Greyhound station may leave downtown

For 75 years, Greyhound buses have called on this streamline moderne station on
Chester Avenue on the east side of downtown Cleveland. But those days may be
coming to an end soon as the bus company looks to cut costs and serve cheaper,
less centrally located stops (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland may soon join the list of medium- and large-sized cities whose central business districts have lost their Greyhound bus stations to less-accessible locations. And that’s of concern to low-income travelers, college students and others trying to save money or avoid the stress of driving while traveling to and from Cleveland’s station at 1465 Chester Ave., downtown.

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Addressing the shortage of for-sale housing

Due to rise as early as this summer, The Equinox on West 48th Street has put
11 for-sale housing units on the market that’s desperate for new inventory. The
site is at the east end of Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, near
Ohio City (Payto Architects). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Despite the rise in interest rates, there continues to be strong demand for new housing in Greater Cleveland, especially in hot sub-markets like where Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood meets Ohio City. In areas like that, homes sell for about 2 percent above the list price and get an accepted offer within nine days of going on the market, according to real estate analytics form Norada Real Estate Investments of California.

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Cleveland has designs on its waterfronts

The Euclid Beach Trail Connector in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighbor-
hood would be an important project on its own. But it’s just one of nine
waterfront projects the city is directing funding for final design work in
order to secure construction funding to build those proposed improve-
ments. The Euclid Beach Trail Connector will connect and protect the
Beulah Park, Villa Beach and Shore Acres neighborhoods from Lake
Erie erosion (CPC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

For much of the city’s 227-year history, public officials have been accused of ignoring Cleveland’s waterfronts and especially its lakefront. But now there’s a flurry of activity to turn conceptual ideas into blueprints which will not only help city officials apply for construction funding but to actually build what’s been proposed. Today, those funding allocations for nine waterfront projects were mostly recommended by the City Planning Commission for City Council approval although one was tabled until the next commission meeting. Several of those funding allocations are for construction or demolition to allow larger projects to go forward.

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GCRTA wins $130m for new trains

In 2014, then-Vice President Joseph Biden got a tour of the Greater
Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s already aging rail car fleet
at the Central Rail Facility near East 55th Street. Giving the tour was
former GCRTA General Manager and CEO Joe Calabrese along with
Cleveland’s previous Mayor Frank Jackson. Calabrese  informed
Biden that GCRTA needed more federal funding to replace its old trains.
The biggest chunk of that federal funding was awarded today (GCRTA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In 2021, as chair of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over public transportation, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) championed the creation of a new federal program to fund the replacement of aging rail transit cars. Today, he shared the news that the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) was awarded $130 million from this program to narrow a funding gap in its $393 million effort to replace its four-decade-old rail car fleet. The award represents the largest single grant to the GCRTA in its 48-year history.

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Stokes West redesigned

Stokes West’s new design proposes the multi-family building to be a
continuous seven stories from the north end, at right, to the south end
along Stokes Boulevard in University Circle. Previously, an eight-
story building was at right, a six-story building at left, and a two-story
 building connecting them. That also adds two more townhouses behind
on Cedar Avenue (LDA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It seems every real estate developer is having similar problems — supply constraints, rising construction materials costs and rising interest rates. Only those projects that are charging top-of-the-market rents, have investors with low expectations for returns on investment, or received a ton of subsidies are getting built. So when Stokes West, which intends to offer apartment rents that are 13-21 percent lower than its peers in and near University Circle, got design approval by City Planning Commission last summer, it was already facing an uphill climb. That changed when the development team joined forces with Geis Construction Inc. and found a way to deliver the project more affordably.

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North Coast Connector: ready for its close-up

    At the center of this image is the North Coast Connector land bridge.
It is also at the center of everything city and community development
officials want to do with the lakefront. Not only will the land bridge
more seamlessly link the central business district with the lakefront,
officials say it will also foster new development by relocating stadium
parking spaces from the water’s edge (at bottom) and by creating
new development sites next to the land bridge (AoDK).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The North Coast Connector — a project that’s considered by many city and community development officials as the key to unlocking the potential of downtown Cleveland’s lakefront — is starting to come together. The state is moving forward on a big piece of funding for its construction. The city is moving forward on funding for detailed architectural designs. And public involvement meetings to help shape those designs will be held starting this week. To quote Gloria Swanson in the 1950 classic movie “Sunset Boulevard,” the proposed land bridge is “ready for its close-up.”

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$208m Shaker Rapid rebuild down the line

The combined section of the Blue/Green lines west of Shaker Square
called the Trunk Line was completely rebuilt from the ground up in
2020. Over five years starting in 2024, reconstruction work will turn
to the branches of the Blue and Green lines east of Shaker Square.
That is projected to cost $115.6 million for renewed infrastructure
and $92.6 million for new trains or $208.2 million total (GCRTA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Starting next year and continuing until 2028, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) plans to completely rebuild its two rail rapid transit lines in Shaker Heights, east of Cleveland’s Shaker Square. Called the Blue and Green lines, this would be their first major infrastructure rebuilding since 1980. But not everyone is on board with this $208.2 million initiative that is included in GCRTA’s proposed capital budget, scheduled to get a public hearing May 2.

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