The downtown tower that almost was

Park Place Technologies considered building a mid- to high-rise office
building like one of those proposed at left by Bedrock Real Estate for its
riverfront development. Alas, the growing tech firm stayed in the suburbs
and bought an existing building that would be cheaper and faster to move
into (Adjaye Associates). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

High construction and financing costs along with a longer move-in timeline doomed an intriguing new Downtown Cleveland headquarters building for a growing tech firm relocating from Mayfield Heights. Those construction market headwinds along with the rise in remote working led to Park Place Technologies finding an existing office campus next to Interstate 271 in Highland Heights near its current offices that fit its needs like a glove.

READ MORE

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR to downtown Cleveland to be studied

A regional transportation planning organization today voted to hire a
consultant to conduct a study of extending the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic
Railroad north about 10 miles from Rockside Road, shown here, in sub-
urban Independence to downtown Cleveland. The study will take about
a year to complete (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While it’s only 10 miles from the northern terminus of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) in suburban Independence to Downtown Cleveland, it will take years to get there in the best of circumstances. But that first step in the long journey was taken today when a metropolitan transportation planning organization voted to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study of the potential route extension.

READ MORE

Cuyahoga County nears a courthouse decision

The last time Cuyahoga County went through a major, open-ended real
estate request for proposals process like the Consolidated Courthouse RFP,
it resulted in a new county administrative office building and a mixed-use
tower renovation. In this case, the county sold the tower to Geis Companies
and is leasing its offices from Geis with an option to buy (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

Cuyahoga County and its real estate consultant are getting closer to making a recommendation for a Consolidated Courthouse proposal in downtown Cleveland. NEOtrans has learned that one or more proposals were eliminated from further consideration in part because the timeline for delivering a new or renovated/expanded courthouse facility is apparently an overriding factor for county officials. In this era of high construction costs, the aphorism “time is money” couldn’t be more true.

READ MORE

Cleveland seeks urban core tax-increment financing district

Officials and families gathered June 29, 2021 for the Wendy Park pedestrian-
bike bridge ribbon cutting ceremony. More urban core public infrastructure
projects like this could be afforded with the city’s proposed tax increment
financing district. But some are concerned that services and infrastructure
in neighborhoods away from downtown will be neglected (Cuyahoga
County). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland’s biggest source of tax base is its downtown which supports services and infrastructure in the rest of the city. City officials are seeking to leverage investments in its urban core to create a feedback loop to support downtown and other neighborhoods. But not everyone is convinced this is a good thing for the rest of the city and cynics are seeking more information and research before deciding.

READ MORE

Blue Abyss lands next to NASA Glenn

An artist’s rendering of Blue Abyss’ proposed $250 million training and
research center in suburban Brook Park, next to NASA Glenn Research
Center, Cleveland Hopkins Airport and the Ohio Aerospace Institute
(Blue Abyss). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A Cornwall, UK-based company called Blue Abyss Diving Ltd., has acquired land in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park for a $250 million commercial astronaut training facility and hotel, according to public records and a press release from the company. According to an economic impact study commissioned from Kent State University, the British company’s investment here after 30 years could create or support up to 21,800 jobs, add $1.5 billion to residents’ incomes and increase total economic output by $3.6 billion.

READ MORE

Cleveland, Berea construction firms unite

The Albert M. Higley Co. constructing firm, headquartered in Cleveland’s
Midtown neighborhood, merged with Berea-based T. Allen Inc. of Berea
to create a carpentry industry powerhouse for the Great Lakes-Northeast
region (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Albert M. Higley Co., a Cleveland-based provider of construction contracting services since 1925, announced today it has merged operations with T. Allen Incorporated of Berea. The parties said that they consider this to be a strategic union which marks a pivotal moment, consolidating two esteemed companies into a formidable force within the carpentry industry.

READ MORE

One of Cleveland’s largest lakefront sites is now in play

The Lake Shore Power Plant site that sold last month is outlined in red
and includes a long driveway access from East 55th Street in the back-
ground. East 72nd Street and Interstate 90 are in the foreground with
downtown Cleveland in the distance. At right left is where the
Cleveland Metroparks plans a $300 million lakefront recre-
ation area including a new island in Lake Erie (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Turns out the sale of a large Cleveland lakefront property could be good news for a more livable shoreline, after all. The 62-acre former Lake Shore Power Station site just east of Downtown Cleveland, along with the 167-acre Eastlake power plant property and another in Oregon, OH near Toledo were sold last month by Energy Harbor Generation LLC of Akron to a firm that specializes in cleaning up and redeveloping former coal-fired power plant sites.

READ MORE