Postmortem on Medical Mutual’s HQ decision

Medical Mutual of Ohio’s headquarters since 1947 has been in the
Rose Building in downtown Cleveland. Located at East 9th Street
and Prospect Avenue, the building will be vacated starting next
month (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The decision for Medical Mutual of Ohio to abandon its downtown Cleveland headquarters for suburban Brooklyn was apparently less of a strategic move and more of a matter of which city’s public incentives got used first. And according to a local real estate insider, it was a short-term decision that could end up biting the Fortune 1000 company and downtown in their hind ends in the long term.

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Circle Square: looking ahead

This official, conceptual massing is based on the city-approved masterplan
for Circle Square along Stokes Boulevard in Cleveland’s University Circle. The
 nearest buildings are part of phase two which is already in the works (Bialosky).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

When Circle Square won a megaprojects tax credit earlier this month from the state, it helped set the financial foundations for the next structures in the massive undertaking in Cleveland’s University Circle. Already, Circle Square’s developers have forever changed the skyline of Cleveland’s second downtown. But more is about to come along Stokes Boulevard, between Euclid and Chester avenues.

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Old Brooklyn development plan wins support

A conceptual rendering of a proposed mixed-use development at the
northwest corner of Pearl Road and Memphis Avenue in the business
district of Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn. It features a market-rate apart-
ments over ground-floor commercial spaces, at left, a renovated St.
Luke Church and a community spaces along Pearl, at right (Desmone).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Plans for redeveloping the northwest corner of Pearl Road and Memphis Avenue in the heart of Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood were set in motion yesterday when a Pittsburgh-based architecture and development firm and its conceptual plan were selected by the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corp. (OBCDC). Desmone, OBCDC and other neighborhood stakeholders pledged to work together in the first quarter of 2023 to turn the proposal into an active project.

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Boost in historic tax credits benefits Ohio projects

The underperforming Erieview Tower office building and its Galleria retail
center received the maximum historic tax credit from the state for its $100
million redevelopment into modern offices, apartments, shops, restaurants
and a five-star W-brand hotel. At left is 45 Erieview, rebranded as The Bell
for its now-underway conversion to apartments. It won historic tax credits
at this time last year (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Ohio announced state support for 54 rehabilitation projects that will restore 57 historic buildings across the state including eight redevelopment projects in Cleveland. According to state officials, the projects statewide are expected to leverage approximately $1.01 billion in private investment. The projects were awarded funding as part of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program (OHPTC), administered by the Ohio Department of Development. In total, 21 communities across the state are receiving awards, which total $64,132,847 in tax credits with $14.5 million of that going to Cleveland projects.

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Plans for $49M renovation, expansion of convention center revealed

An addition to the former Medical Mart, as part of its conversion to provid-
ing additional meeting and event spaces for the Huntington Convention
Center of Cleveland, extends the ground-floor use converted to a ball-
room out to Ontario Street, at left (TVS Design-Moody Nolan).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Plans for renovating, expanding and converting the ill-fated Global Center for Health Innovation into additional meeting and event spaces for the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland were made available to the public this week. They were released ahead of their scheduled review Thursday by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission. Those plans show the 120,000-square-foot former center, commonly referred to as the Medical Mart, would increase in size by more than 23,000 square feet so it could serve a new and hopefully more productive purpose.

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GCRTA wins grant to build new East 79th Rapid stop

A key to transforming an area south of the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard
 into a vibrant neighborhood is the replacement of a station on the Greater
Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s light-rail Blue/Green line. This
is a vision for that area which has been supported by civic leaders in-
cluding the Cleveland Planning Commission (City Architecture).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Early last year, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) opened a new station at East 79th Street on its Airport-Windermere rail transit Red Line. Late next year, and less than 2,000 feet south, the transit agency could start construction on a new East 79th station on its downtown-Shaker Heights rail transit Blue/Green Lines. Both stations are seen as a key strategy to improve access for everyone to reach job sites being added along the new Opportunity Corridor Boulevard.

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Brownfield grants reveal progress on many projects

The Peninsula, a 316-unit residential community on Scranton Peninsula
in Cleveland’s Flats won more than $6 million, representing the largest
Ohio brownfield grant awarded in Cuyahoga County. That funding, plus
tax-increment financing from the city of Cleveland, will help the project
overcome rising construction  costs and interest rates, say its developer
NRP Group (BKV). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced $88 million in state support for 123 brownfield remediation projects that will help clean up hazardous and underutilized sites throughout the state. The Ohio Department of Development is funding the awards through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, which is designed to clean up and prepare hazardous brownfield sites for redevelopment. The projects announced today will impact communities in 35 counties across the state.

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