March 19, 20241 yr 5 hours ago, Htsguy said: Could not read the article as it was behind a pay wall. Was there any discussion or indication whether, after all these years of litigation and negotiation, the project could now be stalled because of high interest rates and construction costs? Another article outside a paywall (doesn't answer your questions): https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cuyahoga-county/university-square-university-heights-sale-agreement-reached/95-2705eeac-7257-4d97-9158-19d381f16bfd
March 20, 20241 yr I find it so strange that Macy's opposed adding apartments to the development and have since the original agreement in 2003. Why wouldn't you want more people near your business that could support it due to its close proximity? Everyone knows they could use it.
March 21, 20241 yr Macy's is stuck in 1980. They have zero idea of how to adapt and it has been their downfall. Hell, even their corporate design standards are insanely dated. A good friend of mine worked for the lighting firm that designed all their stores' lighting packages. They still required fluorescent tube lighting instead of LEDs. Despite LEDs being better light quality and more importantly, cheaper. But it would cost them a ton of money to update their design standards, so they stuck with buying dying product types that get more and more expensive every year to buy and maintain. They got too big for their own good, which is something that happens with a ton of companies. Once you grow to a certain size, changing course in any way becomes a monumental task. Logic should tell you that they should be fully on board with the idea of nearby residents, but I guarantee their opposition comes from some dated corporate document that lays out what types of places they want their stores to be located in that comes from some bygone era and nobody is willing to make the effort to update it.
September 12, 2024Sep 12 New article on the newly named Bell Tower Center, previously University Square. https://www.crainscleveland.com/retail/university-square-be-renamed-bell-tower-center Most interesting tidbit, at least to me "Brennan said a “family fun destination” entertainment venue will go into the former Tops grocery store space. He couldn't disclose details, though he said that the venue will be known in the next few weeks and that it might be the first thing that opens in the redevelopment. "Part of an existing parking garage will be removed to create a courtyard space..."
October 10, 2024Oct 10 ^ And it's been announced! I'm excited, this sounds awesome! Urban Air Adventure Park to open in former University Square in 2025 The 58,000-square-foot home of After Tops Friendly Markets’ location at University Square has sat vacant since it closed in 2006. Now, nearly two decades later, life will breeze back into the space at the future Bell Tower Center with an Urban Air Adventure Park spot. The indoor adventure and trampoline park is expected to open in late summer or early fall of 2025 and will be the fourth Northeast Ohio location — but the only one on the east side.... https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/urban-air-adventure-park-open-bell-tower-center
October 10, 2024Oct 10 4 hours ago, TBideon said: Wow... wasn't expecting this news. That's a solid win. Agree. This area is already over-retailed. Another use is more than welcome.
October 22, 2024Oct 22 With the new redevelopment of Target and Macy's being the news lately... Planning commission in University Heights also approved JCU's Gateway North project, below is the detailed PDF from Vocon of the plans and renderings dated September 9th: https://www.universityheights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PROJECT-gateway-north.pdf And accompanying Cleveland.com article: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2024/10/jcus-gateway-north-redevelopment-plans-get-recommendation-from-university-heights-planning-commission.html Edited October 22, 2024Oct 22 by Geowizical
October 22, 2024Oct 22 Actual building looks fine. But that site plan... Mostly just a parking lot. And I feel kind of bad for that holdout house. No idea if the holdout house changed the design, or if it would have just been more parking.
October 22, 2024Oct 22 3 minutes ago, Ethan said: Actual building looks fine. But that site plan... Mostly just a parking lot. And I feel kind of bad for that holdout house. No idea if the holdout house changed the design, or if it would have just been more parking. Yeah the parking lots are kind of atrocious, especially considering the original design had a parking garage instead of surface. Oh well. Warrensville Circle should benefit from this shot in the arm. I'm not gonna be too picky, especially when its one of our higher education institutions investing in the neighborhood 🫡 Edited October 22, 2024Oct 22 by Geowizical
October 23, 2024Oct 23 16 hours ago, Ethan said: Actual building looks fine. But that site plan... Mostly just a parking lot. And I feel kind of bad for that holdout house. No idea if the holdout house changed the design, or if it would have just been more parking. Why in the world would you ever need that much parking. They look at the Downtown Lakewood development and said "Hold My Beer"
October 23, 2024Oct 23 16 hours ago, Geowizical said: the original design had a parking garage instead of surface. I don't remember, or I never saw, the original design, but this would make more sense, and feel better, with a parking garage. Knocking down 11 house to build a surface parking lot doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth. It almost seems like the housing complex is a cover to allow them to create this parking lot. With a garage they could leave most of these houses up, and give the apartments (and houses) a bit more of a green buffer. They'd probably even have more parking at the end of it. I know it's always easy to suggest the developer spend more of their own money, and that structured parking is much more expensive, but yeah, seems worth it in this case.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 Further tidbits from the Crain's article: "...including 13,500 square feet for a “specialty grocer.” While Brennan could not disclose the name of the “boutique grocery store,” as he described it, he said the store will be an anchor and “will be exciting to the community.” "The building will have 99 units: three one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units, 16 three-bedroom units and 72 four-bedroom units. These “apartment-type suites” will all be owned by the university." "Brennan mentioned that this is a “step into the future” as the project represents a full mile in the center of the city. He noted that with this project on one end of the city and the Bell Tower Center project on another, “we’re going to be in a position where we can hopefully rebuild everything in between for years.” "On Oct. 16, the Cleveland Architecture Foundation sent a letter calling the project “unacceptable."" 😑 Edited October 23, 2024Oct 23 by Geowizical
October 23, 2024Oct 23 This seems like it was designed to play to NIMBY's worst nightmares. They are making an already big parking lot bigger!
October 23, 2024Oct 23 all of this parking reminds me of a few years ago when bgsu also tore down structures across wooster street from its campus, including one of my former off campus houses 😂, for parking for administration, so they would not have to walk from the main lots on campus. its not a good look, albeit the rest of the development is nice.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 2 hours ago, w28th said: In my experience NIMBY’s typically love parking. Those are city NIMBYs. Suburban NIMBYs want no parking and nothing new. 😆
October 23, 2024Oct 23 4 hours ago, Geowizical said: Further tidbits from the Crain's article: "...including 13,500 square feet for a “specialty grocer.” While Brennan could not disclose the name of the “boutique grocery store,” as he described it, he said the store will be an anchor and “will be exciting to the community.” "The building will have 99 units: three one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units, 16 three-bedroom units and 72 four-bedroom units. These “apartment-type suites” will all be owned by the university." "Brennan mentioned that this is a “step into the future” as the project represents a full mile in the center of the city. He noted that with this project on one end of the city and the Bell Tower Center project on another, “we’re going to be in a position where we can hopefully rebuild everything in between for years.” "On Oct. 16, the Cleveland Architecture Foundation sent a letter calling the project “unacceptable."" 😑 99 Units with 487 Parking Spaces means the parking ratio is 1:6. For every resident there are SIX PARKING SPACES?? Insane
October 23, 2024Oct 23 6 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: 99 Units with 487 Parking Spaces means the parking ratio is 1:6. For every resident there are SIX PARKING SPACES?? Insane From the article it says about half of the spaces are for the grocery store, half for residents.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 Just now, Geowizical said: From the article it says about half of the spaces are for the grocery store, half for residents. Even split in half 240 spaces for 99 Units is a lot. A boutique grocer problem wouldn't need over 200 spaces either.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 Fair, though the existing lot serves students parking on campus so I rationalized the proposed lot would serve the same function, otherwise JCU would be losing parking. Whether or not they currently have excess parking is a question I don't have the answer to.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 So the grocery is open 24 hours a day? I assume that the parking is for the grocery when tenants are at work. But when the tenants are home, the grocery is closed most of the time. The spaces can be shared.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 52 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: 99 Units with 487 Parking Spaces means the parking ratio is 1:6. For every resident there are SIX PARKING SPACES?? Insane yeah when i saw 500 freakin parking spaces i was assuming jcu would also use it, but i dk, just a guess. its bad.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 1 hour ago, MyPhoneDead said: 99 Units with 487 Parking Spaces means the parking ratio is 1:6. For every resident there are SIX PARKING SPACES?? Insane To be fair, most of these are four bedroom, given that it's student housing, I'd expect one person per bedroom, not one per unit. Per bedroom there is about 1.44 spots, or 148 extra spots, intended for retail component. Either way, it seems like too much parking.
October 23, 2024Oct 23 Unless.. and its a big question mark, that they plan to develop the parking lots in the future.
November 7, 2024Nov 7 Gateway North project site prep / tank removal (11-6-24) JCU Field House progress
December 18, 2024Dec 18 JCU Gateway North was approved by planning commission. Construction starts May 2025, finishes by December 2026. Grocer still unnamed but is a “specialty boutique grocery store” that “sells a lot of its own items and which has a following and is not a large grocery store".
December 18, 2024Dec 18 2 hours ago, Geowizical said: JCU Gateway North was approved by planning commission. Construction starts May 2025, finishes by December 2026. Grocer still unnamed but is a “specialty boutique grocery store” that “sells a lot of its own items and which has a following and is not a large grocery store". Yeah some are saying Trader Joe's. Couldn't get them at Van Aken or Cedar Fairmount.
December 18, 2024Dec 18 Yay, I'm late to the story! JCU Gateway North project approved by city By Ken Prendergast / December 18, 2024 John Carroll University’s (JCU) transformative Gateway North project, a mixed-use retail and residential complex, has taken a significant step forward with approval from the University Heights City Council yesterday. Plans for the project had been under review by several city panels in this eastern Cleveland suburb for several months. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/12/18/jcu-gateway-north-project-approved-by-city/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 19Feb 19 Lil' progress update: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2025/02/two-new-tenants-signed-for-bell-tower-center-in-university-heights.html Two new tenants signed for Bell Tower Center in University Heights TL;DR Qdoba and Smoothie King have signed leases Parking garage peel back to be completed by the fall of 2025 Work is underway to renovate the building that will house the UrbanAir
April 21Apr 21 House to-be-demolished for Gateway North next to the former Mr Tire is fenced off. Construction expected to begin in May. Update on the Fieldhouse
May 23May 23 Demolition for JCU Gateway North has started and is proceeding at a fast clip. Looks like all existing structures on site could be down by the end of the day.
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