NorthShore64

Developers propose smaller apartment building on historic Hessler Road in Cleveland following residents’ concerns Eric Heisig - Cleveland.com - Apr. 15, 2021 "The downscaled plans, which also include renovations to two other apartment buildings that face Ford Drive, were discussed during a Thursday meeting of the Euclid Corridor Design Review Committee. The new iteration came after several meetings the developers and University Circle Inc. held with residents about the site’s future, Maron and University Circle Inc. President Chris Ronayne said. The design review committee gave its blessing to the concept Maron and Berusch proposed with some minor stipulations. Two members voted against it. ... The Cleveland Landmarks Commission is scheduled to weigh in during its meeting next week."

Game Arena Opens Second Location at The Gateway Walker Evans - Columbus Underground - Apr. 15, 2021 "After nearly two years of waiting, video game fans can finally live it up at the second Game Arena location, now open at the OSU Gateway. The new spot carries over the format of the original Hilliard location — high-end gaming PCs and consoles that you rent time on — but with more of a college atmosphere that includes neon lights and a larger bar area for hanging out with friends while watching your favorite Twitch streamers on wall-mounted screens."

Greater Cleveland Food Bank breaks ground on new Collinwood distribution center Eric Heisig - Cleveland.com - Apr. 15, 2021 "The agency plans to build its 198,000-square-foot facility on an 18-acre piece of land on Coit Road on the edges of the Collinwood and Glenville neighborhoods, which was once home to the General Motors Fisher Body Plant, and two miles southwest of its current headquarters on South Waterloo Road. The plant closed in the 1980s. ... Construction costs and running the facility for five years is estimated to cost $40 million. ... Once the new distribution center opens, the South Waterloo Road building will be renovated and turned into a place to serve clients, with space for other social service organizations to also help those in need."

Largest subdivision in Delaware to expand by 44 homes Dillon Davis - Delaware Gazette - Apr. 14, 2021 "The Communities at Glenross is nearing completion, and during Monday’s Delaware City Council meeting, a final development plan and final subdivision plat for Section 14 of the subdivision was approved, leaving just four sections still remaining to be reviewed by the city. ... The development of Glenross south of Cheshire Road began in 2016 when council approved an amendment to the zoning and development text, as well as amendments to the preliminary development plan and preliminary subdivision plat for 487 single-family lots on approximately 210 acres to become sections 11-22 of the Communities at Glenross."

Those are just some theoretical local roadway expansion proposals from a section of the comprehensive plan. A true "outerbelt" or bypass of Delaware may be coming courtesy of ODOT. Up for the 2021 TRAC funding is the US 23 Corridor Study which: "...will focus on physical improvements between Waldo (end of existing freeway) and I-270. The primary concepts under study include a west bypass of Delaware connecting to US 33, and upgrade of the existing alignment on US 23, and an eastern bypass connecting to I-71."

Ohio moves up craft beer rankings after adding 47 breweries in 2020 Dan Eaton - Columbus Business Firsyt - Apr. 14, 2021 "The Brewers Association this week released its state-level figures for the industry and, despite an 11% decline in production volume for 2020, Ohio still moved up one spot in the annual ranking to 5th overall. Texas is now 6th. ... Ohio added 47 new breweries last year while more than a dozen closed. The net gain took the state to 366 breweries, according to the Ohio association's count. ... The Ohio association said at least 73 more breweries are in planning and are expected to open in the next few years."

$400M mixed-use development approved near Etna Township Tristan navera - Columbus Business First - Apr. 13 2021 "Columbus developer T&R Properties has been given the green light for a 220-acre, $400 million mixed-use project that will transform the northwest corner of the I-70 and Rt. 310 interchange in Etna Township. ... Township officials have approved the development on what is today mostly farmland. Plans include a 50-acre commercial park to the south and west along the highway, with 800 apartments and residential units to the north and east, closer to existing homes. ... The first phase, which will include 200 apartments, commercial and retail space next to Rt. 310, is now in engineering, with construction work to begin in late 2021, Sabatino said."

With sponsors on board, WTA tournament is heading to Cleveland this summer Kevin Kleps - Crain's Cleveland Business - Apr. 13, 2021 "Jacobs Pavilion, an open-air amphitheater, will serve as the main stadium court and have a capacity of at least 3,000. Five additional playing surfaces (two for matches and three practice courts) will be constructed on a nearby parking lot at the Nautica complex, which includes the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Shooters Waterfront Cafe and the Improv. ... The sports commission estimates that the event could draw 40,000 total fans and produce $2 million in direct spending. ... The WTA event will be billed as much more than a tennis tournament. There will be food trucks, a beer garden, a farmers market, an art show and live music." Tour-level pro tennis returns to Cleveland for the first time in 36 years Bret McCormick - Cleveland Business Journal - Apr. 13, 2021 "The event brings tour-level tennis back to Cleveland for the first time since the 1985 Society Bank Open, a stop on the Grand Prix tennis circuit that preceded the ATP. And it fills a key spot in the WTA Tour’s flow by falling the week between Cincinnati’s Western & Southern Open and the U.S. Open, both of which draw sizable fields of prominent players who also could play in Cleveland."

Here's what Crawford Hoying sees filling in the Westmont at the Lane project in Upper Arlington Dan Eaton - Columbus Business First - Apr. 13, 2021 "Crawford Hoying still has restaurant, retail and office space to fill at its Westmont at the Lane project in Upper Arlington. On Tuesday, the Dublin-based developers confirmed that the first two commercial tenants at the $60 million site are a Local Cantina restaurant and Hammer & Nails men’s grooming boutique. ... The residential component is progressing as well. Starr said the apartments will be online in the next 60 days."

* Subscriber Exclusive * City Council panel OKs aid for development of 400+ apartments near Cleveland Clinic Robert Higgs - Cleveland.com - Apr. 13, 2021 "A City Council panel signed off Tuesday on a plan by Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration to loan a developer $500,000 to help build apartments in Hough near the Cleveland Clinic. The loan would help Inspirion Group launch a project at East 90th Street just north of Chester Avenue that would include more than 400 apartments and commercial space. ... Demolition at the site could begin this summer, with the first phase of construction starting in the fall, Ebersole said."

Here's when the Gateway Film Center plans to reopen Hayleigh Colombo - Columbus Business First - Apr. 12, 2021 "Gateway Film Center will reopen their screening rooms May 27, putting behind it a tough year caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. ... Screening room capacities will remain limited for social distancing, but the screens will feature international titles, film festival favorites and other programming. The largest room will accommodate 60 people; its smallest will host as many as 10."

From the NOACA Planning and Programing Committee's TRAC regional priority list for 2021: Of the five 2021 TRAC applications, NOACA lists the rail reconstruction as it's number one priority project. The 2021 TRAC funding request application - GCRTA requests $47.0 million of TRAC funding for its $70.0 million project to reconstruct ten (10) miles of light rail track, turnouts, crossings and associated appurtenances located along its Blue and Green Lines.

From the NOACA Planning and Programing Committee - TARC Project Priorities List: From the 2021 TRAC Applications - Pedestrian connection/structure to the Lakefront:

City of Cleveland reveals first glimpse of its new lakefront ‘land bridge’ concept in application for state money Steven Litt -Cleveland.com - Apr. 12, 2021 "In a nod to nostalgia, the City of Cleveland is proposing to recreate, at least in part, a pedestrian bridge that connected the downtown Malls to the Lake Erie lakefront during the 1936-37 Great Lakes Exposition. The city has applied to the State of Ohio for $6.5 million to design the “land bridge” from Mall C to North Coast Harbor on the waterfront, spanning the Ohio 2 Shoreway and lakefront railroad lines. ... The project could ultimately carry a cost of $229 million, the city’s application said. ... The document also said the project would improve access to the city’s Amtrak station, an aging structure built in the 1970s. The project could involve consolidation of what the city called two “underutilized’' Waterfront Line stations of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. ... The city’s application contains the first publicly released version of a rough design for the bridge, showing it would extend straight north from Mall C, the grassy plaza between City Hall and the old Cuyahoga County Courthouse."

Chase will 'significantly reduce' real estate – how that impacts Columbus Tristan Navera - Columbus Business First - Apr. 12, 2021 "In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon wrote that the pandemic has permanently changed the way the bank looks at its real estate after sending much of its workforce home, including many of the 18,596 who work for the bank in Central Ohio. Local spokespeople declined to comment further, but Chase, the city's fourth-largest employer, owns or leases 3 million square feet of office space here, according to information from Colliers. ... "Remote work will change how we manage our real estate," Dimon wrote. "We will quickly move to a more 'open seating' arrangement, in which digital tools will help manage seating arrangements, as well as needed amenities, such as conference room space. As a result, for every 100 employees, we may need seats for only 60 on average. This will significantly reduce our need for real estate."

MAI Capital Management prepares to move to Independence Stan Bullard - Crain's Cleveland Business - Apr. 12, 2021 "MAI Capital Management, a growing wealth management firm and fee-based registered independent adviser, is taking steps to move to Park Center Plaza, a three-building campus in Independence, from downtown Cleveland. ... MAI Capital occupies the top three floors of IMG Center, 1360 E. Ninth St. Buoncore bought the financial advisory firm in 2007 from the family of Mark McCormack, the founder of IMG, and others. ... Asked if the foreclosure proceeding pending against IMG Center owner James Breen since 2019 had bearing on the firm's move, Buoncore said, 'The receiver, Paul Downey, has done an amazing job trying to return (IMG Center) to a fully functioning building.' He declined to elaborate."

The Dexter, a luxury apartment building, opening on Cleveland's West Side (PHOTOS) Mary Vanac - Cleveland Business Journal - Apr. 12, 2021 "Dominic Edwards is doing up to a half-dozen tours a day — many for out-of-town doctors in training at Cleveland Clinic's Huron Road Hospital across the street — for prospective tenants of The Dexter, the latest luxury apartment building in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. The first resident is expected to move in this week, said Edwards, a community manager for Casto, the building's Columbus, Ohio-based residential real estate developer and property manager."

Here is a nice video from Bloomberg on Crafted Culture Brewing Company in Gahanna: Diversifying The Craft Beer Industry - Crafted Culture Brewing Company is the first Black-owned brewery in Central Ohio. Owner Anthony "Sizzle" Perry is on a mission to bring more diversity to the industry - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-04-09/diversifying-the-craft-beer-industry-video

Slammers, one of 15 lesbian bars left in U.S., weathers pandemic, cultural shifts in Columbus Erica Thompson - The Dispatch - Apr. 12, 2021 "In Columbus, like many cities, lesbian-centered nightlife is a thing of the past. Traces of the old scene in Columbus exist in the memories of people who were there. Ask around, and you’ll hear about Wall Street Downtown, Summit Station (now The Summit) in North Campus and Blazer’s Pub (now Two Truths) in the Short North. ... Operating Downtown on East Long Street since 1993, Slammers is the only surviving lesbian bar in Ohio, and one of just 15 left in the U.S., according to a report by Greggor Mattson, associate professor of sociology at Oberlin College and Conservatory. ... Today, staff members say Slammers is doing well, and in no danger of closing. The bar’s pizza continues to be one of the biggest selling points. And the newly opened LGBTQ show bar and nightclub, District West, located behind Slammers, is bringing in new, mostly male, clientele."

This can be an interesting way for local municipalities to collaborate on regional issues: New lakefront special improvement district could lead to new Lake Erie trails following innovative Euclid example Steven Litt - Cleveland.com - Apr. 12, 2021 "The City of Euclid and 12 Lake County communities recently incorporated Ohio’s first lakefront special improvement district to help property owners finance expensive and urgently needed erosion control projects along the Lake Erie shoreline. Ultimately, however, the district could become a vehicle to open new public trails along vast stretches of private lakefront land that limit access to one of Ohio’s greatest natural resources. ... She called the district an unusual example of collaboration across municipal and county lines in a home rule state where localities often compete. Participating communities are Euclid, Willowick, Eastlake, Village of Lakeline, Village of Timberlake, Willoughby, Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Fairport Harbor, Painesville, Perry Township, North Perry Village, and Madison Township."

New lakefront special improvement district could lead to new Lake Erie trails following innovative Euclid example Steven Litt - Cleveland.com - Apr. 12, 2021 "The City of Euclid and 12 Lake County communities recently incorporated Ohio’s first lakefront special improvement district to help property owners finance expensive and urgently needed erosion control projects along the Lake Erie shoreline. ... 'As you look at the success of Euclid, there will be an impetus to look at much larger projects,' Mackey said. 'We have to crawl first, then we can run and then get into a sprint, down the road.’ ... Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala, the secretary of the new special improvement district board, said that persuading groups of property owners to grant easements for new lakefront trails will 'be a community-by-community decision.'"

Proposal calls for Akron's Theiss Road property to become part of Summit Metro Parks Dan Shingler - Crain's Cleveland Business - Apr. 11, 2021 "Nearly 45 acres that the city of Akron owns and has up for bid on Theiss Road in the Merriman Valley could become part of nearby Hampton Hills Metro Park if the Western Reserve Land Conservancy's (WRLC) new bid to purchase the site wins the day. The conservancy, which submitted a revised bid of $410,000 for the land on March 30, told the city that if the group is allowed to purchase the property it intends to turn the site over to Summit Metro Parks. ... WRLC might be at a disadvantage. Its bid is below the minimum bid of $550,000 that the city has set for bids by conservationists. Late last year, the city raised the bar for bidders seeking to preserve the site, increasing the minimum bid from conservationists while potential residential developers were asked for a minimum bid of $361,520."

Founders Park (4-12-21) A section of land between the Olentangy Trail and River had been cleared of undergrowth and multiple trees earlier this year. It should be a little easier to see the river, even when the leaves come back.

The former elementary school redevelopment by Vision on 5th had been previously been posted about in the Harrison West Thread. I had been following up with development photos there. It is north of 5th though, so it probably should be in the University Area / District thread. Makley Place Apartments (4-12-21) Makley Place Condominiums

(4-12-21)