which includes
"squaring off" the corners at several intersections to slow down
vehicular traffic to make the area safer for pedestrians (MDP).

Site preparations and foundation work for the two-story concrete podium containing the new library will begin on or about Aug. 17. Construction of a 488-space public parking garage, between Library Lofts and Artisan, is due to start in March 2022 with garage work taking about nine months. Artisan and Library Lofts are expected to be completed in spring 2023.

Power Construction is the general contractor for Chicago-based White Oak Realty Partners which is building Artisan next door. These first two Circle Square towers, plus the new public parking garage, are being coordinated between multiple project partners.

"In partnership with CPL, Midwest (Development Partners), White Oak Realty, (architect) Bialosky and the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council, we'll have a library-centered neighborhood of more than a thousand new units in a buzzing, pedestrian friendly and transit-connected urban center," Ronayne added. "The future of the city is here."

It certainly is where most of Cleveland's major-new construction work is happening and will likely continue for some time. In addition to the Artisan and Library Lofts, four other major projects are due to start in University Circle in the coming months -- all of which may warrant a construction crane.

Those four are also all associated with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF). Three of them are directly led by the CCF -- a 400,000-plus-square-foot new Neurological Institute, a 100,000-square-foot expansion of the Cole Eye Institute and a 400,000-square-foot new Global Center for Pathogen Research & Human Health.

At the front-center is the historic Fenway Manor apartments. To the
left of it is Library Lofts. In any other era, that would be one of the
largest towers to rise in University Circle. Not this era. In the rear-
center, the 24-story Artisan is already under construction. It may
be eclipsed in height by another apartment tower to the right-rear
and a new office building at front-right (Bialosky).

For the fourth project, the Clinic is working with a private developer, Fairmount Properties, to jointly develop hundreds of thousands of square feet of mixed uses in phases, just south of Cedar Avenue and west of East 105th.

A decade ago, Fairmount joined with the Wolstein Group to develop Flats East Bank downtown. It then joined with DiGeronimo Companies to build Pinecrest in Orange Village which opened in 2018.

In the first phase of its partnership with CCF, Fairmount envisions 300 micro-unit apartments, several dozen townhomes and a 40,000-square-foot Meijer grocery store rising 5-10 stories above the southwest corner of East 105th and Cedar. A second phase of roughly equal size could follow immediately west of it. Sources said financing for the project is still coming together.

Knez Homes, which is building hundreds of new housing units around University Circle, said the number of new jobs coming to that area over the next decade could create a demand for up to 10,000 new housing units.

Future phases of Circle Square may include a residential tower possibly taller than Artisan, making its altitudinal reign over University Circle possibly as brief as One University Circle's. Also planned is a second new parking garage plus an office building approximately 13-15 stories high that could also approach 300 feet in height.

END

Phantasy Theater renovation as Studio West 117 begins

Rendering of what The Fieldhouse at Studio West 117th could look
like when its renovation is completed in the spring 2022. Other phases
of the Phantasy Theater complex will come on line into 2023 (Groundswell).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Construction fences are up. Work crews are on site. And a $75 million vision for the rebirth of the Phantasy Theater complex, 11794-11814 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, into Studio West 117 is starting to come to life.

But if you ride by the site on Detroit, you might miss the bulk of the early activity. The reason is the visible work is occurring behind the Phantasy Theater in a structure at 1384 Hird Ave. most recently used by Mack Products Co.

That structure is called The Fieldhouse by developers Daniel Budish and Betsy Figgie. It's actually three connected structures totaling 29,298 square feet that will host a gym and a South American steak restaurant, Stone oven pizza kitchen and rooftop tapas bar lead by Yanira Llanos and her wife Yasmeen Desiree. The gym will host fitness classes and sports leagues.

Budish, president of Gaslamp Capital LLC which specializes in historic renovations, said he hopes that renovation work on former Mack Products structures, some of which date back to 1905, will wrap up in the spring.

In the past week, construction fences went up around the former
Mack Products building on Hird Avenue, just north of Detroit
Avenue and the main part of the Phantasy Theater complex
at the east end of Lakewood (KJP).

"This is very exciting for us," Budish said. "Work on the Fieldhouse at Studio West 117 should be complete by the end of April. We are saying spring of 2022 just to give some added cushion in case there are any construction delays. We expect to have a major grand opening and Pride celebration in June of 2022."

Budish, son of Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, along with Figgie who owns Your CFO Resource to provide financial assistance to nonprofit organizations, acquired the Phantasy Theater complex and Mack Products properties last year. Figgie also led the creation of the West 117 Foundation to "support entrepreneurship, arts, culture, health, and human services to create a hub for Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ ecosystem."

At around the same time, they acquired properties at 11600-11618 Detroit on the Cleveland side of West 117th Street. It's a mixed-use building with five businesses on the ground floor, including My Friends Deli, with eight apartments upstairs that will gain more of an LGBTQ+ presence as existing leases expire. 

The duo also joined forces with the Foran Group for a $14 million renovation of the 80,000-square-foot Astrup Awning plant as the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. Tenants include the Cleveland Museum of Art, Intermuseum Conservation Association, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Cleveland Missing, Inlet Dance Theatre and LatinUS.

For more than 100 years, the Phantasy Theater, preceded in name
by the Homestead Theater, stood in the 18000 block of Detroit
Avenue. Now the property will gain a fresh new purpose and
appearance as part of a $75 million redevelopment (KJP).

"Other elements of Studio West 117 continue to progress well," Budish added. "Margie's Closet opened in one of our spaces back in June of this year. We hope to also have some of the Phantasy retail open for next summer as well. The full Phantasy renovation is still expected to be completed in 2023."

As for the total dollar investment when all phases and components are completed over the next couple of years, the $75 million figure may hold true.

"That would be a good estimate for now, with the understanding that some of these project elements still have to be flushed out further," Budish said.

"I'm thrilled about it -- not only for the mission of the organization, but for what it will mean for the east end of Lakewood," said Lakewood's Ward 4 City Councilman Dan O'Malley who is also council president.

Daniel Budish, left, and Betsy Figgie look over the
Phantasy Theater property including an alley that
will be repurposed as an entryway into a part of
the former entertainment complex (KJP).

"This project will be a game changer," he added. "I'm also happy that the developers are using local labor and paying prevailing wage."

The 56,000-square-foot Phantasy Theater complex began its life in 1915 as the Homestead Theater, a live performance and large movie house back when going to the movies was an all-day affair. The theater continued to show movies until 1979.

A couple of years later, it began its next life as a live music venue, hosting up-and-coming new wave, punk, industrial and goth bands like Devo, Exotic Birds, The Pagans, VNV Nation and was the debut location for Nine Inch Nails.

Established musicians performed in the Phantasy and in the adjoining Chamber club as well, like Iggy Pop, Joan Jett with Michael J. Fox, Jesus and Mary Chain, Marilyn Manson, The Pogues, The Psychedelic Furs and the Ramones.

Site plan for The Fieldhouse at Studio West
117th, located on Hird Avenue (Larsen).

Budish and Figgie envision six entertainment spots, a podcasting studio, co-working and retail spaces with low rent to help new businesses get their start. The goal is to offer a safe and comfortable location for LGBTQ-owned businesses gain a foothold and create a site for social interaction and business incubation.

"I think you're going to see a cascading effect with other development projects in the neighborhood for years to come," O'Malley said.

That may extend to nearby properties that include closed or under-utilized buildings like the former Vedda Printing, National Tire & Battery and others. O'Malley said there are always parties interested in redeveloping those properties but nothing was ready for publication at this time.

END

Hough Bakeries redevelopment plan revealed

For nearly 30 years, a local institution beloved by many Greater
Clevelanders has sat vacant at the intersection of Lakeview and
Wade Park avenues. Knez Homes this week confirmed plans
for the site which the Painesville-based real estate developer
 hopes to start renovating by this time next year (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Few businesses are as symbolic of the rise and fall of Greater Cleveland's fortunes as homegrown confectioner Hough Bakeries. Its former headquarters and plant at 1519 Lakeview Road on the border of Cleveland and East Cleveland has sat vacant since the bakery, once the nation's 10th largest, went bankrupt and closed in 1992.

But its redevelopment may be equally symbolic of Cleveland's reversal of fortunes.

Starting next year, Knez Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Northeast Ohio, hopes to start construction on renovating the nearly 5-acre plant into a mixed-use complex of housing, offices and possibly a restaurant.

Preliminary plans for the bakery site, contained in a promotional piece about Knez's development activity in the overall Circle North area of Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood, were provided to NEOtrans recently.

Knez Homes' plans for the Circle North area of Glenville, just
north of Cleveland's University Circle, that is being circulated
among interested home buyers (Knez). 

When contacted, Knez Homes founder and CEO Bo Knez confirmed the plans and expressed his excitement in being able to redevelop a site whose corporate history and products are near and dear to many Greater Clevelanders.

"This is a big deal for us," Knez said. "Considering how complicated the site is, the plan has gone better than expected."

Specifically, plans show 17 single-family homes, 22 townhouses, 18 apartments possibly for student housing plus a significant amount of commercial space. The commercial spaces would primarily be for offices and measure roughly 180,000 square feet.

Knez said two companies are looking at the site for office space but until they were signed, he could not identify them. While the site plan has no retail, a restaurateur expressed interest in locating in the bakery's old carriage house. The pandemic put the kibosh on those plans.

Beneath the graffiti, vegetation and
decay is an architecturally beautiful
building that is waiting to be reborn
with new uses (Iryna Tkachenko).

"There's no restaurant currently under consideration but we're open to it," Knez said.

None of the structures facing Lakeview to the south, which is the Cleveland side, or Auburndale Avenue on north, that is the East Cleveland side, would be demolished for the redevelopment project. Knez said they will be refurbished including their original historical features, such as the terra cotta façade facing Lakeview.

Like many other developments in Circle North, the Hough Bakeries redevelopment will be mixed income. Public funding usually requires it and there is a mix of local and state dollars going into the bakery project.

In addition to making it possible so that area residents can afford to live there, Knez said his firm is seeing a big demand for student housing in Circle North. Nearby are Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Knez Homes' Lakeview Commons, previously called the Wade
Park Townhomes, are rising across Lakeview Avenue from the
Hough Bakeries plant on a parking lot that was used by the
bakery's employees until the plant closed in 1992 (Knez).

He pointed out that the condominiums proposed in the Hough Bakeries redevelopment are actually fee-simple townhomes. That means the buyer has control of their property but the surrounding site is maintained through a homeowners association.

In Circle North, Knez is building up to 400 new housing units. Across Lakeview, on 0.9-acres of land on the railroad side of Wade Park Avenue, was the employees' parking lot for Hough Bakeries. There, Knez is building the 36-unit Lakeview Commons townhouse development.

The primary impetus for Knez developing in the Circle North area in general and Hough Bakeries in particular was Mayor Frank Jackson's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI), he said.

The program targets four neighborhoods and taps into the Cleveland Impact Fund, a $44 million account to support mixed-income and mixed-use developments. Buckeye-Woodhill, the East 79th Street Corridor, and Clark-Fulton are the other neighborhoods in the mayor's NTI program.

The north side of the Hough Bakeries property, along Auburndale
Avenue in East Cleveland (Google).

There is a strong demand for market-rate housing in and near University Circle which is why Knez is also developing homes in the Fairfax area south of the Cleveland Clinic. Between the growth of the Clinic, educational institutions and other employers in the area, Knez and other developers believe there is a demand for up to 10,000 new housing units near University Circle over the next decade.

Through an affiliate company, Knez acquired the Hough Bakeries plant in December 2019 for $225,000. Some site improvements were made to secure the property and some earthmoving has been done to prepare the site for redevelopment as well as to improve views for new homeowners in the area.

There are also a number of vacant residential properties around the perimeter of the former bakery that Knez is developing with single-family homes. Some will be sold at market rates and others will be made available to qualifying low-income families with the support of the Famicos Foundation, Knez said.

Hough Bakeries started in 1903 with a single store on Hough Avenue at East 87th Street in what was then a middle-class urban neighborhood. A growing Hough Bakeries in 1941 bought the Star Bakery plant at 1519 Lakeview Rd. But into the 1980s, the local firm could not reduce costs enough to fend off outside competition and ultimately went bankrupt.

END