Htsguy

And information how/if RH will be connected to the rest of Pinecrest with some sort of pedestrian walkway?

I have never flown Frontier, but a buddy of mine who lives in Denver has flown with them pretty often and says their seats are the worst. Compares it to sitting on plastic lawn furniture and it is especially murder on long flights. He doesn't know how long his aging body can take it and is thinking of giving them up even though he can often get good deals. He also said one of the worst airlines for add on costs. Maybe people give up on Frontier rather quickly for those reasons and that is why they often don't get the passenger numbers they expect.

I believe 864 is the total number of apartments and the Crains article states that only 51% will be affordable which I guess means the rest will be market rate.

It is more than that. It is also some market rate apartments, retail space, a museum, restaurants and possibly a hotel. The plumbing alone will cost a fortune given all the seperate units they are planning and I sure there will be many surprises in this 100 year old building. I am sure there is tons of historic restoration involved. They are not building some lowest common denominator on some greenfield.

Just remember how long it took for the CAC and Euclid Grand projects to finally get it together (and I believe the EG had tax credits early on which they almost lost due to the delays). And Centennial has to be twice as complex.

My first associate position right out of law school was with a firm that had been their long time legal counsel and also helped collect rents and do bookkeeping. It really was not a sophisticated organization. The properties with which I was familar in the early 80s were dilapidated and barely rentable so they did not get much for them. I recall one time I had to serve a three date notice prior to eviction and was chased by what I could only describe as a junk yard dog. I was thinking three years of higher education down the drain. I believe the son of the partner whose client it was at that firm, which is no longer around, is still repping them. It is a very strange situation.

If I recall correctly, very little of the original criticism of this development had to do with losing the bodega. Complaints centered upon an original mediocre design, traffic patterns and a lack of retail. These criticisms tended to be from people who generally supported the project. Of course there were the usual NIMBYs complaining about, you guessed it, too much traffic and lack of parking.

I noticed that at a recent city council Planning and Development meeting legislation was passed to vacant a small portion of the a street to further the development of this project, specifically the parking garage. I guess this is a small glimmer of hope. The developers appear to be continuing to work on various necessary pre-construction punch list items despite failing to secure TMUD credits.

Like everybody else, I have always absolutely hated those shipping containers. Tacky with a T. I think what they are doing is creative. That is if they have to get rid of the seats in the first place which I’d rather them not do, but that ship has sailed.

It will match what they are doing in right field.

My guess is that it was more Bedrock not wanting it rather than Stark wanting to keep it. If it wasn't for Landmarks Stark would have demo'd it a long time ago.

Are they having problems with the windows at intro?. I know there have been some postings regarding thin walls between the apartments and lack of insulation but I wasn’t aware of a window problem. What’s the scoop?

If I recall correctly, and this is been a long time, the common pleas court, which is an appellate court for an administrative agency, like the board of zoning appeals ruled in the cities favor. He then appealed the case to the eighth District Court of appeals. I I then, believe the court of appeals sent it back to the common pleas court on procedural grounds, because they did not issue a detailed enough judgment for the court of appeals to rule. This was done by the Court of Common Pleas again ruling in favor of the city and then it went back up to the eighth District. By that time, the developer was sick and tired of the whole thing, and just drop the project without a ruling by the court of appeals on the substantive issues. Again this was the first development. I don’t believe the second development got out of the Court of Common pleas before the challenger dismiss the matter.

Actually, he never won at the appellate level. In fact, he never won anything. In connection with the first development at that site, the matter was in the court of appeals, as he had lost in the common pleas court, and a developer just gave up without any rulings being handed down because the matter had been dragged out so long. In connection with the second Development, he challenged at the board of zoning appeals level, and I believe did appeal to the common pleas court, but either lost in the common pleas court or he just gave up. I can’t recall. I’d have to do the research again. Again, my recollection was , he consistently lost, but was a pain in the butt.

Isn’t this the Woodhill supply development? The one that crazy lawyer was challenging before the board of zoning appeals. It’s just finishing up and will include town houses as well.

Reading all the numerous articles reporting on the recent granting of Ohio historic tax credits, I’m slightly amazed, as well as slightly dismayed, by a number of quotes by developers and project owners. Despite winning these awards, many of the projects seem still in limbo as these awards are only a small part of their capital stack. Still looking in many instances for more sources of financing, often seeking more public assistance. If these developers are eventually successful, some of these capital stacks belong in the Cleveland Museum of Art as they are as creative as anything hanging on the walls of that institution.

This project just won another $5 million in Ohio historic tax credits today. I believe they have now won a total of $10 million in historic tax credits to date in addition to the TMUD award. The family keeps winning public support. I think they’re also looking for more incentives from the city and county whatever those may be. Let’s hope they can get the job done.

I have always had mixed feelings about this project, although generally positive. I like the design for the most part and they did a pretty good job of incorporation on Euclid given site challenges (how it is hemmed in by some pretty unremarkable neighbors). I understand the economics of the project and a business model that strives to provide somewhat more affordable market rate apartments. As a result, you get a site plan that somewhat mimics garden apartments built in North Royalton in the 70s and 80s, with surface parking adjacent to and fronting entrances to the buildings. Much better building designs but obviously the project budget did not allow for more creative parking solutions.

Apparently no push back from design review or Planning Commission re: Phase 2 of Foundry Lofts. Approved as presented.

Hopefully they will get some push back from design review. It is still early

I believe what makes this transformative is the mixed use component of apartment, boutique hotel, a little retail (well a coffee shop) and a parking garage. Ohio City could really use a hotel. That said, I think one of the negatives in terms of its evaluation by the gang in Columbus is its small size when compared to other projects. It only meets the criteria for a TMUD because it is 15 stories. It is below the square footage minimum. I have to believe the developers were smart enough to understand their application was a long shot and they should have a back up plan. Hopefully they do.

I have nothing but respect for this developer and all the hard work they have put into this project to date and I understand the challenges when it comes to financing a project. That said, and this is obviously water under the bridge, but does anybody recall way back when-I think around 2019-who else responded to the counties RFP for this very attractive site?

I also was under the impression that that was one of the major criteria for an award. However, if Michelle Jabore's reporting is accurate, the Kassoufs still have their hands out in order to wrap up financing. Moreover, it was suggested in her article that some of the monies they are seeking, in addition to an increase in historic tax credits already awarded to them, are public incentives from the city. We all know how long and often controversial that process can be (just ask the Starks...their legal counsel came up with idea of TMUDs due to issues they were having securing public incentives). How shovel ready can the project be?

Michelle's article in Crain's recapping the Northeast Ohio TMUD awards was slightly positive when describing the Erieview project. Actually, it might be better to say she was "neutral" in reporting about it, as her article was very fact based, offering no opinions regarding the Kassouf's ability to pull this off. The article claims they are ready to begin construction in the first quarter of 2023. However, the article then goes on to report they are still looking to double a previously awarded historic tax credit (from 5 mil to 10 mil) and they are currently in discussions with the city for other public incentives. I imagine they also have plans to sit on Santa's lap soon and, if construction does not begin in the first quarter of 2023 as report, (who actually thinks that is going to happen?) sit down and negotiate with the Easter Bunny. There is clearly a lot of skepticism on the forum (in this and other threads discussing the award) and probably well deserved. Years of big talk with very little accomplished. Obviously this is not something the tax authority considers when making an award. Maybe it should be.

There is no question about that. The phases east of East 107th/Stokes are a must for this development to be successful or the portion now under construction could turn into an isolated island. Hope this helps in the long run.