Hi,

 

There's a lot of unused, neglected commercial buildings around the city of cleveland. Some are better than others but still obvious they haven't been in use for some time. I'd like to find out more info on these sorts of properties... if they're for sale, cost, problems, liens etc. I'm new to the real estate world but at some point in the near future I'd like to buy one. Is there a sort of database I could see what's available?

 

I've been doing a lot of online research without much luck. I found the cuyahoga sheriff foreclosure list but it only had residential properties. And any sort of real estate broker site I search only has a few commercial building all with pretty high price tags.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

 

There's a lot of unused, neglected commercial buildings around the city of cleveland. Some are better than others but still obvious they haven't been in use for some time. I'd like to find out more info on these sorts of properties... if they're for sale, cost, problems, liens etc. I'm new to the real estate world but at some point in the near future I'd like to buy one. Is there a sort of database I could see what's available?

 

I've been doing a lot of online research without much luck. I found the cuyahoga sheriff foreclosure list but it only had residential properties. And any sort of real estate broker site I search only has a few commercial building all with pretty high price tags.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Those high price tags on commercial buildings are worthless, true selling price can be fractions of the price.  Best advice is to find a property you like & contact the owner...  send me a PM offline to discuss more

Welcome, WataTees!  You can use the county GIS web site (http://gis.cuyahogacounty.us) to identify the record owner of individual lots, though the name of the owner entity may not be terribly useful in itself.  I would think about reaching out to a commercial broker (like CB Richard Ellis)-- even if they don't have listings for buildings you are interested in, they may have some insight how to contact a property owner. Local CDCs may also be a good resource. Good luck!

Welcome,

 

I am of no help in directing you where to find the owners of the buildings, but I would like to throw in a suggestion of where to buy. Please please buy one on Lorain ave! All of those buildings are beautiful!

If you buy one, let Sherman Cahal and I (among others) know and we'll come take some before pictures for you.

Before you buy a building... make sure to DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  Deciding to buy a vacant building could be the LAST thing you want to do without doing a little digging into potential title issues.  Here's some things you can chose to do on your own before making a decision on a building:

 

-If and when you find a building which interests you, look up the address on the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer's website:  http://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/AuditorApps/real-property/REPI/default.asp  Searching by address may not pull up the building the first time; if that's the case, search again going up or down by two digits (some buildings have multiple addresses.  As an example, 12345 Kinsman may not produce anything; but 12347 Kinsman might).  When the parcel number comes up, click on the parcel and look at the tax information.  On that page, you will be able to find the amount of taxes owed on the property, and also if there has been a tax foreclosure filed against it.

 

-Look up the property's information on the County Recorder's Office website.  You'll want to do a parcel search (which you would have gotten from the County Fiscal Officer's Website) http://recorder.cuyahogacounty.us/searchs/parcelsearchs.aspx and a general search of the current owner of the property: http://recorder.cuyahogacounty.us/searchs/generalsearchs.aspx ... the reason for this is to find if any mortgages have been pulled against the property... which could have been foreclosed on (which is considered to be a lien against the property). You'll want to find who is actually servicing the mortgage.  For example: You may find a mortgage for 12345 Kinsman which was originated by MERS, but is actually being serviced by Wells Fargo.  Wells Fargo may have initiated a foreclosure on the property, and then walked away from the foreclosure when the property went to sheriff sale (which is the reason why we have so many vacant properties in the city; the banks walked away, leaving the property owners holding the bag.  The property owners walked away, thinking they lost the property when in actuality they're still the titled owner).

 

-Do a search at the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Court's website: http://cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.us/tos.aspx 

You'll want to do a foreclosure search (you'll need the parcel number, and again, you'll already have it).  The reason is again, many times there will be a foreclosure lien against the property which must be addressed and/or removed by the servicer of the mortgage.  Having this lien against the property could come back to bite the current holder of the title if not addressed.  Note that when doing a search here, tax foreclosure cases begin with "BR" (short for Board of Revision).  If you find that the Fiscal Officer's website notes a tax foreclosure but a case has not been filed with the Clerk of Courts, you'll want to get in touch with the Treasurer's office to find out more info.  You'll also want to do a civil search by name.  The reason is to find if the owner of the property has any judgement liens against him/her which will follow the title transfer.  If you actually contact the owner and the owner says, for example, that they've filed bankruptcy and that they no longer owe anything on the mortgage, the liens will remain regardless.  You'll want to make sure they've been removed- or even better still, maybe find another building.

 

-Another thing you can do is if you find that the property has been foreclosed on for tax purposes or for a default on the mortgage, check the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's website  http://cpdocket.cp.cuyahogacounty.us/SheriffSearch/ 

A foreclosure for property taxes is considered first priority and takes precedent before all other liens.  Buying a property at sheriff sale could get you around some of the other potential liens owed against the property; however, you'll want to make sure you KNOW what you're getting into beforehand.  Know your potential expenses when buying a property which has been vacant and more than likely scrapped by folks trying to make a dollar on copper and electrical wiring, and causing $50,000 worth of damage to the building in the process. 

 

These are just SOME of the things you can do.  Please continue your research and know that if you purchase the title to a building, that you could be buying into more than just title issues.  Make sure that not only the title is free-and-clear, but also that you have the funds to fully renovate the building (if needed).  Getting a private inspection done may be worth the cost.  If you're looking at commercial buildings, you'll want to get VERY familiar with Ohio Landlord/Tenant Law as well.  And as always, if you're unsure about the laws and would like legal advice, contact an attorney.  The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association can recommend an attorney to you, who sometimes do Pro Bono work: http://www.clemetrobar.org/

Hi,

 

There's a lot of unused, neglected commercial buildings around the city of cleveland. Some are better than others but still obvious they haven't been in use for some time. I'd like to find out more info on these sorts of properties... if they're for sale, cost, problems, liens etc. I'm new to the real estate world but at some point in the near future I'd like to buy one. Is there a sort of database I could see what's available?

 

I've been doing a lot of online research without much luck. I found the cuyahoga sheriff foreclosure list but it only had residential properties. And any sort of real estate broker site I search only has a few commercial building all with pretty high price tags.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Whatever you do, make sure you aren't buying a brownfield or potential brownfield.

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for all the help and great links, just what I was looking for! Seems like I have some homework to do. Thanks Oldmanladyluck for breaking it down like that. I found the MyCuyahoga interactive map on that site and its pretty useful, however it won't let me past the link here. Still trying to make sense of it all but that tool is a great starting point.

 

I was defiantly looking at Lorain. I'd like to find one just west of downtown like ohio city, tremount, Gordan district etc. Somewhere I could live and work out of. Was thinking around 3,000-5,000 square feet to give me enough room to grow. I'd also like some extra land if possible. I love old building with character and i'm very good at restoring things cosmetically, but worried about costly structural damage etc. I don't have much of a budget and I'm starting to realize this whole thing could end up being quite costly. I will defiantly do my research and figure out exactly what i'm getting into before I start making any offers. It will probably take longer than expected but I'd like to find something within a year or so from now.

 

I like the idea of Bownfield but not sure what that all entails. I always keep the environmental impact in mind and work towards sustainability. Its a big concern of mine and I have some really cool ideas and would like to see them come to life with this project.

 

It's a good idea to contact the Community Development Corporation for each neighborhood, which are like neighborhood-level City Halls for planning, development and business assistance. Here is a list of Cleveland CDCs......

 

http://www.livecleveland.org/node/10

 

Here is a map of the CDCs' service areas.....

 

http://www.cndc2.org/collabToolBox/CDC%20Service%20Areas%20-%20NPI/CDC%20Service%20Areas%20%20with%202009%20Ward%20labels%20&%20mainstreets%2011%20x%2017.pdf

 

Since you are looking for warehouses, some good areas to look are in St Clair-Superior (East 40th-Superior and between Payne and Chester), Midtown (along Carnegie), and the old Clark-Metro area now served by Ohio City and Tremont West CDCs (along Scranton-West 25th).

 

But E Rocc is right. Avoid buildings with Brownfield issues unless they've already been cleaned AND have covenants not to sue.

Hi,

 

Thanks for the community development links KJP.

 

At first I misread the Brownfield website... I thought they were a restoration company that fixed up old buildings to make them green. I'll defiantly be staying away from them, thanks for the warnings everyone.

 

I'm looking for a building that can serve multiple purposes. Somewhere I could live and work out of...  What about zoning for that? When I was on the mycuyahoga site the page that tells you what zones were used for what, came up as an error page. That could narrow my search down to only areas where that's possible. Or if say I found the perfect building for my purposes but it wasn't zoned for living and working would I be able to convince the city to change the zoning?

 

 

I'm looking for a building that can serve multiple purposes. Somewhere I could live and work out of...  What about zoning for that? When I was on the mycuyahoga site the page that tells you what zones were used for what, came up as an error page. That could narrow my search down to only areas where that's possible. Or if say I found the perfect building for my purposes but it wasn't zoned for living and working would I be able to convince the city to change the zoning?

 

 

Cleveland has a live-work zoning classification and is used as an overlay for existing zoning. So for example an area may be zoned for general business or light industrial (which is what many warehouses are zoned as). A live-work classification may be applied as an overlay on top of the base zoning. Thus an area can have residents living next to an active warehouse.

 

If the property you're interested in is zoned for general business or light industrial, you should check with the CDC and the council person about getting a live-work zoning overlay -- especially if there have been other inquiries in that same general area for live-work zoning. I don't know how the city would respond to having just one parcel with a live-work zoning overlay. To me that sounds too much like spot zoning, and cities generally don't like that sort of thing. So if there have been other recent inquiries for live-work zoning in the area, then you say a broader overlay is justified.

 

Another option is to attempt a trial balloon -- submit an application to the building department for a live-work rehab. If it gets denied (and it probably will -- it's actually necessary for many projects), then you request a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). That will also put you on the radar of the council person and the CDC (just in case you've had difficulty getting the attention of either party). If you scroll through some of the development threads, I frequently post variance requests made to the BZA as they are very common. And it's how an average joe like me often gets the first whiff of a new project, like the vacating of West 20th Street off Lorain that screams out to me "BIG NEW PROJECT!!"

 

Or, you could do what urban pioneers did in the late-1970s and early-1980s, when moving in the big bad city was often described as moving to the Wild West in the 19th century.... You buy a warehouse and you move into it. That means living there illegally. Actually, this situation still occurs in the 21st century, as I wrote about for Sun Newspapers when I first started covering the City of Cleveland in 2005. I was writing about people living illegally in warehouses because the State of Ohio didn't recognize a live-work zoning classification back then. So Councilman Joe Cimperman took several of these "squatters" to a legislative committee hearing in Columbus to testify to amend the laws.

 

Living illegally can be easily disguised. Consider how many workplaces today have kitchens and even showers for bikers? Or have a fold-out sofa in case you're working late on a project? Building inspectors usually aren't out late. So the only way the city can hear about someone possibly living illegally is to get a complaint from a neighbor. That's not likely to happen. And you can intercept it by telling neighbors ahead of time that you'll be working late for the next month or so on a project so do not be surprised if you see lights on or hear noises from inside the building. Tell them to "Call me at this number if I'm making too much noise and I'll keep it down. And please accept my apologies in advance."

The fact that a lot of small warehouse/light industrial sites work three shifts should be kept in mind.  On the one hand , it provides some cover.  On the other hand, it can provide some noisy neighbors.

 

One would think this is the last thing building inspectors should be worrying about, but this is Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County.  Many’d rather go after “issues” where there could be money involved.  Also, they make work “business hours” but the police do not.  If you look like you might possibly be up to illegal activity, they may look in.  So don’t.

 

The fact that a lot of small warehouse/light industrial sites work three shifts should be kept in mind.  On the one hand , it provides some cover.  On the other hand, it can provide some noisy neighbors.

 

One would think this is the last thing building inspectors should be worrying about, but this is Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County.  Many’d rather go after “issues” where there could be money involved.  Also, they make work “business hours” but the police do not.  If you look like you might possibly be up to illegal activity, they may look in.  So don’t.

 

 

The live-work residents Joe Cimperman took to Columbus to testify had all been cited by Building Department inspectors as in violation of the zoning code.

The fact that a lot of small warehouse/light industrial sites work three shifts should be kept in mind.  On the one hand , it provides some cover.  On the other hand, it can provide some noisy neighbors.

 

One would think this is the last thing building inspectors should be worrying about, but this is Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County.  Many’d rather go after “issues” where there could be money involved.  Also, they make work “business hours” but the police do not.  If you look like you might possibly be up to illegal activity, they may look in.  So don’t.

 

 

The live-work residents Joe Cimperman took to Columbus to testify had all been cited by Building Department inspectors as in violation of the zoning code.

 

As I said, this is Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County....

It's still the law. If you pick and choose which laws you're going to follow or enforce, you open yourself up to litigation. So fire safety was cited as the reason why it was enforced.

With my luck I'd be investigated the first week. I'd like to go into it with all zones cleared and good to go. I'd like to find a property in a mixed use sort of area like tremount, ohio city etc so a zone overlay would probably be an option if the zone wasn't already correct.

 

When I close my eyes and think of the perfect scenario... the building would be an old warehouse of some sort with big 16 foot tall ceilings, open floor plan and about three floors around 2,000 square feet on each floor. I'd like to conduct my business out of the first or second floor and convert the top to loft living space. In my dream world I'd turn the bottom floor into a sweet bar or comedy club.. then the second floor would be my current business, and live on the top. Haha... having the money to do all these things is another thing... but a guy can dream right? Again in my dream world, the building would be in a heavy foot traffic area (not many of those in cleveland) or right off the beaten path of one. 

With my luck I'd be investigated the first week. I'd like to go into it with all zones cleared and good to go. I'd like to find a property in a mixed use sort of area like tremount, ohio city etc so a zone overlay would probably be an option if the zone wasn't already correct.

 

When I close my eyes and think of the perfect scenario... the building would be an old warehouse of some sort with big 16 foot tall ceilings, open floor plan and about three floors around 2,000 square feet on each floor. I'd like to conduct my business out of the first or second floor and convert the top to loft living space. In my dream world I'd turn the bottom floor into a sweet bar or comedy club.. then the second floor would be my current business, and live on the top. Haha... having the money to do all these things is another thing... but a guy can dream right? Again in my dream world, the building would be in a heavy foot traffic area (not many of those in cleveland) or right off the beaten path of one. 

 

Here's some inspiration for ya:

 

http://www.raysmtb.com/

Just checking around areas where properties are moving and there's likely to be significant development in the next 3-5 years. And you wanted a 3-story warehouse? Well, here's one that jumped out me.....

 

2817 Detroit Rd, Cleveland, OH

 

This is the Schaefer Printing Co. They've been there since at least 1975 and have a well-kept, 3-story historic building, although the sidewalk facade was modernized. The property isn't for sale, but perhaps the owner is nearing retirement or might want to sell for the right price. The county has appraised the land and building at $267,300 for tax purposes. I think this property will be worth more in the coming years considering all the developer interest in this area of Ohio City.

 

I was also going to suggest a modern building at 3219 Detroit Avenue, but to show you how fast things are moving in this area of Ohio City, this building was already sold less than a month ago for $275,000 to a paper company listing only to a Mayfield Heights attorney whose clients are in the real estate development and construction business. So if you want to be in an area of high pedestrian traffic, or will soon be such an area, better move fast.

 

EDIT: BTW, it's too bad you weren't looking a few years ago. A friend of a friend was trying to sell his loft building at 1668 East 40th. It would have been perfect for you. But a streetview from June 2011 shows a building across the street at 1677 East 40th has an "available" sign on it.

 

EDIT2: Another one that might interest you is the red brick building at 3801 Payne Avenue or the building next door at 3800 Payne. Neither appear to be listed for sale. But you can always contact the owner and find out for sure. Both properties are appraised for taxes at very low values -- 3801 at $103,000 and 3800 at $72,000. They are in the heart of Asiatown.

Man.. that place ray's looks sweet!! I can't believe that's in cleveland. I google mapped that location and the building is HUGE!! Looks like its about 4-5 city blocks big. I wonder if they bought the whole thing... even abandoned I'd imagine it would be around a million dollars or so. Looks sweet though... I want to check it out. I used to bmx but now i'd probably break a hip. Wonder if they have a watching section lol.

 

The place at: 2817 Detroit Rd, Cleveland, OH looks like a perfect building for my needs. The building looks in perfect shape in a prime location.. I imagine it would go for top dollar if they ever sold. The building on the same block... even though its just a one story, looks more in my range lol.

I've always seen the building on: 3219 Detroit Avenue when driving past on the freeway. That building looks in great shape and always wondered what it looked like inside and how much it would sell for. If it went for $275K; that's out of my range but still pretty encouraging. Its such a nice building it makes me think I can get something a bit more run down in my range.

 

 

Note that I updated my posting with a couple more places.

 

Yes, you can watch the bikers at Ray's as long as you don't get in the way :). There's also a sitting lounge and a game room. I wrote an article about this place a decade ago, and glad to see it's still going and growing. This was a nylon  factory where they made parachutes during World War II. Ray's doesn't even use the whole factory. The rest is sublet to other users.

I just googled your buddies place at: 168 East 40th... too bad its not still available. The building across the street, I think its: 1659 East 40th is pretty much the exact building i'm looking for!! Even says loft works on the front. Also the red building on payne looks like it has the same potential. I haven't been around that area much but that big of a building with such low taxes would be worth it. I could spend all day on google maps looking for places lol.

Loft Works has individual units inside it for sale. I don't think that's what you're looking for. But the building on East 40th that I was referring to is at the NE corner of 40th and Payne.

Loft Works has individual units inside it for sale. I don't think that's what you're looking for. But the building on East 40th that I was referring to is at the NE corner of 40th and Payne.

 

Kaliedoscope Magazine at 1677?  It's probably set up as offices inside. 

Keep in mind that it's not just zoning you have to worry about, but the building code too. Zoning just deals with permitted land uses; the building code specifies minimum building standards for the given uses.  If you pursue a purely commercial building for conversion, you may want to talk to one of the developers who's managed some conversions to figure out what the biggest issues are. 

Loft Works has individual units inside it for sale. I don't think that's what you're looking for. But the building on East 40th that I was referring to is at the NE corner of 40th and Payne.

 

Kaliedoscope Magazine at 1677?  It's probably set up as offices inside. 

 

I saw their magazine was still listed to that address., but are they still there? I wonder why there was an "available" sign on the front of the building?

I found a property that looks like it has some potential. Saw an address of 1624 east 40th. Classified as manufacturing and assembly light. Not sure what that really qualifies it for. Looks like a pretty cool space and i'd imagine it has many of the attributes i'm looking for. Just not sure I can use it for my living / light manufacturing / possible bar or comedy club, purposes. Lol... the more I look into it, i'm not sure there's any property that will allow me to do all that. I would forgo the possible bar / comedy club as long as I can conduct my current business and live out of it as well. Also... a building of that size net taxable of 41,000.. that's so cheap for such a large space. Does that tell you the building is in horrible condition? If say I got a place similar and fixed it up half way nice, would the net taxable go up or would it always be 41?

Woops... I was wrong it's actually 1623 east 143rd... I was way off on the address lol. Its an old mold and die factory it looks like.

Woops... I was wrong it's actually 1623 east 143rd... I was way off on the address lol. Its an old mold and die factory it looks like.

 

That address doesn't seem to exist.  If it did it would be in East Cleveland.  Not only no, but hell no....

 

If it's an old mold and die shop, I may know something about their past as they may have been suppliers and/or customers.  I'd be worried about disposal of foundry sand, cutting oil, etc as well.

Man... haha, I posted the wrong address twice!!! Yesterday must have been an off day for me.

 

The building I saw on google maps was at 1623 east 43rd!!!

 

Looks like it hasn't been used for some time, but still looks to be in pretty decent shape. As I mentioned for taxing purposes its valued at less than 50,000. Looks to be about 6,000 square feet or so (just a guess), two floors and I'm guessing since it was a manufacturing facility it has a pretty open floor plan. Not too familiar with the neighborhood, but its pretty close to downtown.

 

Would this address be suitable for a work / living, purposes?

 

If you guys had to guess... how much do you think a building like this would go for? Assuming the sellers were willing to part with it?

Wow, the company that was in that building was Harris Mold & Die Co., and was established in 1965! Sad to see the company has closed after all these years. The owner is listed as John Harris.

 

The building does look solid, and looks like it would make a nice residential conversion (assuming it has no environmental issues). Not sure about the secondary, garage-like building in back.

 

Because it's off the main drag (Payne), it's attractiveness as a commercial property is questionable unless walk-in customers aren't going to be important part of your business' success. That could change depending how the neighborhood develops. The huge May Company warehouse is nearby, and may be the subject of redevelopment efforts based on it being awarded landmark status last May which would help it win tax credits. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/2013/05092013/index.php

 

I think it's worth investigating. As long as it's a clean parcel (depending on what chemicals, metals etc. were used by Harris and any other prior users). And if the property is valued at $50,000 for tax purposes, offer slightly less than that. If the business is closed, the owner may be hurting financial and want to get out from under this property. Also ask the CDC for financial help and potential brownfield assessment of this property. The city has a program but the CDC can help "de-mystify" it for you. Here's the city's program...... http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home/Government/CityAgencies/EconomicDevelopment/Brownfield/AssessmentandTechnicalAssistance

 

EDIT1: While John Harris was the owner of the company, the property belongs to the estate of Thomas and Maria Harris, meaning they died. John Harris is likely their son. The business apparently closed on his watch, so one wonders what his business acumen is. He may ask an inflated price for the property. Or he may be more interested in getting out of the property. Or he may just be the victim of the times and be a tough negotiator on a sale price. The tax value of the property is actually $41,900. Offer to pay less than that.

 

EDIT2: turns out this building has some history. Before 1976, this building was owned by the Holland Trolley Supply Company. The company was started by Henry Holland of England and later Detroit, Mich. He moved his business operations to Cleveland in 1901 to make trolleys (a trolley is actually the little wheel at the end of a pole which made contact with an overhead electric wire to collect electricity for the streetcar or interurban railway car at the other end of the pole). Turns out Holland Trolley Supply Co. had a patent on a new trolley stand on top of a streetcar http://www.google.com/patents/US1052586. Here's some additional history about the company and the man who founded it http://tinyurl.com/mgphn4p.

 

Good luck!

I've personally always loved the building at 3026 Scranton Rd.  I have no idea if it's for sale or not, but it's a lovely building, and it was built as a telephone exchange for the Cleveland Telephone Co.

Thanks for all the info! The building at 1623 east 43rd is over 100 years old and still looking good... they really don't build them like they used to. I bet the architecture inside is awesome. The neighborhood was a bit of a concern. The surrounding area is most likely not my customer demographic, and Ideally I'd like a good amount of foot traffic with a retail presence in the neighborhood. If I did end up getting a place with no retail possibilities it would change the scope of my business and shift my attention to online sales. Which could be good or bad.

 

If this building was in tremount, ohio city, downtown, detroit shore way, maybe lorain to about 65th... or kamms corner it would be perfect!! Just found out about kamms corner.. don't know much about the neighborhood but seems pretty nice and up and coming.

 

 

The one at 3026 scranton looks great! Right around where i'd like to be. I checked and looked like it was a school at one point than a piano wholesaler. I wonder what it looks like inside.. if its a big area or broken up into smaller rooms. It looks like it just foreclosed and is behind almost $300k in taxes. How would a situation like that work? Would whoever bought it then owe all that? Or is there any way to waive past taxes for new developments?

The one at 3026 scranton looks great! Right around where i'd like to be. I checked and looked like it was a school at one point than a piano wholesaler. I wonder what it looks like inside.. if its a big area or broken up into smaller rooms. It looks like it just foreclosed and is behind almost $300k in taxes. How would a situation like that work? Would whoever bought it then owe all that? Or is there any way to waive past taxes for new developments?

 

The taxing authority will have a lien on the property and when it sells, they get paid first, then private lenders and creditors with whatever is left over.

 

My suggestion is not to jump into such a big endeavor right off the bat. Consider a smaller, newer and/or less complicated property first to learn the ropes of property acquisition, rehab, incentives, etc. Or maybe work for someone else involved in this line of work and learn the property acquisition/rehab biz from them. If you prefer to learn by doing and making your own mistakes as you go, then I hope you are patient and have deep pockets.

Thanks for all the info! The building at 1623 east 43rd is over 100 years old and still looking good... they really don't build them like they used to. I bet the architecture inside is awesome. The neighborhood was a bit of a concern. The surrounding area is most likely not my customer demographic, and Ideally I'd like a good amount of foot traffic with a retail presence in the neighborhood. If I did end up getting a place with no retail possibilities it would change the scope of my business and shift my attention to online sales. Which could be good or bad.

 

If this building was in tremount, ohio city, downtown, detroit shore way, maybe lorain to about 65th... or kamms corner it would be perfect!! Just found out about kamms corner.. don't know much about the neighborhood but seems pretty nice and up and coming.

 

A tool and die shop can get pretty sloppy inside, and there are potential environmental concerns.  On the other hand, it looks like that's actually several buildings connected and a decent sized courtyard that could be used for customer parking.

Yeah, I imagine it would take a lot of time and money to renovate a tool shop for other purposes. I like the rustic look though.. and can do a lot with a little.

 

I figure if I can find a building with no structure issues, decent roof, still has electrical / piping / plumbing etc, and doesn't have any environmental issues I can do most of the rest myself. If I can find all that, 3,000+ SF, for under $50K I'd be happy. Maybe that's a tall order, I don't know.

 

I've done some rehab work on the last two places i've lived in and have been able to do wonders for next to no money. I can do floors, dry wall and all that kind of stuff. As long as I had a good solid building I'd have that place singing in no time.

 

I'm still in the info gathering stage and realize this is going to be a lot to take on. Before signing any papers I'll defiantly be doing my research. That's why I really appreciate all the help on here.

 

 

Here's a couple suggestions on the West Side

 

4617 Fenwick Ave

4314 Clark Ave (One of my favorite vacant buildings in CLE)

Actually, There are a lot of unused and under appreciated structures on Clark and Dennison Ave's

 

And on the East Side

 

1360 E 47th St (Awesome visibility from St Clair Ave)

1001 Addison Rd. (In an up and coming area. St Clair Superior Dev Corp is working hard and bringing in artists to the surrounding area)

1013 E 63rd St. (Same as above)

5419 Broadway ave (I LOVE this building. Slavic Village is also on the comeback as well)

 

 

 

Here's a couple suggestions on the West Side

 

4617 Fenwick Ave

4314 Clark Ave (One of my favorite vacant buildings in CLE)

Actually, There are a lot of unused and under appreciated structures on Clark and Dennison Ave's

 

And on the East Side

 

1360 E 47th St (Awesome visibility from St Clair Ave)

1001 Addison Rd. (In an up and coming area. St Clair Superior Dev Corp is working hard and bringing in artists to the surrounding area)

1013 E 63rd St. (Same as above)

5419 Broadway ave (I LOVE this building. Slavic Village is also on the comeback as well)

 

5419?  The old library (now a church) is 5417 and the Hubcap Heaven building is 5455....and they pretty much touch each other.  Both are really nice buildings.

 

That's not Slavic Village, per se though.  Even when the Village was holding out that area was beginning to get dicey.

 

4314 Clark is a great building, assuming the "Million Dollar Club" is gone.

If you want to see (at least from the outside) an example of rehab done right, look at 4114 John Avenue.  I drove by it a few years back on the way to a job interview, and recognized the name of a notorious bar (let's just say the street name was quite the pun) shut down on a very blighted corner.  I mentioned this to someone awhile back,  and they mentioned that it had been rehabbed into a house.  Looks good, now.

I just ran across this one.  It looks like it's been purchased and put into use as a warehouse, so it wouldn't be that cheap.  But it's right across the street from the Zone Car (i.e. a really dumb place to act the fool) and a long block away from the Happy Dog.  Seems badly wasted as a warehouse.

 

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/16231564/1318-W-58th-St-Cleveland-OH/