There’s much to look forward to in 2022

Currently downtown Cleveland’s biggest real estate development,
construction of the new Sherwin-Williams global headquarters is
already underway west of Public Square and will deliver the
fourth-tallest tower in the city. But it remains to be seen if
another project might soon challenge this HQ project (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

If you thought 2021 was busy real estate-wise, there is every indication that 2022 is going to be even busier. And it looks to start off big in January with announcements about what Cleveland-area projects will win the first round of Transformational Mixed Use Development tax credits. There are nine Greater Cleveland megaprojects that are TMUD applicants, so the fate of half of the projects in this list of what to watch out for in 2022 will depend heavily on which projects win TMUD credits and how much of their originally requested amount they will receive.

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NRP Group taking fresh look at Scranton Peninsula

NRP Group’s city-approved plan for The Peninsula in 2019 featured 330
apartments and 15 townhomes, with most of the townhouses used to screen
a two-level parking garage. This aerial graphic looks east at Scranton Pe-
ninsula with Carter Road and the Cuyahoga River at the bottom and the
curving Flats Industrial Railroad across the top (BKV).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Apartment developer NRP Group appears to have had a change of heart about its decision to walk away from developing on Scranton Peninsula near downtown Cleveland, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the company’s plans.

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Stark has buyer for downtown nuCLEus properties

This was the last of several incrementally smaller designs for
nuCLEus prior to Stark Enterprises abandoning the development
and selling the properties on which it would have been built.
It isn’t known who the buyer is, but based on recent, comparable
downtown property sales, the buyer would have to have deep
pockets and want to deliver a large development of its own to
get a return on its sizable investment (Stark).
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Properties that were part of Stark Enterprises’ ill-fated nuCLEus megaproject are in the process of being sold in a private, off-market transaction. However, the scope of the sale, the buyer’s identity and the buyer’s intentions remain a mystery. Public records emerged this week showing that there is a pending transaction.

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The 20 most-viewed news stories of 2021 on NEOtrans

Screenshot of the most viewed NEOtrans article of 2021 — Cleveland
Clinic plans to demolish the former Cleveland Play House complex on
Euclid Avenue (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Personal experiences matter. That’s the lesson of why one news article gets opened and another article does not. It’s why the pending demolition of the Cleveland Play House was the most-read story of 2021. It got read because people went to see a show there once upon a time, not because it was the only Cleveland-area project designed by a famous Cleveland-born architect, Philip Johnson.

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Is Downtown Cleveland in Target’s bullseye?

Coming soon to downtown Cleveland? Target reportedly is in talks
with several downtown Cleveland property owners about locating
a small, urban-format store in their buildings. The store would be
similar to this 22,000-square-foot store opening this Spring in the
former Kaufmann’s department store in downtown Pittsburgh
(Target). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM  

The upscale discount retail giant Target is in expansion mode. It is focusing on locations in downtowns, near colleges and dense suburbs for small, urban-format stores. But will downtown Cleveland or perhaps University Circle be under consideration?

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Brooklyn Masonic Hall repurposing as Lofts On Pearl

Located in the commercial district of historic Brooklyn Center, the vacant
Brooklyn Masonic Temple was acquired by a Lakewood entrepreneur
who intends to redevelop the structure with market-rate apartments
over two retail spaces facing Pearl Road (Brandt).
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A Lakewood real estate entrepreneur and construction contractor has acquired the vacant Brooklyn Masonic Temple, 3804 Pearl Rd., in Cleveland and plans to renovate it into a mixed-use building called the Lofts On Pearl. It remains to be seen if the project will live up to the Masonic purpose of making good men better.

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Baker Building to be The Fidelity Hotel, speakeasy

Tall but small can be contradictory, but not in the case of the Baker
Building. The skinny building measuring just over 50,000 square
feet will be reborn as The Fidelity Hotel with 71 rooms and suites
restored to the building’s original Gilded Age flair. Permits were
issued last week for the start of the building’s rebirth with more
details to come soon. This view of the building was captured in
July 2021 (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The 11-story Baker Building, 1900-1940 East 6th St. in downtown Cleveland, has received a construction permit so crews can begin work to prepare for the next stage in the 102-year-old building’s life — a mix of boutique hotel rooms and suites plus ground-floor retail/restaurants. To be called The Fidelity Hotel, the name refers back to the structure’s original name and owner — the Fidelity Mortgage Building. A design-review case at the City Planning Commission for the project was opened today.

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