Sorry - but I remember reading in Crains about some tech group that planned to move into the space. This was probably at least a few years ago and it sounded like the idea fell through - so why a banner now?

The banner is on the floor by the window. I assumed that they were going to hang it up since it appeared there after the building was sold, however since net 11 went under I suspect that the banner was already in the building and the new owners just threw it in that corner.

GCP posted the video.  Check it out. 

 

http://www.webcastgroup.com/webcast/window_new/frameset.asp?WebcastID=2190

 

 

Cool video - nice narration by Jimmy Malone, at least I think that was him. 

 

About 3 and a half minutes in, the presentation uses a color-coded map to show completed, in progress, and future construction projects.  Where they placed green, or "Future", placemarks is quite interesting, as I don't recognize some of the developments as having been announced or even proposed (one being on Scranton Peninsula, but not in the location of Ferchill's proposed development).  Is this is just very optimistic thinking on GCP's part or do they know something that the general public (or UrbanOhioans for that matter) do not?  Thoughts?

I haven't seen the full video yet, but I will assume that future development prospects are speculative.  They may have good reason for putting them there, but if you look back at the planning documents of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, Cleveland Tomorrow or even the City Planning Commission, you'll find images, site plans and proposed projects in published documents that would blow your mind.  I stumbled across one today from the late 1980s that had office towers all over the place and housing throughout Scranton Peninsula and the Flats.  Developers, square footages, project costs, etc. were all listed, but the vast majority of them went the way of the dodo. 

 

We've always been ambitious here, in terms of making big plans, but many of these will never see the light of day...

^I think that was Tower Citiy's Riverview phase.

 

Well, FC still holds most of the cards on Scranton

There was tons in there, from a series of towers on the Huron side of Tower City, to housing on the peninsula, to office towers east of Erieview (built by Jacobs on the current Avenue District lots), to towers where the city-owned garages are north of City Hall and North Point...and on and on. 

 

The one area where they weren't particularly progressive with their vision was on the port property north of the Warehouse District.  That was still dominated by port structures and expansion.  North of Cleveland Browns Stadium (which was still Municipal Stadium in the plans), however, were residential towers...  Oh, and the Rock Hall was on Huron next to Tower City.

I just watched the video that StrangeBrew has a link to.  Its worth the time, a nice summary of what is going on.  It was interesting the projects they chose to highlight, such as the condo tower on top of 515 Euclid.

Very nice video...funny how they didn't mention the $800m Innerbelt project...perhaps they believe it'll do more harm than good?

They mentioned it, but just in passing.  They didn't show any graphics of it either.

I figured they didnot show anything because it is all still in the planning phase. That is, there are to many unknown variables at this point as compared to the other projects.

I'm really ready to see the University Circle arts and retail district. It is way overdue. Going to Miami University and living in a college town myself right now, I just can't understand what the problem is with CWRU and CSU for that matter.

 

Coming back to school, I stopped in Columbus to check out their downtown. I hadn't been there in a about year. High Street in Columbus is a lot like Euclid in that it connects downtown with the university district, and they are both essentially the main streets of the city.

 

High Street looks great, especially in the past year. Now High Street isn't as long as Euclid, and OSU is much much bigger than CWRU so it is a little easier for them to pack High Street with new developments and make it vibrant in a short amount of time, but Euclid still has all this potential, and I think more so than High Street in Columbus. First of all downtown Cleveland employs a heck of a lot more people than downtown Columbus, and intuitively I believe all the institutions in University Circle and the Cleveland Clinic combined make University Circle a much more powerful force than OSU. You also have CSU and Playhouse Square on Euclid. Where are the developments to support all this in Cleveland? I don't think the city and developers are really seeing thee potential here. More emphasis is on the Flats, E4th, Steelyard Commons, the convention center, and other things which are all wonderful, but the fastest way to really pump more life in the city is on Euclid Avenue and I don't think it is being approached with much priority.

 

I am really hoping that it is the construction of the silver line that is holding these developments back until it is finished. But it would be really nice to see things happen in simultaneously with the silver line instead of subsequentially.

 

Has anyone else been to the Short North and driven down High Street between Columbus and OSU and have any thoughts? Now i still think Columbus is way overrated and not as interesting as Cleveland. In Cleveland we have numerous

neighborhoods like Warehouse District, Ohio City, Tremont, Little Italy, Gateway

and Coventry. Columbus' High Street is really just a combination of all these districts, and there isn't really a whole lot else in Columbus,

but the result is a pretty vibrant and attractive thoroughfare.

Vulpster, I appreciate your viewpoint, as this is how I've felt about Cleveland for years...so much potential, so why aren't thinks happening more readily?

 

Well, specific to Euclid Avenue, I think we are going to see the type of development that we are envisioning over the next 10 years.  (Check out the Euclid Corridor thread for more on this.)  The meeting last week of real estate and university interest groups along the corridor was all optimism.  The development potential is there and everyone on the panel, from Gordon Priemer (developer) to Jim Haviland (Midtown) spoke with great expectation about the project and its ability to spur private investment along Euclid Avenue.  Priemer is already working on at least two buildings at Euclid at 44th, so he's putting his money where his mouth is...I believe others will as well!

The Cleveland Planning Commission gave final approval for the Liberty at St. Clair, a joint development of EDEN, Inc. and the Cleveland Housing Network. It is a four story building located at 10000 St. Clair Avenue with 72 units ranging in size from 330 to 380 sq. ft. It is "supportive housing project for single adults in critical need of housing and in danger of being homeless." There will be a community space with kitchen, computer classrooms, multi-purpose living spaces, laundry room, case manager offices and 24 hour front desk security.

Project cost: $10,000,000

Architect: Weese Langley Weese

Construction to start in Summer

Too bad they had to throw in the little setback and put the entrance on the side of the building.  It won't fit the context of the street, which is mostly built up to the sidewalk with front entrances.

Another dead-at-the-sidewalk building. Geez, just a coffee nook would do wonders.

Priemer is actually building a brand new building in MidTown.... when's the last time that happened??  Haviland is an excellent cheerleader, but what has really happened there?  The Midtown tech center that was hyped for so long still sit vacant.  I'd love to see all this become a reality, but it's going to take A LONG time.

Priemer is actually building a brand new building in MidTown.... when's the last time that happened??  Haviland is an excellent cheerleader, but what has really happened there?  The Midtown tech center that was hyped for so long still sit vacant.  I'd love to see all this become a reality, but it's going to take A LONG time.

 

The federal government loans that were to make the MidTown tech center possible have been pulled back by the Bush administration. 

^ Was that the result of a locally generated request or did the Bush administration decide this on their own?

The present administration decided that it would change the interpretation of wording in the loan program. This wording change appears to remove the MidTown tech center's eligibility for the program. There is some gray area, but the developer doesn't want to risk it.

Here are a few smaller, random projects I thought I'd go ahead and add to the mix:

 

 

Church project gains momentum

Garfield-Maple Sun, 3/2/06

The project called St. Wenceslas Senior Apartments is on a fast track...

 

---

Neighbors rally against plans for Stoneridge Place

Sun Messenger, 3/2/06

Residents continue to band together against developer Augusto Mastronardi's proposed 16-unit housing development between Trebisky and Ammon roads...

 

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Mentor schools get $1 million gift for stadium

Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/15/06

The football stadium at the state's largest high school is about to get a serious upgrade.

 

Mentor schools officials Tuesday night accepted a donation in excess of $1 million from Rick Osborne Sr., a city resident and Lake County's most prolific property developer...

 

---

Fairway view for seniors?: Units sought near club

Solon Herald Sun, 3/16/06

A Cleveland engineering firm has proposed a senior citizens golf-course community just east of Hawthorne Valley County Club on Aurora Road...

 

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Wargo Farm may finally be made into city park

Garfield-Maple Sun, 3/23/06

After two decades of lying dormant, the 48-acre former Wargo Farm property may soon start taking shape as a long-envisioned showcase city park...

 

---

Donation to parks changes the priorities on projects

Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/26/06

The Cleveland Metroparks are not for sale to the whims of deep-pocketed donors, park leaders say...

 

---

City seeks developer for old packing plant

The News Sun, 3/30/06

It seems to be a familiar question for city officials: When will something be done with that old building on West Bagley Road?

 

New to the neighborhood

Developer lands former West Side YMCA, plans condo, townhouse revitalization

 

James Sosan has purchased the old West Side YMCA, at 3200 Franklin Blvd., and plans to turn it into condos and townhouses. He bought the property for $550,000.

Photo credit: MARC GOLUB 

 

By STAN BULLARD

 

6:00 am, April 3, 2006

 

The new owner of the former West Side YMCA plans a $6 million project to convert the landmark to 18 condominiums and seven townhouses.

 

Fantastic news on the YMCA property!  This will be a boost to the neighborhood and adjacent properties.  Is the same in store for the West Side Community House on 30th & Bridge?  This is arguably and even better location and the "for sale" signs have been down for over a month now...

Not a huge project but certainly on a significant site. The clothier located in the building on the southwest corner of West 104th and Clifton has submitted plans to move into the former gas station that's sat vacant at the intersection of Lake, Clifton, and the Shoreway. From the city of Cleveland's Landmarks Commission site:

 

 

 

 

On a side note - also from the Landmarks Commission site, Flannerys and Pickwick/Frolic want to install sidewalk patios.

That's good to hear about Christophier's, I saw the clearance sale signs and I was afraid they were going out of business, but it sounds like they are expanding.  It will be nice to see that vacant site utilized.  Hopefully their old location won't sit empty for long.

 

And as to the E. 4th sidewalk patios, there is actually a lot more to those plans if it can be worked out with the city, but I am not sure whether any of it is public knowledge yet, so I won't say anymore except keep your eyes open for some really cool stuff going on on E. 4th this summer.

Glad to see something's going in there, and that it's not a chain or another gas station. Though I had dreams that an historic-looking brick townhouse or three would be put there, overlooking Edgewater Park. But I can't complain.

While its a small parcel, in many ways it is the introduction to the west side that is given to shoreway commuters.  It has set a bad tone for how one interprets the rest of the Clifton corridor. I am very glad to see that it will be improved.

CRAIN'S CLEVELAND, April 10

Euclid Ave. housing in works Plan would transform stretch into $32M, 160-unit complex

 

By JAY MILLER

 

A nearly barren stretch of low-rise office buildings on Euclid Avenue between East Ninth Street and Playhouse Square would go residential under plans being hatched by a local investor and his partners.

 

That's a lot more units than I had expected.

Once the ECTP is finished, the County gets started and this project moves forward, this stretch of Euclid will be in great shape.  While the Avenue is a great project, this project does a lot more for Cleveland.  I am sick of giving tours that conveniently avoid this stretch of Euclid.  This project could do a lot to improve the image that our downtown projects.  Let's hope that Mr. Mann breaks ground soon.

^ I know everyone hates to talk about parking, but i'm not sure how this will be able to support ample parking for 160 units.  There are a few surface spots behind the buildings, and it is possible that they could do a ramp into a basement, similar to Barn Ct. (behind Huron).  The Statler garage is pretty full between Statler and CAC, and I would think that there would have to be at least 100 or 120 spots minimum to make this development viable. 

The buildings go all the way through to Chester, so there's potentially some room somewhere on the lower floors or in a basement (?) for some parking.  Otherwise, there are tons of garages around (Huntington, Statler, etc.) and this will be built on the convenience of the transit connections, so hopefully we can knock down that parking spaces per unit ratio. 

 

It's an unfortunate, but still necessary issue to solve.

The buildings go all the way through to Chester, so there's potentially some room somewhere on the lower floors or in a basement (?) for some parking. 

 

These buildings only go halfway through the block.  There is a service alley between these buildings and the Huntington Buildings that front Chester.  I suppose that anything is possible, but I don't think there is enough space to have any viable parking on the 1st floor and retail fronting Euclid.  The Statler deck can apparently support a few more levels added to the top, but this would be costly.

 

I'd love to see it get to a point where you didn't need a car in Cleveland, but with the current location of many employers and access to public transit,  I don't see this coming soon.  I think the developers will find this out as they try and get approvals for this. 

 

I always thought these buildings would make great 1 floor condos at around 3500 sq feet per floor, they would make some amazing spaces.  As is, the back of the buildings overlook dumpsters and a 20 foot wide alley. 

Perhaps the Huntington garage is the solution.

 

With this development, it's too bad the vacant building next to the old Cleveland Trust rotunda can't be saved for housing. It's a neat building and would help create that ol' planning maxim of "critical mass" for Euclid Avenue.

Once the ECTP is finished, the County gets started and this project moves forward, this stretch of Euclid will be in great shape.  While the Avenue is a great project, this project does a lot more for Cleveland.  I am sick of giving tours that conveniently avoid this stretch of Euclid.  This project could do a lot to improve the image that our downtown projects.  Let's hope that Mr. Mann breaks ground soon.

 

I definately agree. While I am really excited about the Avenue District I am much more excited about a project that addresses a blighted area. On another note imagine if UHHS does move those 600+ jobs down to 668 Euclid Ave.

^While we're talking about dreams for lower Euclid, I think the City Club building would be an amazing residential address, rather than B office space.  They would have to strip off the ugly attached building and do a power washing, but I think it would be a prestigious address.  Also, they could add a gym that could be used both by members and residents.

The city club addition is hideous, but I dont see it ever coming down. Does anyone know if there are plans for the building directly next to the future county offices. It's the second building to the east of the trust rotunda.

 

In regards to 668 Euclid, I would much rather see a residential conversion. UH could occupy part of the May Co. or Higbee building. Those buildings are too large to be entirely converted to residential and maybe UH could spur some kind of mixed use development. 668 is big, but it seems reasonable to convert it entirely to apartments/ condos.I remeber reading somewhere that Goldberg devised a plan for 668 that would involve about 200 apartments and indoor parking.

 

 

Could this project after installation create any hindrence to extending the waterfront and bringing it south to create a downtown light rail loop? I really wish there would be more developers calling for this plan and working around a transit proposal when planning their developments on the east part of downtown.

it's too bad the vacant building next to the old Cleveland Trust rotunda can't be saved for housing.

 

Do you know that this is a given, or are you making an assumption?  I don't see why the county couldn't spin it off to a private developer and build their offices on the Bruer building site only.

^ Everything that has come out of the county thus far says that's their intention. I'd like to see them sell it off for housing, but they would have to be convinced of it. They didn't buy it for that purpose, but I wonder why the properties they have acquired along East 9th wouldn't be sufficient for the large floor spaces they want in their tower (not to mention their parking needs -- keeping or expanding the deck south of Huron/Prospect.

These buildings only go halfway through the block.

 

Hmmm...as I look at the City's GIS server, I see that this is, indeed, the case.  Interesting, though, because Mr. Mann told me that part of the allure of this site was the rear entrance on Chester.  Perhaps he meant through the alley? 

 

My impression from what he told me was that they would combine the floor plates of these buildings and convert upper floors to condos and the first floor+ to retail...perhaps to a single retailer.  I think he said something like 35k square feet per floor.  He said that the retailer could have Euclid and Chester visibility.  Now I'm confused!

This was a little feature on WCPN about people moving downtown from the suburbs.

It interviews a guy who just moved into the Pinnacle, and they talk about the particular demographic of empty nesters and the market for downtown living. Interestingly it talks about Park Center (what is now Reserve Square) in the 1960s and Paul Volpe was interviewed a bit. It sounds like they might be trying to redesign Reserve Square, and possibly make significant exterior changes to it.

 

http://www.wcpn.org/mc/vault/radio_features/0413tradingDowntown.html

 

 

There is another feature touching on issues with Thomas Bier who explains why schools don't matter for downtown, and the demographic attracted to downtown.

He projects downtown is 25% on the way to being fully vibrant.

 

http://www.wcpn.org/mc/vault/audio/0412bier.mp3

Thanks for the links. Nice to hear these stories are getting told.

This was a little feature on WCPN about people moving downtown from the suburbs.

It interviews a guy who just moved into the Pinnacle, and they talk about the particular demographic of empty nesters and the market for downtown living. Interestingly it talks about Park Center (what is now Reserve Square) in the 1960s and Paul Volpe was interviewed a bit. It sounds like they might be trying to redesign Reserve Square, and possibly make significant exterior changes to it.

 

http://www.wcpn.org/mc/vault/radio_features/0413tradingDowntown.html

 

 

There is another feature touching on issues with Thomas Bier who explains why schools don't matter for downtown, and the demographic attracted to downtown.

He projects downtown is 25% on the way to being fully vibrant.

 

http://www.wcpn.org/mc/vault/audio/0412bier.mp3

 

There are quite a few apartments that should convert into "purchase" downtown.  Reserve Square and the Chesterfield are wonderful buildings.  Having some "for purchase" units would do wonders for the area.  Thank goodness RS is going to sell, some for purchase units.   The statler should do the same thing, as they have some nice units as well.

The Statler, as well as many WHD buildings, will be converted to for-sale units, but many of the tax credits that they used to finance their construction have restrictions on them.  Specifically, the units must remain rentals for 15 years. 

They've put a banner up on the future Fantasy One night club at Prospect & Huron...it's now set to open in July.

 

from page 7 of this thread:

 

 

The new nightclub/restaurant is expected to be open early during the week to feed business people and late night for club goers. (6:00 AM – 2:00 AM) There will be a video game arcade on the first floor and bar/nightclub on the second floor and mezzanine. The is to be decorative lighting on the outside that is to give the feeling of effervescence to those on the street.

 

Fantasy One Night Club should be open by the middle of June.

The Statler, as well as many WHD buildings, will be converted to for-sale units, but many of the tax credits that they used to finance their construction have restrictions on them.  Specifically, the units must remain rentals for 15 years. 

 

15 years??  Get the phuck outta here!  That's insane but hey....rules are rules

Low Income Housing Tax Credits have this requirement so that a developer can't just take the free money and then price it out of reach of this large share of the immediate market.  If they have enough upper-income buyers to support the project without this subsidy, then they can forgo the LIHTC and go right to for-sale!

They've put a banner up on the future Fantasy One night club at Prospect & Huron...it's now set to open in July.

 

A developing website is available too. It includes some renderings. I have to say, the exterior judging by the rendering looks fantastic. I don't think we have seen this effect on any downtown entertainment venues before.

 

http://www.fantasy-one.com/index.html

 

After this summer with all the new opennings on E.4th and Prospect I wonder what will happen to the Warehouse District.

They've put a banner up on the future Fantasy One night club at Prospect & Huron...it's now set to open in July.

 

A developing website is available too. It includes some renderings. I have to say, the exterior judging by the rendering looks fantastic. I don't think we have seen this effect on any downtown entertainment venues before.

 

http://www.fantasy-one.com/index.html

 

After this summer with all the new opennings on E.4th and Prospect I wonder what will happen to the Warehouse District.

 

There is the market for both, Gateway is more "disney/touristy" then the WHD.  As more and more people migrate to the WHD. 

 

Once more New build housing goes up in the Gateway area...the area will change again...its evolution.