https://www.cleveland.com/business/2021/01/luxury-neighborhood-proposed-for-valor-acres-in-brecksville.html

If only downtown would of had some places for lab people to live.....OH WAIT

Residents, city officials call for changes to luxury neighborhood proposed for Valor Acres in Brecksville

Bob Sandrick - Cleveland.com - Mar. 30, 2021

 

 

"Most notably, commission members voiced objections to a proposed five-story apartment building at the eastern end of Residences near Brecksville Road. They said it was too massive compared to any other building in town and suggested dividing it into a few smaller buildings. ... Residences at Valor Acres would contain more than 200 living units, including townhomes, attached homes, luxury apartments or lofts and single-family homes. Condos are also a possibility. The living spaces would line the north and south sides of a single street running east to west off Brecksville Road. ... In addition to the Sherwin-Williams and Residences at Valor Acres sections, DiGeronimo and the city have divided Valor Acres into two other sections -- one an office and industrial area running parallel to Brecksville Road and the other a mixed-use area, at the very corner of Brecksville and Miller roads, possibly containing stores, restaurants, offices and residential units."

 

Not that I like this development or particularly want to see it happen, but having the main argument against this proposed apartment building be "too massive compared to other buildings in town" is ridiculous considering there is able to be a huge retail and office development right next to it.

I’m low-key hoping Brecksville eff it up. 

Lol because this part of Brecksville Rd. is so gorgeous. Gimme a break. 

 

These are the same ppl that live in cookie cutter subdivisions and see no problem with Ryan Homes coming in and building crap homes.  

 

I'd love to see these residents threaten to leave and go to...Solon lol

Edited March 31, 20214 yr by GISguy

It actually is a nice area of Brecksville, though not the most posh in all the town.  - Nice living and lots of fresh air if you can afford it there.

I can appreciate that the folk who live on Westview, which runs parallel to Parkview, will desire that the residential scale of single family homes is not interrupted above the treeline by a residential or office tower.

If the tower moved further back off of Parkview it won't be visible above the treeline from people's windows at home and I'm sure their objections will evaporate. 

I expect Brecksville and residents will prevail on this one.  It's not like these isn't a mega-amount of acreage for the developers to move things around a bit.

Brecksville homeowners pay Hella property taxes so their representatives are responsive. They for sure don't want someone on a distant balcony overlooking their garden parties.

 

It's a middle-schoolers & soccer kind of town. If the folk on Westview Rd. in Brecksville want to view a commercial structure from the front bay-windows of their 1950s ramblers or split level colonials, they know where buy another home and have that.

...And, they would have done so years ago.  Go Bees Gymnastics!

 

.

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 20214 yr by ExPatClevGuy

1 hour ago, ExPatClevGuy said:

It actually is a nice area of Brecksville, though not the most posh in all the town.  - Nice living and lots of fresh air if you can afford it there.

I can appreciate that the folk who live on Westview, which runs parallel to Parkview, will desire that the residential scale of single family homes is not interrupted above the treeline by a residential or office tower.

If the tower moved further back off of Parkview it won't be visible above the treeline from people's windows at home and I'm sure their objections will evaporate. 

I expect Brecksville and residents will prevail on this one.  It's not like these isn't a mega-amount of acreage for the developers to move things around a bit.

Brecksville homeowners pay Hella property taxes so their representatives are responsive. They for sure don't want someone on a distant balcony overlooking their garden parties.

 

It's a middle-schoolers & soccer kind of town. If the folk on Westview Rd. in Brecksville want to view a commercial structure from the front bay-windows of their 1950s ramblers or split level colonials, they know where buy another home and have that.

...And, they would have done so years ago.  Go Bees Gymnastics!

 

.

 

 

 

 

My mistake, I was thinking this was going on the Miller Rd. side so a bit of an overreaction on my part. But at the same time what the heck do these people expect from an R&D and Crocker-esque development in their backyards? Even if it isn't 5 stories, it's not going to be the VA part two, this is a major development. But you have a point about them moving things around (still wouldn't mind if they gave up and came back to Cleveland though lol).

 

When thinking about this stretch, I'm moreso thinking about the commercial/industrial across the street/near the site, wasn't really thinking about those properties on Westview.

 

In conclusion: the VA site should be turned into an extension of Brecksville Reservation and everything should move to Cleveland. Problem solved. lol

interesting part here is that the Valor Acres site is now combined with the former Dalad parcel along I-77 and is now about 190 acres.  SW is planning to take all of it and sit their facility right in the middle surrounded by nothing.  No adjacent office buildings, maybe a small hotel.  I think the plans for a grocery and modest retail have all gone away.  Looks like Digeronimo's are left trying to squeeze their ancillary development into this back corner because that's all that's left for them.  Not really a great move by Brecksville allowing this all to go this way...

 

Edit:  The site plan here, scroll down, is nowhere near accurate any longer.  https://www.valoracres.com/

 

Edited April 15, 20214 yr by gottaplan

On 2/27/2020 at 12:32 PM, Cleburger said:

I don't disagree, but better Brecksville (a former employment center)  than moving out of the county entirely into farmland.  At least this shouldn't require any significant highway infrastructure to service it.  

Miller Road is only half interchange currently and will become full interchange.  City of Brecksville already working on the engineering.  

I think SHW should forget about Brecksville and put their R&D on Scranton Peninsula as they originally planned. Or, move it to MidTown. Or if they want the suburbs, move it to the Van Aken District (not far from SHW Automotive) and use the Blue Line to go back and forth.

4 minutes ago, KJP said:

I think SHW should forget about Brecksville and put their R&D on Scranton Peninsula as they originally planned. Or, move it to MidTown. Or if they want the suburbs, move it to the Van Aken District (not far from SHW Automotive) and use the Blue Line to go back and forth.

With the pushback from Brecksville folk (and SHW's nature), I wonder what the chances are of something like this- 1-5%? I know R&D is going to be compound-ish, but I can't imagine employees being happy about working in a place with very limited amenities (vs what was first envisioned), especially coming from Breen where you can walk out the door and have all the city options at your disposal.

I can't imagine it's a real possibility, and I think it's just going to lead to a huge off topic diversion of the thread.

the development agreements are all signed, incentive deals are inked and the building design is underway.  Brecksville has a zoning amendment on the ballot for may 4th for this parcel.  It's moving forward.

It will be interesting see the R&D employee retention rate in the coming years.

Brecksville Planning Commission says 5-story apartment building too tall for Residences at Valor Acres

Bob Sandrick - Cleveland.com - Apr. 27, 2021

 

 

"Planning Commission members are continuing to ask the developer of Valor Acres to scale down a proposed five-story apartment building that’s part of a residential subdivision within the 190-acre mixed-use development. ... Kevin DiGeronimo, principal of DiGeronimo Development, said the height of the apartment building is “a sensitive topic.” He said that under the existing Valor Acres zoning, he could have placed an even taller office building with no zoning variances on the same site, but instead agreed to build residential units that would serve as a smoother transition between Westview and commercial buildings in Valor Acres."

"Valor Acres" is such a corn-pone name.  🙄

Maybe “Vertical Aggrievances” would be better. 

1 hour ago, gruver said:

"Valor Acres" is such a corn-pone name.  🙄

100%
Good name for a cemetery tho.

Edited April 29, 20214 yr by ExPatClevGuy

Brecksville Planning Commission gives preliminary approval to Residences at Valor Acres

Bob Sandrick - Cleveland.com - May 4, 2021

 

 

"The city Planning Commission has approved a preliminary plan for Residences at Valor Acres, an upscale subdivision proposed for the mixed-use Valor Acres development at Brecksville and Miller roads. ... DiGeronimo said he would agree only to make cosmetic changes to the plan moving ahead. ... DiGeronimo said the biggest change, made since his last appearance before the commission two weeks earlier, was reducing from five to four the number of stories on the north side of the apartment building closest to Westview."

This is pure comedy 🤣 So they make a tiny change, lose three units, move townhomes all for Westview Dr. The net impact is exactly the same. Does anyone know if the development is taking away all of the existing trees that will act as a buffer? 

Edited May 6, 20214 yr by jjames0408

Has anyone seen an updated site plan? I haven't kept up on this development since the SHW announced their new R&D center would go to Brecksville and I thought it was entirely separate from Valor Acres. This thread just brought me up to speed that SHW just outright bought most of the land from DeGeronimo; so what should we be expecting from Valor Acres?? Seems like Sherwin owns the lion's share of the land and there isn't much space left over for anything else. 

 

I was hoping SHW would stay downtown with everyone else but glad they stayed in the county and Brecksville could use some juice to develop the old VA hospital land. Seems like now we are just going to get another Lubrizol / corporate park with nothing benefitting the community. 

The tax revenue doesn't help the community?

It could be a benefit that its ends up only SW there. In this already over retailed metro with dead and dying shopping centers, do we really need yet another new exurban lifestyle center? I don't think so.

The tax revenue will definitely help the community.  The school district is overjoyed at the boost they will see, even with the reduced tax rate.  

 

The other supporting amenities will be minor.  From all the meetings I've seen, it's basically a hotel/conference center, a niche grocery store (rumored to be Mustard Seed) and a handful of upscale fast casual lunch/dinner spots.  

 

https://www.digestfeed.com/article/recksville-voters-to-decide-in-may-whether-to-rezone-land-for-sherwin-williams-r-d-center-in-valor-acres - 

"In October, Sherwin-Williams bought about 119 acres of land in Valor Acres from DiGeronimo Development LLC, the Valor Acres developer."  

"The Sherwin-Williams site will make up about 63 percent of the 188-acre Valor Acres. Mayor Jerry Hruby no other tenants have yet been signed."

"DiGeronimo has purchased a separate 25-acre section of Valor Acres from the city for $1.2 million. The land is in the southeast corner of Valor Acres, fronting Miller at Brecksville Road. The city still owns the remaining 45 acres of Valor Acres."

https://www.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2021/07/sherwin-williams-details-plans-for-119-acre-brecksville-campus-with-600000-square-foot-building-on-former-va-site.html
 

First look at SHW R&D. Looks nice but at the same time it’s a typical boring suburban office complex. Still wish that it was on Scranton Penisula but o well. 

Edited July 28, 20213 yr by cle_guy90
Sorry posted this in the wrong thread please move or delete.

Scranton Peninsula may have accidentally benefited by failing to land SW's R&D facility, given the size and scale of this project.  I envision SP as a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, walkable neighborhood.  This R&D facility would take up a lot of space and need a lot of parking.  Such an institutional facility could've really killed any vibrancy on the Peninsula.  Seeing how reluctant SW is to put street-level retail in their building downtown, I'd imagine they would be even less likely to have any in R&D facility in an emerging neighborhood.  Hopefully something better can be built on the Peninsula.

On 7/28/2021 at 10:38 PM, ryanfrazier said:

Scranton Peninsula may have accidentally benefited by failing to land SW's R&D facility, given the size and scale of this project.  I envision SP as a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, walkable neighborhood.  This R&D facility would take up a lot of space and need a lot of parking.  Such an institutional facility could've really killed any vibrancy on the Peninsula.  

agreed.  The presenter basically said they wanted to be a set back facility and not interact with the public.  Looks like they got what they wanted.

**Edit**

 

My bad, missed the "Brecksville: Sherwin-Williams Research & Development Center" thread. Moved comment there:

Welp.. at least still Cuyahoga County.  And this picture was taken from CCM’s lot so we can call it a wash.

Shoulda been in the Flats. 

3 minutes ago, cadmen said:

Shoulda been in the Flats. 

 

I get what you're saying but at the same time I don't think the flats would be a good home for a locked down R&D facility.

 

There were definitely plenty of options in the city, and at least it's in the county, but I totally get your overall point.

48 minutes ago, GISguy said:

 

I get what you're saying but at the same time I don't think the flats would be a good home for a locked down R&D facility.

 

There were definitely plenty of options in the city, and at least it's in the county, but I totally get your overall point.

 

Once SW decided the tech center could be separate from the HQ, there was no way it was going to be in the city.  Had they not separated them, the whole thing might have ended up in the suburbs.   Security, potential nuisance smells, 24 hour operations.....there's a reason these type of places don't tend to be in downtown skyscrapers.   IIRC, the company was quite honest about wanting some distance between their R&D and the general public.

On 5/5/2021 at 11:35 AM, NorthShore647 said:

Brecksville Planning Commission gives preliminary approval to Residences at Valor Acres

Bob Sandrick - Cleveland.com - May 4, 2021

 

 

"The city Planning Commission has approved a preliminary plan for Residences at Valor Acres, an upscale subdivision proposed for the mixed-use Valor Acres development at Brecksville and Miller roads. ... DiGeronimo said he would agree only to make cosmetic changes to the plan moving ahead. ... DiGeronimo said the biggest change, made since his last appearance before the commission two weeks earlier, was reducing from five to four the number of stories on the north side of the apartment building closest to Westview."

 

Brecksville is one of what I call the "borderlands" suburbs, along with Walton Hills, the Nordonia burbs, Hinckley, Richfield, etc.  They don't particularly identify with Cleveland or Akron.   Down there, the way the most vehement urban advocate enunciates the word "sprawl" is the way they say "density".

Their R&D is Currently IN THE CITY and in the flats.  Right in the shadow of skyscrapers.  

Plus they wanted it on the Scranton Peninsula.

If it HAD been placed on the Scranton Peninsula it would have built out that area immediately rather than the city having to wait as other developers filled it in at their pace. That probably would have kickstarted more development as placing a large number of well paid employees there would have added  potential customers for bars/restaurants and housing. Having the facility on the peninsula would have then made the remaining Flats area more valuable as there is a finite amount of land there. And finally it would have added to the tax base.

Assuming Scranton-Averill Inc. would return phone calls.

17 hours ago, mack34 said:

Their R&D is Currently IN THE CITY and in the flats.  Right in the shadow of skyscrapers.  

 

VA allows them more space and flexibility.

 

I don't know how many research scientists you know, but I'm not so sure density and vibrancy are positives for many of them.   They don't tend to be "people people", like marketing and artistic types often are.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

Assuming Scranton-Averill Inc. would return phone calls.

 

I can't shake the feeling that they think due diligence would uncover something that would decrease the value of that property.   

Then SHW wouldn't have called. Instead it was S-A that didn't return calls. And that's not uncommon for S-A, from others who have inquired about their properties.

 I believe one of SHW's requirements was the ability to expand the R&D facility in the future.  That might have been a problem with any of the potential sites in Cleveland.

8 hours ago, KJP said:

Then SHW wouldn't have called. Instead it was S-A that didn't return calls. And that's not uncommon for S-A, from others who have inquired about their properties.

 

Do they have loans on the property?   They may know or suspect something that purchaser due diligence would discover that would lower its value.

On 8/27/2021 at 12:43 PM, NorthShore647 said:

**Edit**

 

My bad, missed the "Brecksville: Sherwin-Williams Research & Development Center" thread. Moved comment there:

 

Scroll back on this and you'll see that Scranton was almost a done deal, then all of a sudden it wasn't.   And there has been no movement there since.    Something is up with that property.

3 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Do they have loans on the property?   They may know or suspect something that purchaser due diligence would discover that would lower its value.

I’m not following this line of thought. If they aren’t selling anyway, wouldn’t they WANT the value to be lower (to reduce property tax)? The only reason a lower value would be a bad thing is if they wanted to sell. And if they want to sell at some point, whatever bad thing you are alluding to would eventually come out during that process. 
 

I suppose if they are using it as collateral for future loans to generate some cash they might want to keep the value higher. But I’m not sure if the math works out on that. 

13 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

VA allows them more space and flexibility.

 

I don't know how many research scientists you know, but I'm not so sure density and vibrancy are positives for many of them.   They don't tend to be "people people", like marketing and artistic types often are.

 

I worked at Breen years ago. I Never got the impression there was an overabundance of anti-social types. If that's what you're getting at. Plenty of people went out after work, also a majority would go up, into the city for lunch. There was a group of guys I knew that, without fail used their lunch everyday to go to the strip clubs (the old east bank ones).

Edited August 11, 20222 yr by viscomi

6 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Scroll back on this and you'll see that Scranton was almost a done deal, then all of a sudden it wasn't.   And there has been no movement there since.    Something is up with that property.

Do the have NFA's from OEPA on these properties?  Wasn't sure.  If not they probably can't get an underwriter to craft a policy to tack onto the agreement.

Brecksville council approves pre-dawn start time for Sherwin-Williams construction site

 

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/08/brecksville-council-approves-pre-dawn-start-time-for-sherwin-williams-construction-site.html

Any news on the I-77/Miller Rd. interchange?