Downtown Lakewood project going through phases

This plaza at the north end of the proposed downtown Lakewood
development and a filling in of “the pit” retention basin will probably
have to wait a while until lending and equity markets improve enough
for developers to pursue the larger, more expensive portions of the project.
Instead, two 34-unit apartment buildings at the south end of the development
may be pursued first (Dimit). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Over the 60-90 days, the city and its development team will explore the feasibility of breaking up into more achievable pieces or phases the ambitious, $100-million-plus-dollar vision to redevelop the former Lakewood Hospital site in Downtown Lakewood. But city officials and the development team they chose said the basic, long-term vision for the site will remain largely unchanged from what city review boards have approved thus far.

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Cleveland suburb wants to be the next ‘Forest City’

Wondergrove Drive in suburban Euclid is an urban forester’s dream. While few
streets in Euclid offer such a wooded setting as the Brookwood Club area near
Lake Erie, more of the suburb’s residential streets and commercial districts
could use an increase of trees to provide cooling shade in summer and a
windbreak in winter (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While Cleveland was once called the Forest City due to the tree-studded neighborhoods it boasted in the 19th century, one of its suburbs might be in a position to claim that title in the coming years thanks to a generous grant from the federal government. The benefits of more trees are simple — they help provide cooling shade in summer, a windbreak in winter, and more attractive business districts and residential areas that can increase property values.

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Cavs, Clinic confirm downtown move

This basic rendering, called a massing to demonstrate the scale of new
buildings rather than the design of them, shows the location of the
conceptual Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center. It also
shows at upper left a restored Eagle Avenue ramp to Ontario Street
as well as a relocated Canal Road at lower left (Populous).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM

In a formal announcement made today, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland Clinic and Bedrock Real Estate officially unveiled a partnership for and conceptual plans of the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center – a first-of-its-kind sports performance center and training facility. Proposed plans include the development of an interdisciplinary training center which would be located on the Cuyahoga River’s waterfront in downtown Cleveland. The center would be the only Cleveland Clinic-backed professional facility to be open to the public.

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West Park area developments emerge

This is an early conceptual view of the proposed Warren Road Apartments
in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood that will be refined based on city
input. The front of the townhomes will feature more brick, the siding be
changed to off-white and new locations for trees and landscaping will
be provided (Young). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While big developments in and near Downtown and University Circle continue to be announced, a lot is going on in other Cleveland neighborhoods, too. Among those seeing activity are the West Park and Bellaire-Puritas neighborhoods, with new market-rate housing, jobs and educational projects planned. All three investments are critical to keeping Cleveland’s westernmost neighborhoods fresh and vibrant, said their City Councilman Charles Slife, of Ward 17.

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Big-name downtown tenants are on the move

Bedrock Real Estate’s red-outlined first phase of its downtown Cleveland
riverfront development has a roughly 20-story office building in the middle
of it that reportedly would feature Rocket Mortgage as its anchor tenant.
 The mortgage firm currently has 1,400 jobs in the Higbee Building
(Adjaye Associates). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Several major downtown Cleveland tenants are in the market for new homes and where they land could shake up the office market in the central business district. The moves come at a time when many companies are shrinking their office footprints and downtown office building owners are fighting to keep what tenants they have. Interestingly, several major tenants that are on the move are looking for larger space than what they have now.

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Surprising sites emerge for Courthouse Tower

Cuyahoga County’s Courthouse project, to be downtown Cleveland’s next mega-
project, is attracting the interest of several major developers including Bedrock
which is already pursuing a megaproject downtown. Bedrock could combine
the courthouse project and its riverfront megaproject (CBRE).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A few notable developers are reportedly offering several prominent, if not surprising downtown properties as options to host what will be a nearly 900,000-square-foot Cuyahoga County Courthouse Consolidation project. The square footage, not including parking which will be extra, represents specialty office space that property owners are desperately trying to fill in this post-pandemic real estate market. The sheer size of the courthouse consolidation project may create a competition that bears watching.

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City picks Watterson-Lake developer

An example of affordable housing built by a real estate firm selected by the
city to develop the Watterson-Lake School  site. The project shown here is
the 36-unit Miller Street Apartments in Pittsburgh that includes a supportive
services program (RDL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Following a request for proposals (RFP) process, the city of Cleveland officials selected Bridging the Gap LLC, a minority business enterprise and real estate developer from Pittsburgh, to redevelop the former Watterson-Lake School site in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. New to the Cleveland market, Bridging the Gap has a portfolio of major renovation and new construction projects, including multi-family housing, mixed use, industrial, retail and office space. But this site is likely to be developed with affordable apartments, probably with a ground-floor retail space based on the site’s zoning.

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