Slavic Village’s Broadway in transit

The five-way intersection of Broadway Avenue, East 55th Street and Hamlet
Avenue is the traditional center of Slavic Village, once called Little Bohemia
for its large Czech population. It retains all of its pre-World War I buildings
even though many are in a decayed condition. Reviving this area as part of
the Broadway transit corridor is the goal of new planning and development
by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Slavic Village
 Development Inc. (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The beleaguered Broadway Avenue corridor in Cleveland’s Slavic Village could soon see new signs of life thanks to a federal grant that was awarded last week to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). The $432,000 grant will allow the transit agency to develop plans to redesign the Broadway corridor from the Turney-Ella bus loop near Calvary Cemetery to downtown as a bus rapid transit (BRT) route with enhanced pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Once those plans are complete, it can then apply for federal funds to build that infrastructure.

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Cleveland to get MLS NEXT Pro team

Krenzler Field in downtown Cleveland is the home of the Cleveland State
Vikings soccer and lacrosse teams as well as the Cleveland Soccer Club
semi-pro team. If available, Krenzler Field and its seating capacity may
need to be expanded to accommodate Cleveland’s new Major League
Soccer NEXT Pro team (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The reserve league of top-tier Major League Soccer is expected to announce on Monday that it will expand to Cleveland as the next city to gain a professional soccer team, according to sources who spoke off the record. The announcement will be made at 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Pins Mechanical on West 25th Street in Ohio City by Michael Murphy. He led the effort locally to land the MLS NEXT Pro (MLSNP) team.

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CSU releases campus master plan

Conceptual rendering of a new 5,000- to 7,000-seat arena for Cleveland
State University on Payne Avenue overlooking Interstate 90, at lower
left. The new arena would host CSU basketball, concerts and other events
and allow the university to demolish the 13,610-seat Wolstein Center. The
9.3-acre Wolstein Center site would be redeveloped as the Partnership
District with up to 800,000 square feet of new mixed-use development
(CSU/Sasaki). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

At a regular meeting today of its board of trustees, Cleveland State University (CSU) unveiled a new campus master plan to capitalize on its location in Cleveland’s urban core and to guide the development of the university’s physical campus over the next decade. Details of that plan were shared with NEOtrans and other Northeast Ohio media in a press release and an illustrated presentation.

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Downtown Lakefront buildings no longer for sale

At North Coast Harbor, Harbor Verandas in the foreground and Nuevo
Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar in the background are no longer on the
market. Owner Cumberland Development wants to retain them due to
their profitability and reassess after the real estate market improves,
including when the fate of nearby Burke Lakefront Airport is
decided (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two very visible buildings at downtown Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor that were listed for sale over the past year were just taken off the market this week by owner Cumberland Development LLC. There are several reasons why the Harbor Verandas mixed-use building and the Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar are being retained. But one of them is because of the fate of the nearby Burke Lakefront Airport could cause the value of the site to rise in the future.

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A Christmas Story House, campus for sale

Tens of thousands of guests tour A Christmas Story House in Cleveland’s
Tremont neighborhood each year — especially this time of year. Some of
them stay the night in the working-class home-turned-celebrity along with
the Bumpus House, at left, thanks to the holiday-themed movie. Both were
renovated by owners Brian and Beverly Jones to look like they did in the
movie (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

That little house on Cleveland Street is on the market just in time for the holiday season and the release of a sequel to the 1983 classic movie “A Christmas Story.” And just like one of Ralphie’s father’s silly puzzles, “This one could be worth 50,000 bucks.” But the house isn’t on Cleveland Street, it’s not merely the house that’s for sale and the campus of seven properties is likely to fetch multiples of $50,000. Indeed, according to some real estate insiders, it could go for dozens of times more. Dare we say “A major award”?

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Hough busily breaking new ground

Groundbreakings for new projects are becoming more common in Hough
just as the new projects are breaking new ground in other ways, too. That
includes investing in residents and their futures. This groundbreaking was
in August 2021 for the Lumos Apartments on East 93rd Street that is re-
placing structurally deficient houses next door (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

For anyone who has been watching real estate activity in recent years in Hough, they are probably no longer surprised that investment is growing here. But what may be surprising is that the pace of it continues to increase. And, with that, there’s growing interest by local and national investors to make sure that gentrification doesn’t take hold and push away people who need jobs within an easy walk, bike or bus ride of booming University Circle.

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Reactivating downtown Cleveland

Downtown Cleveland catches the evening light on a muggy June 11, 2022,
as seen from Voinovich Park and North Coast Harbor. Downtown continues
to struggle to fill offices and retail spaces although hotels and especially re-
sidential buildings are performing much better since the depths of the global
pandemic two years ago. Helping downtown climb out of those depths is the
responsibility of many, including the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

In the late 20th century, downtown Cleveland rolled up its sidewalks after 5 p.m. Now, on some weekdays, it seems like downtown doesn’t roll out its sidewalks until after 5 p.m. That shows how much downtown has changed in the post-pandemic world from a commercial district to a residential, entertainment and tourism center.

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