GCRTA seeks more railcars; program over budget

      By this time next year, the first of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s
new light-rail train cars may be rolling off the assembly line at Siemens Mobility’s
assembly line in Sacramento, CA. This was the scene several years ago when the
same plant built very similar rail cars to Cleveland’s and were delivered to Calgary,
Alberta in Canada (Siemens Mobility). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) new railcar program. And the good news is the result of trying to keep the bad news from getting worse.

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Officials urge Haslams to publicly release their Lakefront Stadium renovation plans

This rendering of a $1.2 billion renovation of the existing Huntington Bank Field
on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront was released to and published by Scene
Magazine today. NEOtrans has verified that the rendering is legitimate
(Scene). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

After the first image of a renovated Huntington Bank Field on Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront was publicly released today by Scene Magazine, local officials are asking why it and other images weren’t released sooner by the owners of the Cleveland Browns so that the public could have a more informed opinion on which stadium plan to support.

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Hopkins Airport remake about to take flight

This view is looking southwesterly along a new Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
roadway with the new terminal on the right to be built where the existing “smart garage”
is located today. At left is a new ground transportation center with parking for 6,000 cars,
shuttle bus boarding areas and a Red Line rapid transit train station (Corgan).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Mayor Justin Bibb and Port Control Director Bryant Francis unveiled plans and action steps today for a $1.6 billion first-phase, five-step program of improvements to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in the next seven years, representing the start of more phases to come. The improvements come as Hopkins celebrates its 100th birthday this year.

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Ohio City’s north end of W. 25th to get refresh

The Nelson Block in the foreground and the Case Building next door on West 25th
Street in Ohio City were acquired by new owners in recent months for renovation
with new uses. Both are across the street from the Irishtown Bend Park site whose
hillside is first being stabilized (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Out goes the Hulett Hotel proposal. In comes a couple of redevelopment projects intended to reinvigorate the north end of West 25th Street in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, dubbed Hingetown. It is one of the last sections of West 25th in Ohio City whose historic buildings have yet to be renovated and redeveloped. All it took was a $110 million hillside-public park project across the street to help seal the deal.

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Walz Library-Karam Senior Living gets city OK

At long last, construction is about to get underway on the new Walz Branch of the
Cleveland Public Library and, above it, Karam Senior Living affordable apartments in
in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. It is one of several major construction
projects emerging in this area (Bialosky). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s a $34 million project nearly six years in the making. But after a pandemic, a sharp increase in construction costs, pursuits of additional financing and working out a complicated development partnership to build essentially two buildings in one, construction is finally in sight for the new Walz Branch Library topped by Karam Senior Living apartments.

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GSA confirms Celebrezze Federal Building to be sold

The Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, one of Downtown Cleveland’s largest
buildings as measured in square feet, will be disposed of by the federal government.
The 1.2-million-square-foot building is slightly more than half-full with about 4,000
workers on-site (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced it will initiate a public sale of the 32-story Anthony J. Celebrezze (AJC) Federal Building, 1240 E 9th St, in Downtown Cleveland that could potentially save more than $430 million in total annual operating costs.

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Office leasing cools in first quarter of 2025

Newmark’s latest office market report had some gloomy data on leasing activity, espe-
cially for Cleveland’s central business district, while noting some potential positives
and negatives going forward (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland’s office market in the first quarter of this year saw its second-lowest amount of leasing activity, as measured in square feet, in the last 16 years since the Great Recession. Only the fourth quarter of 2021, following the pandemic and the rise of remote working, saw less leasing activity locally since 2009.

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