BJBaes

Wow. Just... wow. Scumbag move from Bobby George here and clear cut cronyism with David Bowen. I had not yet seen it posted anywhere that George's group bought the vacant building at the corner of Detroit and West 25th. It sounds like he essentially swooped in to purchase the property (despite ongoing talks between the LAND group and property owners along the strip). He is now extorting the city for ~10x the price so that they can proceed with the Irishtown Bend Project unobstructed. I've been a vocal critic of Cleveland Scene for their negativity but they certainly took George to task here. https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/01/13/bobby-george-says-hell-develop-parcel-on-west-25th-he-bought-that-was-intended-to-be-part-of-irishtown-bend-riverfront-park Complete garbage and utterly shameful display of greed from Bobby George. Will not be attending any of their establishments anytime soon.

2009: 2019: Townhomes suck!!!

Banner should have read: "Preserve our drug haven!" They should thank their lucky stars that this neighborhood has seen such substantial development and investment. Check the Google Street views from 2007 in the surrounding area near that house... Spooky.

I know this had likely been broached several pages back but is there any insight or speculation into what would happen with the existing SW HQ facility @KJP - regardless of where they "announce" they're moving? It's probably far too early but just curious if it would be sold/redeveloped or possibly renovated to house employees from certain sectors of the business?

Sorry if I missed any of these being posted previously but I have a few solid updates for the Hingetown area: I live in a Hingetown apartment complex and residents received notice that one of our nearby parking lots (next to the Rex Auto Body shop @ the NE corner of Church and 28th) had been sold in the last 3 weeks. The lot was sold to Snavely and has already undergone demolition as part of their Phase 3 project. Phase 3 is well underway. Contrary to @KJP's inkling (?), work has not (yet) hit pause. In fact, there were crews working in the pouring rain as of this morning. They are really going to town here. Not only is the trenching nearly complete, the retaining walls and foundational framework is almost fully solidified. Re: the 25th Lofts building, the retail space at the front of the building is nearly full: Light Touch Aesthetic Center (1512 W 25th) opened recently next to Bookhouse in the last month or so Residents were advised that Key Bank purchased the remaining space (1500 W 25th) and is in the process of their buildout. There are construction crews in and out of the space on a daily basis. As you've likely seen posted by Cleveland Scene, a new Mediterranean restaurant - Alea - is opening in the next 2 weeks at 2912 Church Ave. Church + State is coming along quickly and they are starting to move interior construction materials into the structure (e.g. drywall, countertop, tile). I have a slew of pictures and will try to add them here later today.

I understand the concerns about the height of the potential skyscraper but anything/everything cosmetic comes second to the fact that we just retained a massive corporation and will likely be pulling talent (and residents) into Cleveland proper from other surrounding cities and states (a la relocation). It's the first time in my life (that I can recall) where a major organization is actually going to move people back into the city. What a huge positive. The downtown (and surrounding area) occupancy is going to drastically increase solely because of this decision. Even if the new building is a gigantic, inflatable bouncy house, the city of Cleveland just won BIG.

If I'm not mistaken, this accumulation of "Thunderbird" land (approx. 25 acres) is owned by multiple entities... This NRP project encompasses 7 acres of the 25 acre plot Pat Conway and Great Lakes Brewing own another 8-10 acres EWALT LLC (I believe) owns the remainder and likely plans to sell the land to other investors Sources: https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/01/great-lakes-brewing-co-expansion-what-will-become-of-scranton-road-peninsula-land.html and https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/nrp-groups-scranton-peninsula-plan-panned-then-pulled Pat Conway and GLBC have been very transparent about their plans with their plot of land. They stated earlier this year that they had a lot of intriguing but broad visions that needed to be narrowed down and vetted before they create any sort of official plan or rendering (see the above Cleveland.com article for reference). Any renderings you've seen to this point have likely been aspirational or imaginative in nature.

Switching gears to another project (but staying on the topic of winter weather)... With Church + State slated for a Spring 2020 completion, I'd imagine the majority of the exterior work will be completed by winter, allowing construction teams to make headway on the interior during the colder months? As a side note - the fifth and final story has been built atop the shorter building that will stand at the corner of Church and 28th.

West 28th is down to one lane currently with ongoing construction and the work extends past Franklin and down Fulton. There is PVC piping laid everywhere along with what appears to be underground conduit. Church has also been completely closed off to traffic indefinitely (it used to only be closed during the day work). Crews have been working for over a month and they seem to be picking up steam in the past week. I'm thinking they're ramping up underground electrical work for both Church + State as well as Franklin Circle. As an aside - Church and State is now up to almost 4 stories stall on the portion of the building being constructed at the corner of 28th and Church. It appears to be even taller on the Detroit side.

I noticed that, as well. However, there were several resident cars still occupying the parking lot that is designated for demolition for that project. I'm wondering if they were just redoing all of the sidewalks or water mains/gas lines? I'll try to ask the construction guys in the next day or two.

I saw huge video boards being moved on lifts outside of the arena this morning. Anyone know if these would be headed inside or if they're being affixed to the exterior walls?

Today is the first day (according to previous reports) that the new e-scooter and e-bike vendors were possibly eligible to deploy their fleets in and around Cleveland in line with the pilot program. I'm looking forward to having these back. They were an extremely fun and affordable mode of transportation. They also made it extremely easy and convenient to bounce around between Ohio City, Tremont, Downtown, or the Flats within a matter of minutes instead of being confined to one neighborhood or business. There are more traffic jams, fatalities, and pollution issues caused by cars in a single minute than there are by dockless transportation in a month's time. Adapt or die.

Is this inside information in addition to what's already in the works or are you just restating facts? ?

From this morning - looks like they’re finally covering up the yellow beams/supports!

A lot of tidbits in today's Planning Commission agenda. One of which was (what I hope to be) progress on Canal Basin Park in the Flats: I'm hoping this project finally comes to fruition and serves as a catalyst for redevelopment in the West Bank. News of this project kicked off in 2015 so this is 4 years in the making (so far). Another agenda item pertained to a tax credit for phase II of the Quarter development that's been reported here by KJP:

Sounds right to me, as well. Just stating the scopes and budgets are vastly different. I'd think that the projected revenue kickback for the city is in a totally different stratosphere for the Hilton.

I think the concept of "budget" seems to have escaped you here when considering the context/scope of this project... Hilton is a multi-billion dollar company and that project encompassed a 600 room facility (with a standard booking bringing in $200+ a night). The Beacon is, by all accounts, an apartment complex marketed to young professionals offering ~187 units. The Beacon's scope (and budget) was never meant to compete with the likes of a downtown Hilton - or even the Lumen for that matter. The Hilton's budget was $110 Million dollars more than the Beacon's projected cost and also had the backing of a Fortune 100 company... As mentioned by someone else above, potential projects like the SW HQ or NuCLEus are likely to be much more momentous.

The new Forest City Apartments that are nearing completion above Ohio City Galley have posted new signage outside of the building. The signs state that the units will be leasing this fall and also linked their website. I've been checking for a few days and it looks like the website finally went live today but is sparse on information thus far: http://www.forestcityapartments.com/ I will try to snap a few photos of the signage after work today. The only (selfish) downside of the FC Apartment construction this summer is that it prohibited OCG from implementing their outdoor patio due to overhead work that was taking place.

Hi guys, I've been a long-time lurker, first time poster. I'm a relatively new resident to Ohio City but I am a long time visitor/patron and an avid proponent/enthusiast for Cleveland development. Just wanted to chime in here to say this project is going to be a massive catalyst in filling out any remaining gaps in Hingetown while accelerating the imminence of the long-planned Irishtown Bend green space + park. What was once deemed "a made up neighborhood" by Cleveland Scene is now going to be the new Ohio City hub for residence, entertainment, and small business. As an aside, I also live directly across from the new Church + State project. Be on the lookout for frequent photo updates from me on this and many other construction projects in the area (i.e. Franklin Circle, Forest City Apartments above OCG, building demolition on the east side of West 25th in the fall, etc.). I have the luxury of gauging progress directly from my windows. I look forward to posting as we move forward!