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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Cleveland leads nation in home price growth

For young people wanting an affordable starter home in a market with big-city
amenities, Cleveland delivers. But it might not stay cheap for long. This is
Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood (Nile Vincz for Homes.com).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland led the nation in home price appreciation in March, but the metro area’s median prices are still far below the national benchmark. In fact, according to a new report, the Cleveland market has the lowest median sales price among the 40 largest US markets. But that might not be the case for much longer.

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Agave Social restaurant to open in Flats

At the high-profile southeast corner of the Flats East Bank building, corner of
Main Avenue and West 11th Street, noted local restaurateurs Alex and Arturo
Mendez with partner Guillermo Ayala will open their latest established,
Agave Social. This was the site of Beerhead Bar and Eatery for nine
years (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It didn’t take long to land a new tenant for a highly visible restaurant location at Cleveland’s Flats East Bank. Just four months after Beerhead Bar and Eatery closed at 1156 W. 11th St., noted local restaurateurs Alex and Arturo Mendez Martinez with partner Guillermo Ayala have executed a lease for the ground-floor space at the corner of West 11th and Main Avenue.

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GCRTA gives green signal to rebuild two stations

An aerial rendering looking north at the reconstructed Blue/Green Line station
at East 79th Street, near the Opportunity Corridor. Work to rebuild the station
is scheduled to start in June and be finished about one year later (Bowen).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) board members voted yesterday to hire a joint venture to rebuild Cleveland’s East 79th Street station on the Blue and Green light-rail lines. That follows last month’s board vote to hire another contractor to reconstruct the Warrensville-Van Aken Blue Line station in Shaker Heights.

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West Side Market wins $28 million investment

Storm clouds were brewing over the West Side Market when this picture was taken in
2018 and it wasn’t just the weather. The Ohio City landmark was in major need of
overhaul of its physical structure and its management structure. It’s been getting both
since with more to come (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA) and Cleveland Public Market Corporation closed on a $28 million investment package on behalf of West Side Market’s transformation project. The package is the largest ever issued by CDA and will secure the remaining necessary funding for the West Side Market’s $53 million first stage of the project.

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Cleveland is founding city in new pro soccer league

A modular-built soccer stadium can be built quickly and inexpensively to host games and
events by the middle of 2026. And it could be expanded if Cleveland is able to land a
higher division soccer team in the future (CSG). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A new women’s professional soccer league is due to launch in 2026 and Cleveland was named as one of its 15 founding markets throughout the USA. Launch of WPSL Pro, the newest professional league in the U.S. soccer organizational pyramid, was formally announced today.

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Lakewood church to become church again

Built as a church 103 years ago, this handsome Lakewood building will go back to
it roots under a new owner (LoopNet). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Only a decade old, the Lakewood-based King’s Church has acquired its first permanent home by purchasing the former headquarters of the Roundstone Insurance Co. after it relocated to Rocky River last fall. But that former HQ is going back to its originally intended purpose.

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Row on Garden gets pushed and pulled by city

The darker building at left is the proposed Row on Garden, amid several other phases of
development by ALMiCo Group led by its first phase at right, the Flats on Pearl in Cleve-
land’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood (Brandt). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Different departments of the city of Cleveland are stretching a Lakewood-based real estate company, ALMiCO Group, with orders to stop and go on different aspects of its multi-phase development in the city’s Brooklyn Centre Historic District. Caught in this push-pull is a phase called Row on Garden, now planned as an 18-unit apartment building on Garden Ave.

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University Circle’s ‘Holy Oil Can’ is up for sale

In Cleveland’s University Circle, two of that district’s tallest structures stand next to
the Wade Lagoon. The district’s tallest structure, The 267-foot-tall Artisan apartments,
was topping out in September 2022. But the district’s longtime height champion at
200 feet was the Church In The Circle, built in 1928 as the Epworth-Euclid United
 Methodist Church (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When a church has been around for a long time, its name can often change. But for the 97-year-old Church In The Circle, 1919 E. 107th St., its appearance-based nickname has not changed — the “Holy Oil Can.” Nor has its ownership — until now.

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Ohio City Starbucks OK’d by Landmarks panel

The left side of this corner of an historic building in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood
is where a drive-through for a new Starbucks Cafe is planned. The cars from this drive-
through will exit here onto Abbey Avenue. In the background is the Intro development.
Out of view to the right is the West Side Market and, behind this camera is the Ohio City
Red Line train station Avenue (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A plan to renovate an historic car dealership with retail uses, including a new Starbucks in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, was approved today by the city’s Landmarks Commission. But the question of whether a proposed drive-through should remain in the design was referred to the city’s Division of Traffic Engineering to decide.

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Here’s the Scoop: Ben & Jerry’s to Playhouse Square

Along Euclid Avenue, to the left or east of Starbucks in the Hanna Building, will be
the latest location of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. The new parlor will take the entire
space between Starbucks and the arched Euclid entrance to the historic building
(Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

While NEOtrans doesn’t normally devote an entire article to the planned opening of a small retail space, this is a new ice cream parlor in a high-profile location. And, of course, everyone loves ice cream, especially when it’s enjoyed before or after a show at America’s second-largest theater district, Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.

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Tony George buying Lake Avenue site

This office and warehouse at 8110 Lake Ave. on Cleveland’s west side is near to
being acquired by the George Group of Lakewood to apparently remain a
commercial use in a neighborhood with lots of residential development
(NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A high-profile businessman is near to acquiring a piece of property between Cleveland’s stable Edgewater neighborhood to the west and the fast-growing Gordon Square neighborhood to the east. But despite the number of new residential developments emerging nearby, this commercial site is apparently going to stay commercial — possibly charitable.

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Rose Building sign not a sign of construction yet

This proposed sign for Project Scarlet, a renovation and conversion of the former
Medical Mutual headquarters into apartments and a hotel, is sought to stir up
interest and create buzz about the project (Diamond Signs & Graphics).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Landmarks Commission is due to hear a proposal this week for the addition of a visible, unique sign atop an important building in Downtown Cleveland. But while the proposed sign on the Rose Building, 2060 E. 9th St., is touted as a “Temporary construction duration banner” — there is no sign that construction of a planned hotel-apartment conversion is imminent.

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NE Ohio Soccer HQ, training facility search begins

A FIFA-regulation-size soccer pitch measures just under 2 acres, like this one in at
the Old Crew Stadium in Columbus. In the winter, the field is covered with an air-
supported bubble dome that is usually 20 degrees warmer inside than it is outside
(KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) has issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) to municipalities, civic leaders and community development partners to establish a new headquarters and training facilities for two professional soccer teams debuting in 2026 — a men’s team and Ohio’s first women’s professional soccer team that will be announced soon.

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Next in Cleveland’s BVQ District: Vega Ave. Studio Lofts

The Vega Avenue Studio Lofts doesn’t just overlook its namesake street. The apartment
building, clad in wood shiplap siding, will also overlook Interstate 90, set immediately
south of the BVQ Lofts in the former J. Spang Bakery Building (Vocon).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If it seems like a new development is popping up just about every month in Cleveland’s Barber-Vega-Queen (BVQ) District, you’re right. The latest to pop up on public records is the Vega Avenue Studio Lofts.

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MGK’s Shooters Yacht Club gets go-ahead

Formerly Shooters on the Water had a 37-year run on Cleveland’s West Bank
of the Flats. It will be renovated as Shooters Yacht Club, whose ownership
group is led by musician and former Clevelander MGK (Share The River).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A new direction for a longtime Flats West Bank restaurant site on the Cuyahoga River is about to get underway. But it may be early August before before the public will have the opportunity to enjoy it, according to a spokesman for the construction contractor.

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