yanni_gogolak

Amphitheater Construction to Begin June 1 By George Nelson | April 6, 2018 YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – What started out as a project to provide a venue for small and inexpensive events has evolved into a new “front door” to the city, said Eric Ryan, president of JAC Management and JAC Live, this morning. Construction of the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater in the riverfront park will begin June 1, Ryan told guests this morning at Stambaugh Auditorium as part of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Good Morning, Youngstown! Breakfast. https://businessjournaldaily.com/amphitheater-construction-to-begin-june-1/

"Good Grappa" that's like "jumbo shrimp", ha. I am a underwhelmed at the "hotel". Doesn't seem to be much more than the villas they already offer. Probably a more affordable price point for a room.

Akron Dish: Opening dates for City Barbeque, Pick’s at PLX; tastes of Portland; West African, German dinners Published: April 3, 2018 - 6:39 PM | Updated: April 4, 2018 - 2:28 PM I have a full plate after a week off that included some feasting in Portland, Ore., considered one of the country’s best food cities. I didn’t go there to graze; it was a trip with my hubby (retired Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carney) to see family. But ya gotta eat, and when in Portland, do what the Portlandians do — eat good food. More on this later. https://www.ohio.com/akron/lifestyle/akron-dish-opening-dates-for-city-barbeque-picks-at-plx-tastes-of-portland-west-african-german-dinners

Pretty bad article, in poor taste. The contractor payment has been an issue for months but was resolved. Is there a developer out there that will do a $500 million+ project and have every dollar accounted for? Especially considering this project was always approached as phased. Meaning, build phase I, dangle the carrot for investors in phase II, rinse, repeat for subsequent phases. I think the issue is the HOF should have known better than to hire that firm. All they had to do was ask North Canton how the Hoover project is going to get all they needed. Sometimes the lowest bidder is so for the wrong reasons, and it's important to not let the dollar signs and possibilities put one in a trance. I'll be surprised if the project doesn't have further issues and is not ultimately scaled back. Baker has a history of this behavior, practically single-handily driving the Arena Football League into the ground through his ambition. I never trusted him to lead this and still don't. Hire what "firm", IRG? There aren't many cities in the country that would turn them away. And that's why I feel that NYT article was in poor taste. Look at that track record. They have at least a half a dozen large projects completed in Akron alone.

Pretty bad article, in poor taste. The contractor payment has been an issue for months but was resolved. Is there a developer out there that will do a $500 million+ project and have every dollar accounted for? Especially considering this project was always approached as phased. Meaning, build phase I, dangle the carrot for investors in phase II, rinse, repeat for subsequent phases.

Revitalization efforts proving good for Akron real estate By DAN SHINGLER April 01, 2018 4:00 am Updated 10 hours ago Akron must be doing something right — its vacancy rates for commercial real estate are dropping as demand, especially for Class A space, often exceeds supply downtown and in some of the city's suburbs. That's the finding of recent research by the Akron office of Chicago's Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate firm more commonly known as JLL. Across Akron, vacancy rates have fallen substantially in recent years, the firm found — from a high of 23.1% in the city in 2015 to a current level of 15.8%. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20180401/news/156636/revitalization-efforts-proving-good-akron-real-estate

Um, nobody likes Grappa. You just like to watch others drink it for their reactions.

None of the reports noted that the county's loan is being personally guaranteed by the developers as individuals - which probably makes it more safer that the HUD bonds. True. The HUD bonds are non-recourse but they do have the first lien position. The HUD bonds would mean that the project, or a set aside portion, is income restricted. Unless I'm missing something? The HUD program they are using is for market rate housing. That's what I assumed. The link provided a couple pages back was for mortgage insurance I see now. Summary: Section 221(d)(4) insures mortgage loans to facilitate the new construction or substantial rehabilitation of multifamily rental or cooperative housing for moderate-income families, elderly, and the handicapped. Single Room Occupancy (SRO) projects may also be insured under this section.

None of the reports noted that the county's loan is being personally guaranteed by the developers as individuals - which probably makes it more safer that the HUD bonds. True. The HUD bonds are non-recourse but they do have the first lien position. The HUD bonds would mean that the project, or a set aside portion, is income restricted. Unless I'm missing something?

I think it can work. Cool idea. I'm also talking about the Landmark project. They have not released anything official yet, but they said they are looking at the $2 s.f. range. That's Cleveland pricing.

What a huge improvement. With this, the renovation of the block around the Civic Theater and the new botique hotel that just got funded, downtown is really headed in the right direction. Still more to do, of course, but this is very encouraging. Yea, still skeptical on most of the building developments. Most are still trying to secure funding. The hotel was announced over two years ago. They were probably floundering for financing as well. http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2016/01/blutique_hotel_featuring_jazz.html

New rendering of the TIGER grant Phase I.

I see what the other posters are saying about an East / West connection. This would not make it feel connected to me as much as a North / South and essentially removing all the single-family homes on Owen Brown. I worked on that street for a couple years, so I'm familiar with the area. I would assume they will close Owen Brown on the West side to limit the street to only those that live on it. Just a guess. I would assume those properties are holdouts or did not want to even sell because they are indicated in the border drawn for Phase II. Here is an earlier version from a newsletter on the project. There is also a slider (new/old) map on the city website. http://www.hudson.oh.us/1018/Follow-the-Progress https://www.hudson.oh.us/794/Downtown-Phase-II

Akron's BLU-tique hotel hopes to open by Thanksgiving By DAN SHINGLER March 22, 2018 2:00 pm Updated 4 hours ago After years of wrangling with plans, financing and other hurdles, Akron developer Anthony Troppe says he hopes to have his new 71-room BLU-tique Hotel open by Thanksgiving. Troppe says that a $1.28 million loan approved this week by an affiliate of the Development Financing Authority of Summit Count was the last piece of the financial puzzle necessary to get the project under way. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20180322/news/155796/akrons-blu-tique-hotel-hopes-open-thanksgiving

The only way to connect it would have been to buy out a whole street of residences. In Hudson, I don't think the numbers would have worked.

Construction set to begin on Akron Children’s Hospital facility in North Canton By Eric Poston TheSuburbanite.com correspondent Posted Mar 20, 2018 at 7:49 AM NORTH CANTON Akron Children’s Hospital will soon be expanding into North Canton. Construction is expected to begin soon of the new 38,000 square-foot building at 6076 Whipple Ave. NW. The building will be adjacent to Aultman North Canton Medical Group, where Akron Children’s has a pediatrics office. New building Construction of the building is expected to take a little more than a year and be completed by April 30, 2019. The hospital will directly invest $8 million in land acquisition and $5.8 million for the building shell. The hospital is also expected to make capital investments in equipment beyond the building itself. http://www.thesuburbanite.com/news/20180320/construction-set-to-begin-on-akron-childrens-hospital-facility-in-north-canton

Hudson downtown project goes under microscope By PHIL KEREN / Reporter Posted Mar 19, 2018 at 10:08 AM Updated Mar 19, 2018 at 2:25 PM HUDSON — City Council will soon review the results of two studies and a draft of a development agreement for the Downtown Phase II project. City Manager Jane Howington provided that update during a meeting earlier this month. Downtown Phase II is being developed by Testa Companies, which is proposing office space, residential housing, a 30- to 40-room boutique hotel, a 350-car parking deck, preserved green space, a walking trail in the northwest portion and mixed-use zoning throughout, from office-commercial to multi-family residential. http://www.mytownneo.com/news/20180319/hudson-downtown-project-goes-under-microscope

Previous project: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,1022.msg175705.html#msg175705

Heard this one before..... Akron landmark will become a hotel March 20, 2018 3:02 pm Updated 16 hours ago By JAY MILLER An affiliate of the Development Financing Authority of Summit County is lending $1.28 million to a developer who intends to turn downtown Akron's United Building into a $10 million, 71-room boutique hotel in Akron's Main/Market Streets Historic Arts district. The loan was made through the Akron Community Revitalization Fund (ACRF), which is capitalized by local philanthropies, corporations and individuals. The ACRF was established to assist with financing important community and economic development projects. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20180320/news/155551/akron-landmark-will-become-hotel Akron's United Building hotel project gets big boost from new Community Revitalization Fund loan Updated Mar 21, 3:06 PM; Posted Mar 21, 3:03 PM By Jennifer Conn, Akron reporter, cleveland.com jconnCleveland[/member].com AKRON, Ohio - The Development Fund of the Western Reserve is issuing its first-ever loan to help underwrite the redevelopment of Akron's historic United Building at Main and Market streets into a 71-room boutique hotel. The $1.28 million loan was made from the fund's Akron Community Revitalization Fund, said Chris Burnham, executive director of the Development Finance Authority of Summit County, which helps finance economic development across Summit County and manages the Development Fund of the Western Reserve. http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2018/03/akron_community_revitalization.html

Akron to partner with Copenhagenize Design Co. to plan connected bicycle grid Updated Mar 21, 12:48 PM; Posted Mar 21, 12:50 PM By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com AKRON, Ohio - The city of Akron is working with Copenhagenize Design Co. to plan a connected bicycle grid that will make it easier for residents to bicycle around the city. The grid, which will be funded in part by a $127,000 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant, is the next step in the city's plan to build out its bicycling infrastructure. Currently, the city has 25 miles of bike lanes and 16 additional miles are in the planning or construction phases. http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2018/03/akron_to_partner_with_copenhag.html#incart_river_index

Akron to break ground on new $4.3 million Fire Station No. 2 this summer Updated Mar 16; Posted Mar 16 By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com AKRON, Ohio - The City of Akron will break ground this summer on its new, $4.3 million Fire Station No. 2, located at 952 E. Market St. The new station will replace the existing station, which has been in operation for more than 70 years. The city is finalizing plans to continue operations during the construction period. Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of2019. The new station, funded by the Issue 4 tax issue voters passed in November, will be the city's first new station in more than two decades. http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2018/03/akron_to_break_ground_on_new_4.html#incart_river_index

March 18, 2018 4:00 am Akron's Bounce Innovation Hub is behind on construction but has a head start with investors By DAN SHINGLER Akron's Bounce Innovation Hub is behind schedule in terms of its build-out, but it might be ahead of the game in terms of building a team that will be able to help local startups in its incubator space succeed — including by giving them access to potential investors. Tenants, cheerleaders and investors all say they are happy that the city's new initiative has a well-connected venture capitalist at the helm in the form of new Bounce CEO Douglas Weintraub. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20180318/news/155201/akrons-bounce-innovation-hub-behind-construction-has-head-start

Don't you two have a reservation for two on Cleveland.bomb to be getting to?

HOF Village loan documents get first OK by Canton board By Alison Matas GateHouse Media Ohio Posted Mar 12, 2018 at 10:32 PM CANTON Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village developers finally can close on an up-to $100 million loan. After a month of canceled meetings and back-and-forth between attorneys, the Canton City School District Board of Education on Monday signed off on documents developers need to finalize the loan. The Stark County Port Authority, which also needs to approve the paperwork, is expected to meet and vote Tuesday. http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20180312/hof-village-loan-documents-get-first-ok-by-canton-board

Poke Fresh brings Hawaiian cuisine to Akron Updated Mar 12, 1:22 PM; Posted Mar 12, 1:25 PM By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com [email protected] AKRON, Ohio - Poke Fresh, an independent fast-casual restaurant that offers "Hawaiian-born-Ohio-raised" cuisine, is officially open at 46 N. Hawkins, Suite 215 in Akron. The word poke, pronounced "PO-kay," means to "slice" or "cut" in Hawaiian. The fare that inspired Poke Fresh has been served on the island since the 1970s. http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2018/03/poke_fresh_brings_hawaiian_cui.html#incart_river_index