Downtown property owner penalized for tax credit ‘double-dipping’

The Garfield on Euclid Avenue in Downtown Cleveland was built in 1895 as an 11-story
office building. In 2016, while it was getting renovated as apartments, its owner claimed
a $22.6 million tax deduction on the property for not building a 34-story addition above
it. That apparently improper deduction may prove costly to the owner (Google).
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A U.S. Tax Court judge in Washington D.C. has agreed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in disallowing a $22.6 million tax deduction claimed by Corning Place Ohio, LLC for not building a 34-story vertical addition on top of its 19th-century Garfield Building, 1965 E. 6th St., in Downtown Cleveland. Senior Judge Albert George Lauber also sustained the IRS commissioner’s imposition of a 40 percent penalty for a “gross valuation misstatement” in seeking the deduction.

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A strategic perspective of the Cleveland Browns Stadium

What is the regional game plan for building and sustaining a new or renovated
Cleveland Browns Stadium? This contributed commentary takes a research-
based look in that question (iStock). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The Cleveland Browns have long been a cornerstone of Greater Cleveland, symbolizing community pride and excitement, and contributing to the local economy and cultural identity. While the current debate around the Browns’ future stadium is heavily focused on facility location and financial issues, it is crucial to recognize the team’s non-economic benefits, such as fostering civic pride, quality of life, regional unity, and shared traditions that bring people together.

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Ohio City hotel development revealed

A massing of a proposed hotel for Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood on Lorain
Avenue at West 26th Street. While details of the proposed concept are still being
worked out, the planning for the hotel has advanced far enough that its deve-
loper, Places Development, is presenting it to the community (Places).
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A successful business finds an unmet need in a market and fills it. According to Places Development founder and Managing Principal Dan Whalen, the lack of a hotel west of Downtown Cleveland to near Hopkins International Airport is just such a gap in the market. To fill that void, he is submitting plans for a new, eight-story boutique hotel at 1960 W. 26th St. in the Ohio City neighborhood.

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Downtown Cleveland Inc. takes over management of Public Square

Public Square has been the geographic, business, transportation and civic heart of
Cleveland for more than 200 years. Downtown Cleveland Inc. has taken over the
management of this public space to ensure it remains a a safe and attractive space
for the next 200 years (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland City Council has passed legislation transferring the management, marketing and programming for Public Square to Downtown Cleveland, Inc., effective upon Mayor Justin Bibb’s signature. This transition underscores Downtown Cleveland’s ongoing commitment to revitalizing the core and builds on the organization’s recent successes in securing significant funding for Public Square enhancements.

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Glenville-Collinwood site may finally get new life

The abandoned National Acme plant on East 131st Street at Coit Road is getting
swallowed up by Mother Nature. Demolition crews will soon lend a helping
hand by taking down the once-prolific factory so the site, abused by its
last user, can be returned to more uses in the near future (Google).
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It’s a factory name that conjures thoughts from classic Road Runner cartoons. But few are laughing from the enduring health and economic burdens that the long-closed National Acme plant, 170 E. 131st St., is having on Cleveland’s East Glenville and Collinwood residents. Once one of Cleveland’s largest blue collar employers, its fate is similar to that of other aging industrial properties across the city.

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Cuyahoga Land Bank appoints León interim prez

Ricardo León was appointed yesterday as interim president of the Cuyahoga Land
Bank following the sudden passing of its founder and longtime president Gus Frangos
last weekend (Cuyahoga Land Bank). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

At an emergency meeting held yesterday, Cuyahoga Land Bank’s board of directors appointed Ricardo León as interim president of the organization after the sudden passing of its longtime leader and founder Gus Frangos last weekend.

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Skyline 776 tower fills while under construction

While construction continues on Skyline 776 on Euclid Avenue in Downtown Cleveland,
the building’s lease-up is underway and is already more than 40 percent leased. This photo
was taken Aug. 7, the day after tornadoes  and severe thunderstorms raked Northeast Ohio
and tore off several panels from the top of the tower’s façade (KJP).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When you first walk into the lobby of the Skyline 776 tower, 776 Euclid Ave., you realize you’re not in your usual Downtown Cleveland apartment high-rise anymore. Of the 11 downtown apartment buildings of 20 stories or more that preceded it, each has varying degrees of luxury or lack of same. And most tried to either highlight the architectural era in which they were built, or simply present the most modern appearances possible.

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