Friday, July 21, 2023

TMUD round 3 starts next week

The Farnsleigh Apartments, left, at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights
was left out of the Transformational Mixed se Development tax credit pro-
gram despite applying in each of the first two rounds. Instead it found fi-
nancial salvation from the city via tax-increment financing and loans.
That allowed the 18- and 15-story towers to start construction last year.
Other local projects that have both won and lost out on TMUD credits
have yet to start construction (Harrison Whittaker).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The desire for new-build projects in downtown Cleveland led to the creation of the state’s Transformational Mixed Use Development (TMUD) tax credit program nearly three years ago. But in the first two years of the four-year TMUD program, no developers of new-construction downtown projects have submitted applications. As the third round of TMUD will start next week, will a new-build project downtown finally be an applicant — or perhaps even a winner — despite of tightening labor and credit markets plus rising interest rates?

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Lakefront vision to be unveiled July 27

A vision for turning downtown Cleveland’s under-developed and under-
utilized lakefront into a more enjoyable place will be unveiled July 27 by
city officials. It will reportedly include preliminary designs for the North
Coast Connector, remake of the Shoreway into a boulevard, phases of
mixed-use developments, and possibly some cost-benefit data associated
with a closing and repurposing of Burke Lakefront Airport (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Although the downtown lakefront plans to be released publicly on July 27 will be preliminary, they will give more insight into the direction city officials received from prior public input sessions on developing the city’s “front porch” as officials call the city’s Lake Erie waterfront. And since these plans are still preliminary and conceptual, city officials said they want more public input on them before refining them and adding more design details to them.

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Monday, July 17, 2023

Seeds & Sprouts 30 – Apartments at Bolivar starting, Slavic Village school site reuse, Glenville apartment to get reno

Demolition is about to begin for the Apartments at Bolivar in downtown Cleve-
land, to be followed by a groundbreaking before the end of the month. This view
is looking east on the now-closed Erie Court, between the Erie Street Cemetery
at left and the development site over to Bolivar Road at right. The single-story
garage in the foreground will be razed while the three-level garage beyond
it will be incorporated into the development (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

In downtown Cleveland, the Apartments at Bolivar are scheduled to break ground by the end of the month after demolition work. Reuse of Fullerton School site in Slavic Village is in works. And a Glenville apartment building is proposed to be renovated.

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Friday, July 14, 2023

CentroVilla25 project starts

At today’s groundbreaking ceremony for CentroVilla25, Jenice Contreras,
executive director of the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic
Development, spoke on the decades-long development necessary to
make the centro mercado, or central market, for Cleveland’s
Latino community a reality (Cleveland Construction).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A $12 million project to redevelop a vacant warehouse as the cultural and business center of Cleveland’s Latino community got underway today after many years of planning and fundraising led by the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Center for Economic Development (NEOHCED). Their unceasing efforts were rewarded with a groundbreaking ceremony at the former H.J. Weber warehouse, 3140 W. 25th St., that is due to reopen as CentroVilla25 in Fall 2024.

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Thursday, July 13, 2023

Port Board OK’s $60M Irishtown Bend stabilization

Looking northward from West 25th Street at the planned Irishtown Bend
Park in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. The view is from the top
of the Cuyahoga River valley with downtown Cleveland on the other
side (Plural). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Today the Cleveland port authority’s board of directors approved the hiring of an Ohio construction company for nearly $60 million to stabilize and rehabilitate the Irishtown Bend hillside, a project that is being done foremost to maintain the Cuyahoga River shipping channel. But the work also must be done before any construction can start on the 23-acre Irishtown Bend Park in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood.

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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Downtown Lakefront projects flow

A ground-level view of the $100 million expansion of the Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame from a vantage point that could someday be in the right of way of
a new boulevard that replaces that Shoreway highway (PAU).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Several large-scale projects along downtown Cleveland’s lakefront are moving forward thanks to developments in recent days. In addition to multi-million-dollar grants being awarded for lakefront projects, the City Planning Commission approved plans for the $100 million expansion of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Also, a national nonprofit that promotes racial equity revealed it is partnering with the city on designing an inclusive lakefront. And plans for converting the Shoreway highway into a boulevard are crystalizing but may complicate Amtrak’s passenger rail expansion plans.

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Friday, July 7, 2023

West 73rd Apartments OK’d

Nearly 200 housing units could be added soon to a fast-growing section of
Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. This is a view of the West 73rd
Street Apartments from the intersection of Herman Avenue and West 73rd
Street. The facades of the two buildings “step down” as they get closer to
the street to reduce their street presence (HortonHarper).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

After more than a year of debate, the design-review committee of City Planning Commission gave its final approval of a proposed apartment complex at 1321-1357 W. 73rd St. in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood. The unanimous vote sets the stage for the developer Joe Zagelbaum of Brooklyn, NY to apply for building permits to start construction.

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