CSU narrows finalists to develop Arena

Four firms were invited to submit proposals to Cleveland State University’s
Euclid Avenue Development Corp. for at least the new arena if not an attached
parking garage and mixed use district along Payne Avenue and Interstate 90
in downtown Cleveland (Sasaki). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Four finalists were invited by Cleveland State University (CSU) and its development arm Euclid Avenue Development Corp. (EADC) to submit proposals to build, at minimum, a new multi-purpose arena for the university. In addition, their proposals could also include a parking garage and mixed-use district of housing and shops that were proposed as part of its $650 million campus master plan unveiled last year. The arena, parking deck and mixed-use district were all proposed to rise along Payne Avenue, just west of Interstate 90 in downtown Cleveland.

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Tremont’s Lincoln Hts apartments start

An unofficial groundbreaking was held yesterday for the Lincoln Heights
Apartments in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood and construction vehicles
were delivered to the site at the west end of Breiver Avenue. However, town-
homes at the former Cleveland Animal Protective League property may be
pursued at a later date (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Hidden away behind houses and trees, construction on another large development in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood got under way this week. And while this latest development project is largely shielded from view, it simultaneously reveals the continuing strength of Cleveland’s multi-family market as well as the comparative weakness of its for-sale housing market. That’s especially true in certain neighborhoods that, starting next year, will lose their ability to offer 100 percent property tax abatement for new, for-sale homes.

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Now arriving: Woodhill Station East

A bird’s-eye view of the proposed Woodhill Station East in the foreground with
the first phase, a nearly completed Woodhill Station West, in the background
along Buckeye Road. This view looks northwest from the intersection of Buckeye
and Woodhill roads plus Shaker Boulevard. The light-rail “Rapid” station is just
out of view to the left (City Architecture). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A neighborhood-level design review panel today gave thumbs-up, with a few conditions, to conceptual plans for the next phase in the effort to replace the 83-year-old, 487-unit Woodhill Homes public housing in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood. Woodhill Station East, a 64-unit mixed-income apartment complex with ground-floor retail at 9615 Buckeye Rd., is proposed to be the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s (CMHA) third phase in its Woodhill Redevelopment efforts that would ultimately result in the construction of 640 mixed-income housing units on the city’s east side.

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Dix & Eaton grows, buys St. Louis PR firm

Dix and Eaton’s new offices on the top floors of the Bulkley Building in
Downtown Cleveland’s Playhouse Square will include a mix of social
and work areas including this lounge (Van Auken Akin).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

With a new Downtown Cleveland headquarters in the works, Dix & Eaton will move into it as one of the largest, employee-owned communications companies in the United States. That change in status occurred on Nov. 1 when the 71-year-old strategic communications firm acquired Standing Partnership, a 32-year-old, St. Louis-based marketing communications consultancy. The acquisition was announced today by Dix & Eaton. Terms of the transaction between the two privately owned firms will not be disclosed.

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Next round of Brownfield grants starts Dec. 5

Just south of downtown Cleveland, the Scranton Peninsula site of a former
Republic Steel mill that manufactured chrome-plated nuts and bolts will
soon become home to about 1,000 residents in more than 600 apartments
roughly equally split among two developments. One of those is the NRP
Group’s The Peninsula, in the center-foreground, which won a $6 million
Brownfield grant from the state last year for site clean up (Adam Greene).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Several things have long slowed Cleveland’s post-industrial transition to embrace new economic drivers. One of the biggest is the lack of large, clean properties near existing labor. The city recently announced a $50 million land assembly program that could be boosted to $100 million with other funding. While some of that funding could come from the private sector, another source may well come from a new round of state funding to aid redevelopment, announced today.

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Greyhound, Barons may offer downtown, west-side stops

The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center near Cleveland State University is
a relatively quiet place after years of service cuts by the Greater Cleveland
Regional Transit Authority. But it may soon see renewed activity if the transit
agency is able to reach a deal with Barons Bus Inc. for use of its downtown
station plus the Red Line rail stop at Puritas-West 150th (Google).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With the clock ticking down to an eventual departure from the 75-year-old Greyhound station in Downtown Cleveland, the operator of long-distance bus services is seeking new stations to serve area travelers. After an earlier plan to relocate Cleveland’s station to the Triskett Red Line rapid transit station on the west side met civic resistance, Barons Bus Inc. is pursuing two stations locally. Cleveland-based Barons operates bus service under a license with Greyhound.

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Hawthorne School conversion starts Monday

A rebirth of Hawthorne Elementary School starts Nov. 13 as construction
workers will descend upon the site on that date following the closing this
past week of financing to convert the 106-year-old building into apart-
ments (Bialosky). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While classes aren’t starting on Monday morning at Hawthorne Elementary School, 3575 W. 130th St., in Cleveland Jefferson neighborhood, that is when Sustainable Community Associates (SCA) is going to school. The Cleveland-based real estate development firm has repurposed many an old Cleveland building into apartments, some with shops or restaurants. But this is SCA’s first lesson in converting a school to apartments.

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