Cleveland-Akron-Canton train route a puzzle

Passenger rail development in the USA is picking up speed. One of the newest rail
services is Florida’s Brightline, linking Miami and Orlando by utilizing existing
rail and highway rights of way and attracting 4,600 riders per day. Here, a
Brightline train pulls up to a new station in Aventura, FL (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Last week, a bipartisan group of Ohio Congresspersons wrote to Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jack Marchbanks asking his department to include an Akron-Canton-area station stop in its upcoming passenger rail development plans. Those plans for Northeast Ohio include potential new Amtrak services from Cleveland to Toledo and Detroit, as well as from Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati (3C&D).

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Big developer moving HQ to Chester in Midtown

CHN Housing Partners will move its growing headquarters and more than 185
jobs into this building on Chester Avenue in Cleveland’s Midtown neighbor-
hood. The building, to be renovated, will allow the company to continue to
grow and give it more visibility on a busier street (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

For more than 20 years, or roughly half of its organizational life, CHN Housing Partners’ headquarters has been in the same location at Cleveland’s Asia Plaza. But with a growing staff and a desire for more growth to increase the supply of affordable housing, it’s taking steps to move to larger, more visible quarters at 3711 Chester Ave. in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood.

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Ownership stake in The Bell to be auctioned off

The former Ohio Bell headquarters, now The Bell mixed-use redevelopment, has
an ownership interest up for grabs at an auction scheduled with Maltz Auctions
on July 12 (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With a certificate of occupancy in hand and leasing to start in two weeks, The Bell, 45 E. 9th St. in Downtown Cleveland, will be the subject of an online auction scheduled for next month. The auction is intended to make available a portion of the interest in a general partnership that owns the office-turned-residential building.

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Ferry Cap & Set Screw razed for new development

Demolition equipment sits atop large piles of debris left from the former Ferry
Cap & Set Screw Company on Scranton Road in Cleveland’s Tremont neigh-
borhood. WXZ Development leveled the building to create a 5-acre mixed-
use development site (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Another big, old vacant factory in Cleveland has been knocked down. But this five-story factory, the former Ferry Cap & Set Screw Co., 2151 Scranton Rd. in Tremont, was recently the subject of a redevelopment plan. Its demolition by the owner/developer and the lack of a submitted plan for the site’s reuse is an intriguing turn of events.

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Port finances Cleveland, Mayfield apartments & more

The Gates Mills Villa Apartments in the Eastgate area of Mayfield Heights
will be renovated for $48 million thanks to financing arranged and approved
 today by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Google).
 CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two major, multi-family residential projects, one in Cleveland and the other in Mayfield Heights, got their financing packages approved today by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. About $47 million in revenue bonds were approved for the two projects which represent a combined investment of $65 million.

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Mortgage spat puts downtown building on market

The four-story office building 1020 Bolivar next to Downtown Cleveland’s Erie
Street Cemetery and the under-construction Ten60 Bolivar apartments has hit the
market after a receiver was approved by a court to oversee the property’s sale to
help resolve a foreclosure (Newmark). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

In a weak office market, another office property has been listed for sale. But this time, a Downtown Cleveland property is hitting the market because Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams ordered it to, so as to resolve a foreclosure complaint.

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Medical warehouse wins pitch competition

Cleveland-based BridgePort Group, a supply chain consultant, plans a 250,000-
square-foot, temperature-controlled warehouse for the medical and pharmaceutical
industries along Cleveland’s Opportunity Corridor at East 93rd Street. Its vision
won it first prize in the inaugural Cleveland Equitable Development Initiative
competition (BridgePort). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

An ambitious and innovative plan to construct a high-tech cold storage facility for medical and pharmaceutical uses along the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard has secured the top prize in the first Cleveland Equitable Development Initiative (CLE-EDI) real estate developer pitch competition. The competition was spearheaded by Cleveland Development Advisors and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.

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