eyehrtfood

So Cleveland.com story today indicates Pinecrest is still on track for late 2017 - though was to be Spring 2017 - and that construction should resume in about 30 days. Story notes lots of rumors flying and that they have lost no tenants due delay (signed tenants I assume). West Elm is formally confirmed as coming. However, leasing map shows multiple stores where the never-confirmed Container Store was to go. This continues to lead me to believe it is headed to Beachwood/La Place... or ?

Some may remember the fake storefronts and subway station facade put up on E 9th between Prospect and Euclid for The Avengers filming, due to a mostly vacant block... How things have changed in a few years... Maybe these faux storefronts will be real stores in a few years, too.

Well, UHeights and Woodmere already co-exist as Whole Foods stores... There are already 365 stores announced for places like Bellevue, WA, where a Whole Foods full line store already exists within a mile or so - with many other Whole Foods also in that market. The Woodmere space where Whole Foods is currently located is 30K sq ft or so... the targeted 365 store size. Read article about their strategy in which they think they will add sales via 365 - not cannibalize nearby Whole Foods. We'll see what happens in eastern suburbs.

I wonder if it's possible that Whole Foods will renew/keep its current Woodmere lease - to transition to their new Trader Joe's-aimed "365" model (a store just announced for Akron) AND will build a new, full-line Whole Foods store at Pinecrest. As these two Whole Foods stores will already co-exist in markets like LA, and have different target customers, having them close shouldn't matter (and could compete well against a very strong Woodmere Trader Joe's) - plus this lease renewal talk, if for reason noted, could easily be fueling the "not moving to Pinecrest" rumors... Just a thought...

There ARE too many (3 built, 1 pending) east side luxury/near luxury shopping centers - BUT there are too many key retailers and restaurants not yet in the market than would fit in the existing vacancies.. IN an ideal world, there would be one large "Easton Town Center" that would have everything... yet CLE is many decades past the space to build that... Plus, those vacancies aren't necessarily of the size, visibility, competitor-adjacency requirements that key retailers expect.

And, presumably, this is from someone in the biz/in the know? If Fairmount/partners not going forward with this project - you'd think this high visibility, cleared land would be magnet for other developers... You'd also think that Orange would request/require a project of similar tenants and layout - as that is what's in the development agreement. If Whole Foods doesn't move, they definitely need to expand/modernize to meet the standards of their new stores. But, even then, this would mean a big delay/setback... Reading the 4/19/16 Orange Village zoning minutes... They say this (Paraphrased): There have been many rumors about Pinecrest, but the developers spoke to Orange on 4/15 and dispelled the rumors, noting rumors like this not uncommon to major projects - and that construction would start soon. Loans are in process. Hotel to be announced shortly (it was). 60% or retail space leased. I guess we'll see soon.

Uhhhh... THAT's a surprise... No more Lolita: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/05/01/michael-symon-says-he-will-open-a-new-concept-in-former-lolita-spot

With all the recent talk of building a local movie studio, to entice moviemakers to choose CLE as their filming spot, it would seem concourse D (sadly) could be a heck of a set for movie airport scenes... No travelers means the productions would have it all to themselves.

I live in Chagrin Falls (village/downtown)

The last word from Moxie folks, I thought, was that a new lower priced concept of theirs (not a "Moxie") was going in that spot. Hopefully this is that.

Here is the current Chagrin Highlands brochure and map. http://jresgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Chagrin-Highlands_Brochure.pdf Let's assume that this were Ikea, who looked at Chagrin Highlands 15 years avo... The Highland Hills parcel noted in Crain's article is 84 acres, but only the eastern most (at top of hill above Tri-C) would be visible from 271... - meaning that specific parcel could be IKEA bait - and no other. Though the parcel is not as close as normal to a highway for Ikea while the nearby hill that Eaton is on is, as I have heard it, the highest point in Cuy County (?) - and their building can be seen well to the east and west. So a giant blue/yellow IKEA (if zoning allowed.. which it may not currently) high on the hill would still be very, very visible..if not highway-close.). Stores in places like Seattle are far less visible... The Harvard/271 exits have also already been improved and can handle traffic well.

So if developers can buy an 11 story public housing tower in Columbus' super-hot Short North, for potential hotel or apartment use (with the rationale for selling being more low-income units with the proceeds), what's stopping CMHA from selling off Ohio City's Riverview Tower, with its fantastic downtown views and center-strip W 25th location??? Moving that property into private hands could be a huge step towards realizing the full W 25th redevelopment potential... (vs being an impediment to it...). http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/02/26/exclusive-investor-group-buying-11-story-bollinger.html

Was reading the recently-posted Beachwood zoning minutes from the January meeting - and GGP, the Beachwood Place owner - and now owner of La Place - had some updates on La Place... Those include the fact that a 25,600 square foot tenant will be taking the former Borders space, plus some adjacent mall space - and will be seeking an increase to the roof height of the building (up to potentially 25 ft) to accommodate that move. The immediate thoughts for that space include the long-rumored (for east side/Pinecrest) Container Store (usually around the same 25,000 square foot range for most new stores), Arhaus (sketched in for a larger, 20,000 sq ft+ store at Pinecrest, currently) - or Restoration Hardware - which has been seeking a new, multi-story location for a 40-50K square foot "Gallery" store - (5X larger than their current store) - and had originally been looking at Beachwood Place - but, who knows, might settle for a smaller, but high visibility La Place space. It was also noted that the former Sushi Rock space would be broken into 3 restaurant spaces, totaling some 8,800 square feet. Rick Doody's Coastal Taco concept, currently being built in the Flats East Bank, is potentially one of those, per published reports.

Crains morning update has article link that notes IKEA has been contacted by numerous CLE-area cities in wake of the no-go Brooklyn news: http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2016/02/23/ikea-rep-county-a-bit-too-far-west-for-ne-ohio-store/

A stray comment about IKEA on CLE.com caught my attention. A poster said IKEA was looking at an empty piece of land just east of Lowe's in Bedford Heights (technically, I believe) - which is just east of 271 on Miles Road and immediately South of 422 (where continues East from 480). This is essentially on the SE side of the larger interchange where Randall Park is on the NW side. I took note because this is not a spot an average Joe would just pick out of the blue - the person would almost have to know something - and yet it is maybe 1/4 mile off highway, quite visible from the road (especially 271, which is almost on top of the aforementioned Lowe's) - and central to an interchange that brings traffic from 4 directions. Pretty much exactly what IKEA is looking for, save for an open field somewhere. Interesting. CarMax and Tim Lally Chevrolet recently built large complexes just across the street.. so the area is getting noticed. Sure, it's likely just a runor, but it makes sense - and if Bedford could score this, well.....

Channel 19 just interviewed Michael Symon... Lolita timeline still approximately a year to reopen after fire... His Mabel's BBQ moved back now to potential April opening... from Fall 2015, then Winter 2016.

But few are large, clean-n-green sites within sight from interstate highways, next to highway interchanges. I certainly feel we will get an IKEA... 2x the size of markets like Columbus and Indy amd SLC and Jacksonville etc which are getting them stores or have them. Stores 2-3 hrs away are not competition. And when I think of relatively central to CLE/Akron/Canton (and/or other major retail) green tracts of land, SE corner of Chagrin/Harvard (size restrictions for retailers aside) is tops, Rt 8/I80 by new Arhaus and Seasons Road exit on route 8 in Hudson area (previously rumored for IKEA). I also agree NW corner of 480/Transportation would have crazy visibility on that hill... but that could be some problem land. Sure, Avon or Medina might have room, but further from the masses.

So, uh, I'm pretty sure the PreCheck line was longer than the regular line on Tuesday morning. Like, it was backed up past the Delta ticket counter. Thank god I have SkyPriority too, lol! Though usually shorter than the regular TSA line, in my personal experience, CLE consistently has the longest TSA Pre-Check line of the 4 or 5 I frequent...

Existing AG building spot a half mile off/not visible from highway = breaks several IKEA site rules...

Nothing wrong with Cleveland pride but name an airport as outdated as Hopkins in a metro of over 1 million people. I know this has been said before but they are important points: The Customs facility can't handle real international flights. Airport debt and landing fees are high for a such an old facility. Cleveland should be served better for a metro of it's size. The airport itself is a big obstacle in getting airlines interested in expanding service. It is what it is. NEO has 3.5-4MM population and a 2MM metro-sized airport - and the largest metro without non-stop Euro service. Charlotte has a 2MM metro and a 6MM metro-sized airport... and there are many more examples... St Louis is 3MM hub-loss metro with 30+ more non stop cities than CLE (and no Euro?.)

Advice to any even mildly frequent flyer: Sign up/get interviewed/pay $85 (good for 5 years) for TSA pre-Check. No shoes off. No belt off.. No pulling out laptop. No scanning xray machine. Shorter line. None of the horrors outlined in Glaser's PD article. It makes life so much easier (even at CLE).

+1 on that. I do get a little dejected in seeing (as I did the other night) the airport concourses nearly shut down at 7:30 pm, with just 10 more departing and a few more than that arriving flights for the rest of day - but the place functions for me.

Well Pinecrest land can't handle an IKEA BUT the land immediately South across Harvard, which Jacobs just announced for 2 restaurants, a Drury Inn, and office building, is PRIME space for IKEA - and with an already improved off ramp. However, local restrictions on big box stores likely in play at CHighlands (thanks Mayor Marcia Fudge) to keep it out. Minimum IKEA requirements something like 2MM population within 60 miles and 30+ highway viaibke acres. CLE/NEO has 4MM within an hour of any centrally located IKEA. Columbus and Indy will have 2MM within same drive. I am not worried about IKEA prospects. 25%+ of PIT IKEA sales have been rumored to be from NEO. Also: related to the above - Arhaus is planning a 20K Sq ft Pinecrest store/showplace I hear and the land by their new HQ, which will have Costco/Bass Pro, could and should be a potential IKEA location to check out... as it is central enough to NEO cities and Rt 8/271/80 access adjacent/nearby. IKEA site requirements per their Joe Roth contained here: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=542362 (CLE far surpasses many cities already with stores on these)

Indy and Las Vegas are other recent new store announcements and 30 of the top 32 metros now have or will have IKEA stores. I remember reading in Crains that they were looking at Cleveland at least as far back as 2001 (Chagrin Highlands). Don't understand how nothing can be found, regardless of specific property needs.

The middle parking lot at Eton was maybe 80% empty tonight at 6 pm... Two weeks ago, and for a dozen years prior, with Trader Joe's in the center of the strip, it would have been 80%+ FULL (100% on weekends). Almost ghosttownish. Eerie. Amazing how much traffic (human and vehicular) was driven by TJs. Will be interesting to see how much spinoff business is lost by TJs loss of adjacency to other tenants OR perhaps how much is gained by lack of parking hassles. Just odd to see, as one who travels by almost daily. Careful what you wish for, Eton...