The next CSU: a few insights

It may look like a new building but it’s not. As part of Cleveland State
University’s desire to add more dorms, the 1971-built Rhodes Tower may
be converted to housing and get a new exterior. This is just one example
of how it could look. Another is to add glass curtain walls to protect the
precast concrete façade from moisture and better insulate the building
(CSU). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

When Cleveland State University (CSU) formally released its downtown campus master plan to the public last week, a few things were left out it. Their exclusion wasn’t because of some devious intent to deceive the public. Rather, it was because CSU officials and those at the Boston-based planning firm Sasaki Associates CSU hired to develop the master plan hadn’t yet made decisions on the omitted elements.

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Sherwin-William HQ+R&D rises to $750 million

To the left of a holiday-themed Terminal Tower, the new Sherwin-Williams
headquarters will rise to 39 stories, including rooftop mechanicals. At 616
feet, it will be the fourth-tallest tower in downtown Cleveland before the
end of 2024. This rendering shows how the new skyscraper will look on
some nights. On other nights it will have decorative lighting in its vertical
crevasses and within its reverse-angled crown (Michael Collier/SHW).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) has announced that construction costs for its new headquarters in downtown Cleveland plus its research and development facility in suburban Brecksville have increased from at least $600 million to $750 million. But the cause, according to the global coatings giant, isn’t entirely what’s affecting all other construction projects — inflation and interest rates. Instead, it cited compliance with state, county and municipal regulations in hiring minority- and female-owned subcontractors and suppliers, plus local small businesses. Those regulations were triggered because of public-sector resources SHW tapped for these projects.

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Slavic Village’s Broadway in transit

The five-way intersection of Broadway Avenue, East 55th Street and Hamlet
Avenue is the traditional center of Slavic Village, once called Little Bohemia
for its large Czech population. It retains all of its pre-World War I buildings
even though many are in a decayed condition. Reviving this area as part of
the Broadway transit corridor is the goal of new planning and development
by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Slavic Village
 Development Inc. (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The beleaguered Broadway Avenue corridor in Cleveland’s Slavic Village could soon see new signs of life thanks to a federal grant that was awarded last week to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). The $432,000 grant will allow the transit agency to develop plans to redesign the Broadway corridor from the Turney-Ella bus loop near Calvary Cemetery to downtown as a bus rapid transit (BRT) route with enhanced pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Once those plans are complete, it can then apply for federal funds to build that infrastructure.

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Cleveland to get MLS NEXT Pro team

Krenzler Field in downtown Cleveland is the home of the Cleveland State
Vikings soccer and lacrosse teams as well as the Cleveland Soccer Club
semi-pro team. If available, Krenzler Field and its seating capacity may
need to be expanded to accommodate Cleveland’s new Major League
Soccer NEXT Pro team (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

The reserve league of top-tier Major League Soccer is expected to announce on Monday that it will expand to Cleveland as the next city to gain a professional soccer team, according to sources who spoke off the record. The announcement will be made at 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Pins Mechanical on West 25th Street in Ohio City by Michael Murphy. He led the effort locally to land the MLS NEXT Pro (MLSNP) team.

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CSU releases campus master plan

Conceptual rendering of a new 5,000- to 7,000-seat arena for Cleveland
State University on Payne Avenue overlooking Interstate 90, at lower
left. The new arena would host CSU basketball, concerts and other events
and allow the university to demolish the 13,610-seat Wolstein Center. The
9.3-acre Wolstein Center site would be redeveloped as the Partnership
District with up to 800,000 square feet of new mixed-use development
(CSU/Sasaki). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

At a regular meeting today of its board of trustees, Cleveland State University (CSU) unveiled a new campus master plan to capitalize on its location in Cleveland’s urban core and to guide the development of the university’s physical campus over the next decade. Details of that plan were shared with NEOtrans and other Northeast Ohio media in a press release and an illustrated presentation.

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Downtown Lakefront buildings no longer for sale

At North Coast Harbor, Harbor Verandas in the foreground and Nuevo
Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar in the background are no longer on the
market. Owner Cumberland Development wants to retain them due to
their profitability and reassess after the real estate market improves,
including when the fate of nearby Burke Lakefront Airport is
decided (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

Two very visible buildings at downtown Cleveland’s North Coast Harbor that were listed for sale over the past year were just taken off the market this week by owner Cumberland Development LLC. There are several reasons why the Harbor Verandas mixed-use building and the Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar are being retained. But one of them is because of the fate of the nearby Burke Lakefront Airport could cause the value of the site to rise in the future.

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A Christmas Story House, campus for sale

Tens of thousands of guests tour A Christmas Story House in Cleveland’s
Tremont neighborhood each year — especially this time of year. Some of
them stay the night in the working-class home-turned-celebrity along with
the Bumpus House, at left, thanks to the holiday-themed movie. Both were
renovated by owners Brian and Beverly Jones to look like they did in the
movie (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

That little house on Cleveland Street is on the market just in time for the holiday season and the release of a sequel to the 1983 classic movie “A Christmas Story.” And just like one of Ralphie’s father’s silly puzzles, “This one could be worth 50,000 bucks.” But the house isn’t on Cleveland Street, it’s not merely the house that’s for sale and the campus of seven properties is likely to fetch multiples of $50,000. Indeed, according to some real estate insiders, it could go for dozens of times more. Dare we say “A major award”?

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