June 8, 201213 yr I'd like to see a bridge from the parking garage extended directly over the sidewalk to Little Italy so one could walk to the doorstep of each establishment without having to deal with Cleveland's harsh elements :wtf:
June 8, 201213 yr I'd like to see a bridge from the parking garage extended directly over the sidewalk to Little Italy so one could walk to the doorstep of each establishment without having to deal with Cleveland's harsh elements :wtf: http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=sarcasm+defined
June 22, 201212 yr I spoke to a banker that's working w/ Coral, and he told me that only about $35MM is going to be bank debt, with the rest coming from other financing sources. Coral/Panzica had a lunch presentation the other day with a group of local lenders & alternative financiers... doesn't seem like there was much interest. This thing is going to start gathering dust if it sits on the shelf much longer.
June 22, 201212 yr yeah and the clock is quickly ticking. Say the year started on March 1st when the news was announced, they are coming up on 6 mos already by end of July. Doesn't seem like they are even close to having financing lined up in terms of construction loan, & permanent loans with the various banks, public subsidy, equity, private lenders, mezzanine, etc. If they managed to pull it all together by the fall they'd be hard pressed to get a closing done by New Years. Following that timeline only leaves about 3 months of slack in the schedule before the deadline. Having said all that, I'm not sure how lenient UCI would be with this deadline... not likely they'd slam the door on Coral/Panzica if they were 90% complete with financing at 1 year mark, but there are other bidders for the site who would love to see that happen so they could get another crack at it
June 22, 201212 yr We all want this project done sooner than later, but I want it done right. Im not sure if everything in their current plan is right. If they do lose the option, it might not be the worst thing ever, especially if someone is right there waiting to pick it up with a better design, that gets investors more excited.
June 22, 201212 yr but there are other bidders for the site who would love to see that happen so they could get another crack at it Would those other bidders have a great capacity for realizing a major project there? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 22, 201212 yr "getting it done right" and "having a capacity for realizing a major project" are both relative expressions. Reality is what the market will currently bear on that site. We all want something architecturally pleasing, plenty of massing & density, not some cheap looking low-rise. Developing something in between that can be funded, built & leased for Cleveland market rates is another thing. I think the Coral/Panzica proposal that was selected from the others by UCI definitely sets the bar high for anything that might follow. As I stated earlier on, I think it's unrealistic, and what is ultimately built by them or others on the site will be somewhat watered down. Reality bites
June 22, 201212 yr I guess what I'm asking is, is this a problem with Coral/Panzica or is it a problem of "the market" (credit markets, office markets, housing markets, lease/rental rates, etc)? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 22, 201212 yr I think Coral/Panzica are as good of a development team as you'll get, the project costs are just too high for the rates here in Cleveland. The land being owned & retained by UCI adds a different wrinkle to the project also.
June 22, 201212 yr If UCI sold the land for $1 to the developer might it improve their chances of winning more lender backing? Or perhaps UCI retains ownership and partners with the public sector (city, port authority, GCRTA, etc) on below-market financing package? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 22, 201212 yr ^I think UCI already plans on retaining ownership of the land and entering into a long term lease. But pointing to the market is only half the story here. None of the big projects in the city make market sense strictly speaking; it all comes down to how much subsidy the developers and UCI can line up to make the private financing piece as small as possible and to bring the rents into a realistic range. I take gottaplan's point that these things take a long time and the clock is ticking, but still seems a little early to call this thing DOA.
June 22, 201212 yr CSU leased their land to a private developer to build Campus Village, a $50 million dollar project that is underway. They seemed to be able to get financing relatively easy and fast but I wasnt behind the scenes. I feel like if phased, this project might also be able to break ground, with apartments on Mayfield Road where they originally proposed a parking garage... ;)
June 22, 201212 yr If UCI sold the land for $1 to the developer might it improve their chances of winning more lender backing? Or perhaps UCI retains ownership and partners with the public sector (city, port authority, GCRTA, etc) on below-market financing package? If UCI sold the land for $1 to the developer, that would be a huge infusion of equity to the project, and it would become more attractive for lenders since it's something they could physically reclaim in case of default. With UCI retaining the land, that's not an option. Partnering with the public sector for below market financing is a great idea, I hope it's being looked at. And I didn't mean to suggest the project is DOA, simply that excitement has cooled and it's still lingering in limbo while the clock is ticking. I'd still give it a 50/50 chance of going forward as proposed.
June 25, 201212 yr ^Ehhhh....getting the land for a $1 would help the economics of the project, but lenders don't want raw land (with no improvements) as collateral. They've got enough sitting on their balance sheets as it stands already. Plus, if the project falls through, banks, in particular, have very strict timelines for how long they can lend on pure raw land with no concrete plans for development (regulatory stuff). If there's a hangup on getting financing, I doubt it's a collateral issue. It's an economics issue. Either the lenders don't believe the projected rents are sufficient to cover the costs, there isn't enough cash equity going into the deal, or the viability of the project is in question (i.e. they don't believe there is demand for the space). I don't know what's up with this project, but that's typically what tanks it from a banker's perspective.
June 25, 201212 yr Oh but they should just go ahead and build it anyway. Why are all these developers so stupid?! Geez, anyone can see it's a great idea! If I had the money I would just build it. But for some strange reason no one will give me any money. -- The Impetuous UrbanOhioan "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 25, 201212 yr That's why "making the numbers work" can involve more public aid than just free land.
June 25, 201212 yr And we know there's a bottomless pit of that.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 25, 201212 yr So is there a STRONG chance that this won't work? Also if it doesn't work out in this form do you think the developers will scale it back and revert back to the original designs?
June 25, 201212 yr We'll just have to wait and see like everyone else. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 9, 201212 yr I saw that Saturday...very exciting! Although just across the tracks there's a sign that's been up for years.
July 9, 201212 yr Cool. It matches the Mayfield Road lofts sign that has been on the other side of the tracks for about 5 years...
July 9, 201212 yr Cool. It matches the Mayfield Road lofts sign that has been on the other side of the tracks for about 5 years... The lending is "complicated"..
July 10, 201212 yr I saw that Saturday...very exciting! Although just across the tracks there's a sign that's been up for years. Yeah, it's nice to see the sign -- it's better than not having it. But I also remember this sign on West 9th... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 10, 201212 yr I dunno if this video of the development has been posted but it looks sweet: Intesa - University Circle, OH It's from the architect's site: http://www.bialosky.com/projects/intesa.php
July 10, 201212 yr I dunno if this video of the development has been posted but it looks sweet: Intesa - University Circle, OH It's from the architect's site: http://www.bialosky.com/projects/intesa.php Great find! I dont believe it has ever been posted. This project would be perfect if it wasn't for the garage facing Mayfield Road. Other than that, I love it.
July 10, 201212 yr ^ For what it's worth, I believe that garage on the south side of Mayfield is supposed to have retail on the first floor. You can see the space at the 1:48-1:50 mark of the video. That should at least keep that part of the road more active.
July 10, 201212 yr ^ For what it's worth, I believe that garage on the south side of Mayfield is supposed to have retail on the first floor. You can see the space at the 1:48-1:50 mark of the video. That should at least keep that part of the road more active. Good eye. Its never been mentioned before and the earlier renderings didn't show it. Either they changed their plans or never fully showed them. That is a great improvement and I can definitely get excited about that. Actually I think I remember a major garage entrance on mayfield road in their original renderings which I was extremely disappointed with.
July 12, 201212 yr Nice video. Glad there was no narration. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 12, 201212 yr Nice video. Glad there was no narration. The music seems like an odd choice though, imo. Thanks for posting the video.
July 19, 201212 yr Received this tweet from the Plain Dealer's reporter on real estate and development today in reply to my question on when construction is to begin: Michelle J. McFee @mjarboe @0stis University Circle Inc., which owns most of the land, gave developers a year to secure tenants, $. Construction might start early '13.
July 19, 201212 yr ^I really respect Michele, but based on the discussion upthread I seriously doubt that is anywhere close to being the case (of course she did say "might") unless she has some inside information (although based on the tweet she does not even seem to hint that she does...just repeats the option period which is common knowledge). By the way, welcome to the Board.
July 19, 201212 yr BOJ, welcome! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 22, 201212 yr Expect an update on this project this week or next. Not construction or lease related, but more technological.
October 22, 201212 yr I talked with Chris Ronayne in september he said the project is very much alive.
October 22, 201212 yr Until they get some major tenants signed up & committed, it's just a lot of proposals.
October 22, 201212 yr Not construction or lease related, but more technological. Sooooo...technology company related??
October 23, 201212 yr I talked with Chris Ronayne in september he said the project is very much alive. Debra Berry from UCI indicated as much when I spoke w/ her last week. Not construction or lease related, but more technological. Sooooo...technology company related?? Wasn't there discussion about Google and another tech company leasing space, or was that just blue sky stuff?
October 23, 201212 yr Intesa Development Signs Up for 100-Gigabit Broadband Oct 22, 2012 3:39 PM, By Kelly Stratton, Contributing Writer CLEVELAND—Intesa Holdings LLC, a joint venture between The Coral Company and Panzica Construction, and OneCommunity have signed an agreement to provide 100 gigabit broadband access to Intesa, a new mixed-use development at University Circle. With the agreement, the Intesa property will be the first private commercial building in the U.S. to offer 100-gigabit speed to its tenants Being developed by The Coral Company and Panzica Construction, Intesa will be a mixed-use development that will include technology, office space, apartments, restaurants, green space and parking upon delivery. http://nreionline.com/city-reviews/midwest/intesa_development_signs_up_for_gigabit_broadband/index.html
October 23, 201212 yr Expect an update on this project this week or next. Not construction or lease related, but more technological. Mov2Ohio drops hint. Article appears short time later. Magic! Nice job! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 201212 yr awesome giggity gigabits -- and that sweet urban style/mixed development puts the tod in tod!
November 9, 201212 yr Marketing data for Intesa is on LoopNet, including rent ask, square footage, hoped-for opening date, etc...... http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=17825663&SRID=2950636024&StepID=101&LinkCode=20280 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 9, 201212 yr That would be a really cheap gigabit internet connection for your server if you can fit that server into a 1 sq ft space!
November 9, 201212 yr The PDF from the link in case anyone missed it: http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/8/9/4/89486A45-B077-4B4F-BE68-6CCC4D46DCC1.pdf
November 9, 201212 yr Wow $36/sf asking. Pretty high for Cleveland. Per a recent Crain's article average rent in Key Tower is only $27/month.
Create an account or sign in to comment