KJP

US tower tops out on $5.7B Gordie Howe Bridge A Fluor, ACS Infrastructure and Aecon JV is building the project that will span Detroit and Windsor, Canada. Work is entering final stages. Published Sept. 19, 2023 The $5.7 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge project connecting Detroit and Windsor, Canada, is entering the final stages of tower construction with help from man’s best friend, according to a press release from the project. The bridge towers have been under construction since 2019. The last concrete pour for the architectural heads at the top of the pylon on the U.S. side of the span is complete, and that tower has reached its full 722-foot height, according to the release. The heads are sloped to prevent snow and ice from accumulating. Crews are now removing the jump form system which supported the concrete cast. These same last steps are anticipated to begin on the Canadian tower this month, per the release. Crews will remove equipment, platforms and materials before a crane lifts away eight giant panels from the tower, a process that takes about four weeks. When complete, Gordie Howe will be North America’s longest cable-stayed bridge with three lanes each way for vehicular traffic as well as a multi-use path for bikes and pedestrians. Bridge officials told the Windsor Star they continue to target a late 2024 opening, but this could be pushed to 2025 due to pandemic delays. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/gordie-howe-bridge-tower-fluor-detroit/693958/?fbclid=IwAR0IEb5qgM1LLyPz83sB5QIZAmFYM_M6GpwLHeJuJfT9Tvk2tNFL-7kOjSU

Lots more coming to the riverfront..... Cavs, Clinic confirm downtown move By Ken Prendergast / September 21, 2023 In a formal announcement made today, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland Clinic and Bedrock Real Estate officially unveiled a partnership for and conceptual plans of the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center – a first-of-its-kind sports performance center and training facility. Proposed plans include the development of an interdisciplinary training center which would be located on the Cuyahoga River’s waterfront in downtown Cleveland. The center would be the only Cleveland Clinic-backed professional facility to be open to the public. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/21/cavs-clinic-confirm-downtown-move/

Yes. And you can see why Tom Lix and Cleveland Whiskey have to be loving this.

No, this is at the bottom of the Eagle Avenue ramp (once it is restored). The site is currently a parking lot, north of the Eagle-West 3rd intersection. The folks at Cleveland Whiskey sure played their cards right. I had the Cavs practice facility and Cleveland Clinic facility in Bedrock’s riverfront, but not in the right location. The site they're going to was previously shown as parking garages. So the question now is, where will the parking garages go? And what will be the site that was to be the Cavs/Clinic facilities? I think we're going to find out pretty soon.

Need more of those shadowcasters!

Pete for President!

West Park area developments emerge By Ken Prendergast / September 20, 2023 While big developments in and near Downtown and University Circle continue to be announced, a lot is going on in other Cleveland neighborhoods, too. Among those seeing activity are the West Park and Bellaire-Puritas neighborhoods, with new market-rate housing, jobs and educational projects planned. All three investments are critical to keeping Cleveland’s westernmost neighborhoods fresh and vibrant, said their City Councilman Charles Slife, of Ward 17. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/20/west-park-area-developments-emerge/

From The Dawgs Podcast If it seems like the #Browns offensive line is struggling through the first two weeks, here's why: Run blocking grades (30+ snaps): - LT Jedrick Wills: 38.7 (54th of 57) - LG Joel Bitonio: 60.8 (27th of 58) - C Ethan Pocic: 71.4 (7th of 31) - RG Wyatt Teller: 72.6 (8th of 58) - RT Dawand Jones: 33.1 (56th of 57) Pass blocking grades (30+ snaps): - LT Jedrick Wills: 57.9 (50th of 70) - LG Joel Bitonio: 78.7 (7th of 68) - C Ethan Pocic: 64.2 (16th of 33) - RG Wyatt Teller: 68.3 (23rd of 68) - RT Dawand Jones: 71.4 (32nd of 70) Overall, the Browns are ranked 11th overall in pass blocking but just 24th in run blocking. Both our tackles are among the lowest-graded run blockers in the NFL. With Nick Chubb gone and the line no longer performing well, the dominate run-game identity of the Browns seems to be gone. This would explain why the offense looks so lost. They've truly lost their identity. The good news is it's only Week 3, but the pressure is on Kevin Stefanski to unite this offense and figure out its strengths and how to capitalize on them.

A powerful ad...

😁

^^ Just in case someone in Cleveland's economic development thinkosphere was wondering how to make Greater Cleveland a regional powerhouse again. It's the same way that five inland seas, improved port facilities, a couple of 300-mile-long ditches and rails to the coalfields made Cleveland a regional powerhouse... You become the first regional transportation hub in a region. It means you have to get off your butt and take a risk to be the first.

My friend Mark Schwinn took this photo of the start of work on Irishtown Bend Park. This was the view Sept. 14 from the Red Line train bridge over the Cuyahoga River and into downtown Cleveland.

Oberlin for many decades ran the AOS, a fairly frequent transit bus route between the college and Hopkins Airport where riders could reach reach air service or rail transit service to the rest of the city. I recall that as many as a dozen round trips per day ran on Fridays and Sundays, and for several days at the start/end of semesters. Only about 2-5 round trips per day were offered on other days.

With this latest and last crane jump, I can easily see it from my Lakewood condo. I've lived here for 27 years and this is the first time that I recall seeing a downtown construction crane from my fifth-floor home. I could see the one for Intro in Ohio City, however. The other cranes (Stokes Courthouse, Flats East Bank, Hilton, etc.) were blocked by trees. In fact, when I first moved in here, I couldn't even see downtown as a big tree was in the way. No I didn't cut it down... 🕵️‍♂️

Danny Cunningham wrote what I feel.... "It really feels like none of this matters anymore. Watson looks nothing like a franchise QB to this point and the Browns lost their best offensive player for the rest of the year."

Some office relocations involve construction

Big-name downtown tenants are on the move By Ken Prendergast / September 18, 2023 Several major downtown Cleveland tenants are in the market for new homes and where they land could shake up the office market in the central business district. The moves come at a time when many companies are shrinking their office footprints and downtown office building owners are fighting to keep what tenants they have. Interestingly, several major tenants that are on the move are looking for larger space than what they have now. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/18/big-name-downtown-tenants-are-on-the-move/

LIHTC can offer affordable units along with market-rate in the same building. The site is big enough it could offer more than one building, although I have no idea if that's what the developer has in mind.

What is 50% of households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Gross Income in this census tract? And if I'm not mistaken, the census tract which includes the Burger King site extends all the way up to the lake. It includes some high value housing and, more importantly, high-income residents. That might push up the overall incomes of renters in a LIHTC-funded building here.

Surprising sites emerge for Courthouse Tower By Ken Prendergast / September 15, 2023 A few notable developers are reportedly offering several prominent, if not surprising downtown properties as options to host what will be a nearly 900,000-square-foot Cuyahoga County Courthouse Consolidation project. The square footage, not including parking which will be extra, represents specialty office space that property owners are desperately trying to fill in this post-pandemic real estate market. The sheer size of the courthouse consolidation project may create a competition that bears watching. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/15/surprising-sites-emerge-for-courthouse-tower/

Incoming!

Two articles from one neighborhood (although at opposite ends) in the same day! City picks Watterson-Lake developer By Ken Prendergast / September 14, 2023 Following a request for proposals (RFP) process, the city of Cleveland officials selected Bridging the Gap LLC, a minority business enterprise and real estate developer from Pittsburgh, to redevelop the former Watterson-Lake School site in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. New to the Cleveland market, Bridging the Gap has a portfolio of major renovation and new construction projects, including multi-family housing, mixed use, industrial, retail and office space. But this site is likely to be developed with affordable apartments, probably with a ground-floor retail space based on the site’s zoning. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/14/city-picks-waterson-lake-developer/

Breakwater Lofts opens this weekend By Ken Prendergast / September 14, 2023 A decade ago, the opening of the Breakwater Lofts apartment building on a vacant lot at 1270 W. 58th St. in Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood would’ve been a much bigger story. Instead, today, it’s the latest of many new developments in the surrounding area that has more big projects in the works. It’s a sign of stabilization and maturation of the residential market in this near-west side neighborhood, just off the lake, that continues to host traditional Cleveland haunts like the Parkview Nite Club across the street. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/14/breakwater-lofts-opens-this-weekend/

These people have lost their minds