Talking with friends about the progress of the County property consolidation currently underway and what a smart move it was.  Led to more discussion on how much property the City of Cleveland owns, old buildings, parking lots...  some in use, some not, some used but hardly utilized...  add in the Cleveland Metro School District and all their holdings, Cleveland Water Department, Cleveland Public Power....  the amount of properties that could be released to the public, available for redevelopment, released from tax payer ownership and overdue maintenance...  It really seems strange that this hasn't been done.  Of course the County property consolidation was partially due to the current HQ building being a POS, and the City isn't going to vacate City Hall.  It could however generate millions in revenue from the disposition of some properties and stir some new development.

I LIKE IT. Somebody pitch it to city government.

Already has been pitched to several city council members and those on mayor's staff...

I've been wondering the same thing.

 

At this point though you would have to think careful analysis needs to be done in light of the recent county sale.  Don't want to depreciate the asset by flooding the market.

 

 

That is true, but why not at least authorize a "study" of what properties the City owns?  Rank them in some fashion to keep, possibly renovate & keep, or sell.  And put a real dollar value to what each.  I don't think most people have any idea what some of these properties may be worth, or what they are costing the City, just to hold on to them...

or what they are costing the City, just to hold on to them...

 

This is part of my issue with the City holding onto that old building at the SE corner of Lake/W117.  Everyone loves the structure but it's costing the city to keep it up and nothing is getting done with it.  In the meanwhile I would think it would make fiscal sense for the city to sell it for $1 to whomever buys that old Giant Eagle parcel if they plan a suitable use for it.

 

 

Actually, it was Highland Golf Course that got the conversation started.  The course that the City owns, that the City lost over half a million last year on, which continues to slide in terms of quality and maintenance...

@gottaplan, what was the response when it was pitched to city officials?

 

I do agree that they should at least examine it to see what they have, what could be sold (or in the case of some vacant structures, given away), and what could be consolidated.

 

I'm not a big Columbus fan but I will say that I have seen the effect on the local economy and their downtown (during the day, at least) those government employees have had. Its essentially made Columbus recession proof. That doesn't work quite as well when the government jobs are spread out everywhere.

 

Now we won't come close to what Columbus has, obviously. But the city of Cleveland is (for better or for worse) a large government. I would like to see as many city employees as possible working in structures downtown. Its one of the reason I support the County consolidation so much. It does have an effect on the areas that government entities are located in. That's why CMSD selling their building and moving into downtown office space (also taking more space off of the market, a good thing) makes a lot of sense and if the city could consolidate its many departments and buildings it makes a lot of sense too.

This is part of my issue with the City holding onto that old building at the SE corner of Lake/W117.  Everyone loves the structure but it's costing the city to keep it up and nothing is getting done with it.  In the meanwhile I would think it would make fiscal sense for the city to sell it for $1 to whomever buys that old Giant Eagle parcel if they plan a suitable use for it.

 

It IS for sale. The city has spoken to a number of potential buyers, but no one could get financing to redevelop it.

 

I like the idea of the citywide property sale. However, I would wait until the county's sale gets farther along and we see what kind of prices are being fetched. There has been lots of interest, but no sales yet. Still too early. So let's let this play out a bit. What happens with the county's properties can provide some very valuable input into a future study of the inventory and potential disposition of city properties.

 

Then we can move on to ODOT and start selling some of their roads, highways and bridges.... Jus' kidding!