12 minutes ago, KJP said:

There's an angle to this story that is pretty bad. I hope to be able to write about it later today or over the weekend.

 

...what are they tearing down?? 

34 minutes ago, KJP said:

There's an angle to this story that is pretty bad. I hope to be able to write about it later today or over the weekend.

Two guesses......they wanna demo something. Or just really long redevelopment timelines

Crain's Stoty.  It talks about  B & O renovation. But then who knows. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/bedrock-buys-sherwin-williams-historic-downtown-cleveland-hq

1 hour ago, KJP said:

There's an angle to this story that is pretty bad. I hope to be able to write about it later today or over the weekend.

I can't see them knocking anything significant down, so I'm guessing they are moving Rocket Mortgage offices to Landmark vs being an anchor tenant in a new build.  Satisfies the need to own their own offices.  Oh, and they will penetrate multiple buildings with skywalks.  There will be another "Kerry Freaking McCormack" type story.

2 minutes ago, sizzlinbeef said:

I can't see them knocking anything significant down, so I'm guessing they are moving Rocket Mortgage offices to Landmark vs being an anchor tenant in a new build.  Satisfies the need to own their own offices.  Oh, and they will penetrate multiple buildings with skywalks.  There will be another "Kerry Freaking McCormack" type story.

That could be a good guess but it seems strange that an old fogey company like SWH would decide to move because their offices were so outdated and a supposedly hip young company like Rocket would find them acceptable.  I guess it could all be about saving money.

 Unless Rocket's move to Landmark is just temporary.  Perhaps it won't be possible to have a new building ready before their lease is up at Higbee.

Actual possession of the Landmark building is being given to the cockroaches. 

If Rocket Mortgage moved into Landmark, that would be a good thing wouldn't it?  Or at least not bad?  I'm sure they'd redo the office space no matter what.  New buildings are nice and all, but we gotta find a use for Landmark at some point.  Anyway, with 1 million sf of space, the building is big enough for a large company PLUS hundreds of apartments.  That wouldn't be bad at all.

Guessing KJP wouldn't consider Rocket moving into Landmark being a bad thing. As much as I love the new SW construction I've been concerned we'd have a hulking empty Landmark fronting the north face of the city.  That said, I'd guess an apartment conversion first.  I'd think Rocket would still want new space.  But, frankly, I know nothing!

Here ya go.....

 

 

Just now, KJP said:

 

Did city derail scenic railroad extension?

By Ken Prendergast / June 30, 2023

 

While helping Bedrock Real Estate acquire land for its downtown riverfront development, the city of Cleveland may have also “significantly harmed” nascent efforts to extend Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) passenger trains north to downtown. That harm was the apparent result of the city releasing itself from a lien on current and former railroad rights of way along the Cuyahoga River from below Tower City Center south to near Interstate 490.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2023/06/30/did-city-derail-scenic-railroad-extension/

 

 

30 minutes ago, KJP said:

Here ya go.....

 

 

 

 

 

This city is just so frustrating.

I wonder if that backdoor move by her was one of the reasons she was let go. It happening a week before she was fired, makes you wonder.

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2 hours ago, MyPhoneDead said:

I wonder if that backdoor move by her was one of the reasons she was let go. It happening a week before she was fired, makes you wonder.

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I doubt she did this alone; I’m sure the Law Dept was involved with the transaction.  

This city just begs you to leave it. Good gawd.

4 hours ago, coneflower said:

What would be the motivation from the city to do this? Is it something Bedrock wanted before they made the purchase? 

 

I suspect it was a combination of laziness and an intense desire to remove all barriers to the Bedrock development. They wanted to make sure that the city's liens in the two deeds didn't get in the way of Sherwin-Williams' property sale to Bedrock and possibly another transaction. The B&O right of way immediately to the east/south of the Sherwin-Williams land, which hasn't been abandoned by CSX but is owned by Rock Ohio Caesars Cleveland (a Dan Gilbert/Rock Ventures company) as far south as Eagle Avenue/Stones Levee Rd, may need the city's lien removed from it for development (ex: condos or financing for a joint partnership). So rather than pursue a third deed with Rock Ventures and vacate the lien in that deed, it took the easy way out and vacated the lien in the railroad deed that extends all the way south to I-490.

I took the popup park maintained by the National Parks Service in Tower City as a sign from Bedrock/Gilbert that they were trying to plant the seed that Tower City was a gateway or entrance to the national park. The real way to do that is to have the CVSRR extended north into Tower City. Hopefully this deal was made to expedite the property transfers in return for commitments to maintain the rail right of ways for CVSRR. Especially if you've been able to bend anyone's ear at Bedrock about returning Amtrak to CUT, @KJP.

Hope this helps just a bit




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Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

Welp. Back to the drawing board [emoji58][emoji21]


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terrible news -- and this is why we don't sir people over here -- and on a related note, happy 4th!  👍

6 hours ago, ryanfrazier said:

Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

 

The masterplan is done. Fortunately individual buildings are being designed by different architects. Gensler is one that I've heard. 

8 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

The masterplan is done. Fortunately individual buildings are being designed by different architects. Gensler is one that I've heard. 

Looks like a legit firm. 

 
The masterplan is done. Fortunately individual buildings are being designed by different architects. Gensler is one that I've heard. 

Just hope the city doesn’t get any blowback from this. Since he is world renowned, hopefully we can sort of sneak under the radar about being affiliated with him for the past couple years.

Yes he is innocent until proven guilty, but still. Much distance would be great right now.


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12 hours ago, ryanfrazier said:

Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

This type of impropriety is rife with architecture firms historically and gets no traction in the general public's opinion of them unfortunately. It will not doom this at all. Gensler on the other hand is run like a fortune 500 company and not a partnership.. The ethics standards and pratices are pretty high. They actually have HR that enforces ethics rules.

13 hours ago, OldEnough said:

Looks like a legit firm. 

 

Gensler is one of the largest and most prestigious architectural firms in the world. They are apparently designing the Cleveland Clinic Cavs facility.

19 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Gensler is one of the largest and most prestigious architectural firms in the world. They are apparently designing the Cleveland Clinic Cavs facility.

Thank you for that @KJP   I have been very confused so far to tell you the truth.  There will be posts suggesting that Gensler is working on an actual building for the development and then there will be other posts suggesting who might be moving to the development in the near future (perhaps Rocket, perhaps a Cavs practice facility, perhaps a boutique hotel, perhaps a downtown Cleveland Clinic facility, perhaps some mystery company that would move to the suburbs if they could not find new Class A space downtown), but I don't believe we have, to date, tied Gensler to a specific project.  Almost as much secrecy as SHW.  Ken do you know if the hotel is suppose to go on top of the practice facility and whether Gensler is also involved in that design?

I have a question and it may seem dumb.  Will this project be built over the "hole" where the  infamous "LeBron" wall was?  

I don't know about what's happening here in Cleveland but I interviewed for a non-architecture/design job at Gensler maybe 10 years ago and what I saw doing my research was really cool. I'm sure architects have more sophisticated views on them than me, but what I saw in their office and the projects they worked on listed on the website was impressive. 

22 hours ago, ryanfrazier said:

Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

It's in today's paper-version of the FT.  That's not just a report, it's a two-page lurid spread with photos and graphic detail.  I doubt the evidence offered will convict Adjaye, but it's sleazy and sleaze sticks.

22 hours ago, ryanfrazier said:

Riverfront planner Sir David Adjaye accused of sexual misconduct: https://www.ft.com/content/1a03a13c-a0b3-41c9-9a7b-702719ac6d58

 

From the article:

They are not alone in having complaints about working for Adjaye and his practice. Of 13 former employees the FT spoke to, most described a disorganised and frantic workplace in both Accra and London where they worked long hours and where, in some cases, individuals were paid less than they might have received elsewhere in the industry for the level of work they were undertaking. “The main priority is to feed this personality cult,” said one.

 

I was wondering if this kind of criticism could be leveled at every large firm, or is this something that an entity like Bedrock should have caught with due diligence? 

3 hours ago, Htsguy said:

Thank you for that @KJP   I have been very confused so far to tell you the truth.  There will be posts suggesting that Gensler is working on an actual building for the development and then there will be other posts suggesting who might be moving to the development in the near future (perhaps Rocket, perhaps a Cavs practice facility, perhaps a boutique hotel, perhaps a downtown Cleveland Clinic facility, perhaps some mystery company that would move to the suburbs if they could not find new Class A space downtown), but I don't believe we have, to date, tied Gensler to a specific project.  Almost as much secrecy as SHW.  Ken do you know if the hotel is suppose to go on top of the practice facility and whether Gensler is also involved in that design?

 

The conceptual masterplan shows the hotel being built atop the Cavs practice facility and I was told that the Clinic plans a large sports/rehab medical facility associated with the relocated Cavs practice facility which in the suburbs is called Cleveland Clinic Courts. Gensler is, at the minimum, designing the Clinic facilities, I've been told. Given its linkage with the Cavs facility and the potential for a hotel above, its possible that Gensler is designing all of those components as well but I haven't heard that specifically. I also haven't heard what else, if anything, Gensler is designing in the rest of phase one which also includes the office tower, the residential structure, and the public realm improvements.

 

The mystery company that would move to the suburbs if not for Bedrock's riverfront development may in fact be Rocket Mortgage. The limited description of this mystery company fits Rocket Mortgage -- a large office user that is facing the end of its lease in a few years. Some have asked if Rocket Mortgage could move into Sherwin Williams' offices. Sure, it could. But I don't think it will. The Landmark Office Building is obsolete as an office space, especially for a large company. It lacks open floors but has natural light. At Higbee's it has open floors but lacks natural light. Neither old structure has modern air circulation systems. At a new tower, it could have all of these features plus high-end technology, built-in amenities for employees and other things that could encourage existing and prospective employees to want to work in the office. And, perhaps not so coincidentally, the conceptual rendering of the office tower in phase one reveals a square footage that fits Rocket Mortgage's existing space needs perfectly, with a little extra (about 5 percent) for future growth. Bedrock could allocate lower floors of the Landmark Building for offices and accommodate any unexpected future growth of Rocket Mortgage there until it could build yet another building.

 

3 hours ago, cfdwarrior said:

I have a question and it may seem dumb.  Will this project be built over the "hole" where the  infamous "LeBron" wall was?  

 

@cfdwarrior A covered bus facility/waiting environment is proposed there. See images below. (It would be nice if it were built so that a structure could be built on top of it -- you know, use some public dollars to build a structural foundation!).

 

So that journeys in the Steelyard did come from Tower City. I truly don’t understand the logic behind letting national tenants walk. Maybe their waiting for the riverfront to start, who knows.

What’s even more confusing is they are touting Tower City as a place that has a good mix of local AND National tenants. That’s becoming less and less true everyday.

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31 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

So that journeys in the Steelyard did come from Tower City. I truly don’t understand the logic behind letting national tenants walk. Maybe their waiting for the riverfront to start, who knows.

What’s even more confusing is they are touting Tower City as a place that has a good mix of local AND National tenants. That’s becoming less and less true everyday.

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I haven't been through Tower City in years. I don't know what shops are even in there, but are people even going there to shop?

 
I haven't been through Tower City in years. I don't know what shops are even in there, but are people even going there to shop?

No not really honestly people are there for lunch tbh. I feel like turning the first floor into national outlets and keeping the second floor local stores would do wonders for it. As the riverfront is built include spaces for fun adult entertainment as well as space for kids and you have a well rounded multipurpose entertainment hub.


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New Businesses at Tower City. https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/07/05/several-new-businesses-family-fun-events-inside-tower-city/

They also had some concerts scheduled at Tower City a while back.  Are those still happening?

I can't speak to concerts, but I can say Bedrock has done a nice job with trying to activate the "indoor park" space with free family events.  My family has gone to a few of these and they're fairly well-attended.

Edited July 5, 20231 yr by Blimp City

48.5M for SHW properties. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/historic-sherwin-williams-hq-sale-part-485-million-deal

Busily working on a complex article about TOD. Anyhow, here it is....

 

 

Bedrock buys SHW HQ, R&D for $48.5 million
By Ken Prendergast / July 5, 2023

 

Newly available public records show that Bedrock Real Estate of Detroit paid $48.5 million total for Sherwin-Williams’ soon-to-be-vacated Landmark Building and John Breen Technology Center, both in downtown Cleveland. Although the sale of those properties closed last week, their sale amounts weren’t public available until today. The Landmark Building is currently Sherwin-Williams’ global headquarters and the Breen Technology Center is the global coatings giant’s primary research and development (R&D) facility for another year or so.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2023/07/05/bedrock-buys-shw-hq-rd-for-48-5m/

I'd love to see the Landmark building converted to Residential, and the bus terminal seems like a good idea. I just hope they finish that blank wall, and in the same style as the original building. No need for a modern reinterpretation or anything like that. Even unfinished the Landmark building is one of the prettiest buildings in town, hopefully that blank wall is finally dealt with. 

I’m excited to see what it look like after a good power washing.


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If it were converted to residential, I have to imagine that it would be the largest residential building in the city by a very wide margin.

6 minutes ago, Husat77 said:

If it were converted to residential, I have to imagine that it would be the largest residential building in the city by a very wide margin.

 

I was going to say the 1.4 million square foot Centennial would be larger. But only about 600,000 square feet of it will be residential. So depending on what Bedrock has planned for Landmark, you may be right.

52 minutes ago, Ethan said:

 I just hope they finish that blank wall, and in the same style as the original building. No need for a modern reinterpretation or anything like that. Even unfinished the Landmark building is one of the prettiest buildings in town, hopefully that blank wall is finally dealt with. 

Perhaps someone creative on this site can put together a rendering with an addition in the same style.

1 hour ago, Ethan said:

I'd love to see the Landmark building converted to Residential, and the bus terminal seems like a good idea. I just hope they finish that blank wall, and in the same style as the original building. 

 

I'm actually surprised somebody hasn't tried to put up a ginormous video screen there.

 

I am glad to see that the B&O railroad Depot will be saved

Bedrock evaluating Adjaye. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/bedrock-evaluating-relationship-architect-david-adjaye

https://www.curbed.com/2023/07/david-adjaye-harassment-starchitect.html

 

Well written article on Adjaye and Starchitects and prominent architecture firms in general.    Read this one instead to avoid the painful revelations of Adjaye's reported behavior described in the original FT article. 

Edited July 9, 20231 yr by DO_Summers
Spelling

Cavs outside of normal high returns seen for nba teams will receive somewhere between 200-500 million from the upcoming expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas (Las Vegas is already building their stadium prior to the team being bought which may actually go as an auction).

This should make for an extremely high end practice facility, nba owners now look at San Antonio spurs’ 500$ million practice facility as a template. Brian Windhorst spoke about what teams are looking to do with their practice facilities and his description matches exactly what Ken has reported, as an all in one encompassing campus close to their arena a place with the highest end amenities, medical staff, medical equipment, high end condos, high end hotel, etc.

Throw in the fact that Dan Gilbert’s arch nemesis of a competing Michigan mortgage company just bought the phoenix suns, he’s going to want to show off a bit to say the least.

(their feud is always on going in fact Dan was the only one not to vote for approving the sale of the suns to their new owner)