Cleveland RTA reveals its new trains

Introducing the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s new trains
that will operate on all rail lines and replacing one of the oldest rail car fleets
in the nation. The new trains, to be built by Siemens Mobility of Sacramento,
CA, will increase service reliability for passengers and reduce operating costs
for the transit agency (GCRTA). CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE THEM.

For the first time in four decades, Greater Cleveland is about to get a new Rapid. While NEOtrans revealed in January what type of new rail car Greater Clevelanders will be riding for the next two to three decades, that news was made official today by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). Much more detail about the new rapid transit trains also was provided.

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Slavic Village properties back on market

The vacant, former Elgin Furniture store, 5217 Broadway Ave. in Cleveland’s
Slavic Village, is spread across five parcels and for sale along with another
vacant building at 5236 Broadway. A seventh parcel at 5311 Magnet Ave. is
owned by the same Columbus-based firm and next to the ex-Elgin site. That
site is across the street from The Rising, the largest development in Slavic
Village in 25 years (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Seven high-profile properties along a short section of Broadway Avenue in Cleveland’s Slavic Village have hit the market after years of inactive ownership by a Columbus-based real estate firm. All of the properties except one which is an empty lot, have historic but vacant buildings on them. But the offerings are not publicly listed as available for sale by ME Real Estate LLC.

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Board of Elections is moving out

When most of us think of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, we think
of this 1950s-era structure called the Robert Hughes Building at the northwest
corner of Euclid Avenue and East 30th Street. But there are also two other
locations used by the Board of Elections which it would like to consolidate
by Jan. 1, 2024 in an existing, relatively low-rise building that’s accessible
by car and transit (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cuyahoga County’s Department of Public Works this week issued a request for proposals from building owners and real estate brokers who can accommodate the requirements of a proposed consolidation of operations by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (BOE) into a new location. For decades, the BOE’s main offices have been located at 2925 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood. But it also has two other locations that, in total, equal the size of their main offices and could be consolidated into a new, accessible location by year’s end, county officials said.

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Browns, city want you to rule out FES renovation

FirstEnergy Stadium is only 24 years old and will be 30 just a few months
after the Cleveland Browns’ lease with the city runs out at the end of the
2028 National Football League season. Where the Browns play after that
will depend on a community dialogue that will take place over the next
two years (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

I write that after this week’s statement from Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam which followed NEOtrans’ most recent article about the Browns’ desire for a new all-purpose stadium for Cleveland. At the National Football League’s (NFL) Annual Meeting, the Haslams said “They remain committed to upgrading the Browns’ stadium — with the primary goal of renovating FirstEnergy Stadium in accordance with the City of Cleveland’s plans to upgrade waterfront area between Lake Erie and downtown.”

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Bedrock defers to others on riverfront

Bedrock owns 35 acres of land along the downtown riverfront, but nothing
will get built here unless others respond to Bedrock’s vision for the
area (Adjaye). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Bedrock has something that few other investors in downtown Cleveland have — about 35 acres of prime, developable land, mostly along the riverfront below Tower City Center. But unlike many other downtown land owners with hopes for the future, they have no intention of developing anything themselves, be it new buildings or the infrastructure to sustain them.

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Berkadia to expand at Key Tower

Unlike some other downtown Cleveland office tenants that have reduced
space or left downtown entirely, commercial loan originator Berkadia Com-
mercial Mortgage is expanding on the 14th floor of Key Tower, 127 Public
Square (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

By the end of this year, commercial loan originator Berkadia Commercial Mortgage will be showing off its greatly expanded offices on the 14th floor of Key Tower, 127 Public Square. And that expansion offers a couple of statements about Greater Cleveland’s economy in general and downtown Cleveland in particular.

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Blue Abyss may build $250m research center here

A conceptual rendering of Blue Abyss’ planned deep sea and space research,
training and test facility in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Reportedly, their
research center next to NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland
will be very similar in purpose and design (Blue Abyss).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM 

A British company, Blue Abyss Diving Ltd., is pursuing the development of a new research center devoted to deep sea and space research in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park on land next to NASA Glenn Research Center. The project, with a total estimated price tag of $250 million, could be one of the most significant business investments resulting from the presence of the NASA facility. It could also be nearly identical to a major research center Blue Abyss is building in the United Kingdom county of Cornwall.

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