Haslam chides state memos on Brook Park stadium

If state funding can be secured by July, this $2.4 billion enclosed stadium could open
in time to host the first football games of the Cleveland Browns’ 2029 season. But a
previously unanticipated, competing domed stadium of similar size could open one
year later elsewhere in the eastern United States (HKS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two memos dropped today from two branches of state government, both urging caution when considering the Haslam Sports Group’s (HSG) economic impact projections from its proposed enclosed stadium and supportive development in suburban Brook Park. But HSG shot back, calling the reports “questionable” and “inaccurate.”

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Harvard-MIT design for power plant redo wins

Bearing no resemblance to its existing conditions of a vacant, post-industrial site,
a team of academic urban designers from Harvard-MIT proposed this vibrant
new vision for the former Lake Shore Power Plant property several miles east of
Downtown Cleveland (Harvard-MIT). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. 

A redevelopment plan by a team of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students for the site of a former coal-fired power plant on Cleveland’s lakefront won the top prize in the 23rd annual Urban Land Institute(ULI)/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.

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Federal Building renovations halted

The silvery, rectangular Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in Downtown Cleve-
land is seen just to the left of center. One federal tenant, the Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration, left it years ago for the for the silver chisel of One Cleveland Center at
right where it is expanding (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

NEOtrans has learned that, not only does the Trump Administration intend to close the Anthony J. Celebrezze (AJC) Federal Building in Downtown Cleveland, the agency responsible for federal real estate has reportedly suspended building renovations in-progress. That also means federal taxpayers may have to eat millions of dollars paid for the unfinished work.

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Chick-fil-A opening first storefront in Cleveland

The bustling Uptown section of University Circle is where Chick-fil-A will
open its first storefront location in the city of Cleveland. The national chain
has locations inside Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the
Cleveland State University Student Center plus two lunchtime-only
kiosk locations in the central business district (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Amid all of the big development news happening around town, there’s lots of smaller commercial projects that can have a big impact on individual neighborhoods. And nearly all of these are new or expanded commercial offerings that are due to pop up on the landscape in the coming months.

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Metroparks seeks to redevelop riverfront lands

A centerpiece of the properties included in a request for proposals by the Cleveland
Metroparks is this 19th-century flour mill that closed in 2020. But there are other,
even older structures located away from the river that could be attractive for re-
development in a public-private partnership that is now being sought (NPS).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When the Cleveland Metroparks began seeking state funds in January to help clean up and possibly demolish a 19th-century flour mill in the Flats, there was a bit of a pushback. The Metroparks, which has done a lot of demolition along the Cuyahoga River to create public spaces, was urged by preservationists to take a different approach here.

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Slavic Village site quietly back on the market

With about 34 acres of land next to Interstate 77 zoned as semi-industrial, a large ware-
house or some other light-industrial facility like this one could be constructed on the
 Morabito Business Park land that is being offered for sale by its owner (ULI).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s not the first time Morabito Companies has had its large swath of land in Cleveland’s Slavic Village be put on the market for development. But it is the first time they’re trying it as a FSBO, or for sale by owner — without listing it via a real estate brokerage.

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Rock Hall weighs options for expansion encore

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is to the left, the Harbor Verandas to the
right, and only 60 feet are between them. That led Rock Hall officials to consider acquir-
ing the mixed-use building to give the Cleveland lakefront institution more and better
expansion options for the future (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Construction is well underway on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s $150 million expansion at Downtown Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor. But after the new addition opens at the end of 2026, Rock Hall officials, in looking at their now-landlocked surroundings, are wondering where the museum might expand to in the future.

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