From the last page of KJPs posted link:

 

Side street or not, it's not like the area is lacking in parking :whip:

 

From the Board of Zoning Appeals:

"9:30 Calendar No. 06-5: 1031 Superior Avenue Ward 13 The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, owner, and William Hudson, agent, appeal to demolish an existing 10-story structure and establish in its place a parking lot for 106 spaces, proposed to be situated on an acreage parcel between Superior Avenue and Rockwell Avenue in a Semi-Industry District at 1031 Superior Avenue; where the proposed project is located within a designated downtown area district, and Section 349.14(d) requires City Planning Commission approval where the establishment of a surface parking lot is prohibited by the Regulations of Section 349.14, although the Board of Zoning Appeals may grant a variance, but only if it determines that denial of the variance would deprive the property owner of all reasonable economic use of the subject property, as stated in Section 349.14(g) of the of the Codified Ordinances."

 

*EDIT* Whoever asked about the Montana Townhomes - they have 3 units left, according to Progressive Urban.

what a crock!  this beautiful church is already surrounded by parking garages...why should they need to build a parking lot in addition to all that???  I just don't get it.  Also, there's a reason why the City has the right (and obligation) to block certain things...like demolition of a 10-story building for parking.  Two years from now, the market could shift and the building could be a viable rehab project.  Instead, it's going to settle in as a slab of ass-fault and they're never going to want to relinquish it for something more productive.  Maybe I should go pray for a better solution.

"the building could be a viable rehab project."

 

I don't know about that, the building's not terribly remarkable - but I think it's ridiculous that they would allow the demolition without subsequent plans for redevelopment into something other than a surface lot.

Well, that's the main point, but still, you can't rule out the possibility that a 10-story building has some inherent potential as a rehab.  I know that there were issues with the design of the building (1/2 floors and what not) and that there was asbestos and so on, but when we continue to say that it's ok to knock down 10 stories for none, we're setting an awful precedent.

I heard from an acquaintance familiar with Zaremba that about half of the first phase of construction (for the Avenue District) already has reservations.  Anyone been to their sales office yet?

 

Also, I just saw on there email that they have plans for some serious street signage:

"One logo application that really excites us is the proposed plan for polished steel cast signage that will arc across St. Clair, welcoming passers-by to The Avenue District."

 

The city should do that for ChinaTown since no ones knows where that is...

 

I heard from an acquaintance familiar with Zaremba that about half of the first phase of construction (for the Avenue District) already has reservations.  Anyone been to their sales office yet?

 

Also, I just saw on there email that they have plans for some serious street signage:

"One logo application that really excites us is the proposed plan for polished steel cast signage that will arc across St. Clair, welcoming passers-by to The Avenue District."

 

The city should do that for ChinaTown since no ones knows where that is...

 

 

OC1,

 

Welcome to UrbanOhio!  And thanks for the great news about The Avenue!  I hope your source heard correcctly about the presales.

 

Welcome OC1...That would be fantastic news about the Avenue District pre-sales.  And if they truly have done this well in a one-month period, the remaining projects throughout Downtown should take a page from their book when planning out their own marketing strategies.  Or just hire the same firms!

 

As for signage...the branding of a neighborhood can do wonders for its self-esteem and identity.  It could add to the allure of a successful neighborhood in attracting residents, retailers and future developers.  Can't wait to see the progress!

 

Also, the Chinatown identity issue is being worked on.  From a recent PD article from Jesse Tinsley: 

 

"Next month, 25 hand-painted fiberglass hounds will go up across Cleveland's Chinatown to celebrate the Year of the Dog on the lunar calendar.

 

"Modeled after the stylized rock guitars scattered across the city a few years ago, the dogs - painted by jury-selected local artists - will be mounted on pedestals.

 

"The exhibition is sponsored by the St. Clair Superior Development Corp. and is designed in part to promote this historic, diverse neighborhood, which is in the middle of a quiet renaissance as artists, empty-nesters and young professionals who want to be near downtown move in."

That's awesome about the dogs in ChinaTown.  I wonder if it is more correct to label that area AsianTown? 

Yes, it's been mentioned before.  I'm not sure what the feeling is among the Asian community, but it'd be interesting to find out if there was any feeling of resentment towards the Chinatown label or if there is a feeling that the groups are too distinct to be grouped under a single heading.

That's awesome about the dogs in ChinaTown.  I wonder if it is more correct to label that area AsianTown? 

 

I thought they wanted to name the area "Asian Village", so that it covers all Asian ethnicity's and be unique from other cities "chinatown's"?

A little gossip on the Downtown development front...

 

A little birdie told me today that two properties on Euclid Avenue (1001 & 1015), as well as another one somewhere nearby were sold this week to a new owner who plans to rehab them as "mixed-use" buildings.  What that means is not readily apparent, but I took it to mean that they would be residential/retail. 

 

Acoording to my source, the new owner sees the bright potential of Euclid Avenue and is enthusiastic about being a part of it!  The timeline and details are still very much uncertain, but keep an eye out for a piece in the PD or Crain's in the near future.  Unless the Sun scoops 'em!

That's a good start - here is 1001 Euclid (immediately east of the Huntington Building):

 

But I'd really like to see 1021 Euclid get rehabbed:

According to the County's database, that's the other property!  1001-1015 sold on August 31st for $2.2 million (it sold for $2.5 million in 1980!) and 1021 sold in August for $400k, which is about half of what it sold for in 2001 (it sold for $3 million in 1985!). 

 

On the bright side, the lower sales prices leave more money for redevelopment, but what does this say about property values in Downtown Cleveland?  I know many of them received lower assessments from the County in recent years so that they would owe less tax, but it appears that now it's coming to bite them in the rears when the time comes to sell. 

 

I know that the former owner of the 1001-1015 property is in his 80s and was ready to be out of the business, so that could be a different motivating factor.  Still, $2.2 million is no small chunk of change!

 

ps: thanks for posting those MayDay!

Recently read this on Cleveland.com

 

New York real estate investment company 3M Realty LLC has partnered with Cleveland Heights investor Eli Mann to buy three near-empty office buildings on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

 

The purchase price wasn't disclosed, but Cuyahoga County property records show the buildings, which total about 200,000 square feet, sold for $2.2 million.

 

3M Realty and Mann bought the contiguous buildings, located at 1001, 1007 and 1015 Euclid Ave. next to the Huntington Building, from retired mortgage broker and real estate developer Alvin Siegal. Mann said he plans to redevelop them into mixed-use buildings with condominiums.

 

Joseph Martanovic and Tom Gustafson of Colliers Ostendorf-Morris represented Siegal in the sale. Richard Sheehan of Grubb & Ellis Co. and Don Bain Jr. of Staubach Co. represented the buyers.

 

Mann also recently bought the building at 1021 Euclid Ave., which gives him a four-building block across the street from the old Ameritrust complex, which last year was chosen as the site for a new Cuyahoga County governing center.

Are those two buildings on either side of 1021 Euclid new, or are they merely new facades on old buildings? I ask because most of the older buildings (pre-1920) are in the 4-10 story range, and the only time you see one of them demolished is either for a parking lot or a much larger building. You usually don't see a new building that's similar in size to the older buildings in the area.

 

If they are merely new facades, I would hope the developer strips the facades and either refurbishes what's underneath, or restores it as close to its original style as possible.

Those two buildings are beautiful! I can't wait to see the final renderings. I would imagine with the completion of the ECP only a few years away, that we will start to hear stuff like this in '06. This should be a nice area once these buildings are completed, and the county offices are finished. Hopefully the UHHS deal pulls through and 668 euclid ave. gets a rehab.

Are those two buildings on either side of 1021 Euclid new, or are they merely new facades on old buildings?

 

KJP,  inbetween huntington and 1021 is a facade.  used to look almost identical to the existing 1001 front. 

 

Part of the attractiveness was the available historic tax credits to a new buyer/developer.  Originally asking 3m for 200,000 square feet of space that ALL needs to be renovated, that works out to $15/square foot - a real bargain for a prime property downtown.  At the listed sale price of 2.2m, that works out to $11/square foot.  When Pinnacle is selling condos for upwards of $300/square foot, you can see where the profit potential is. 

 

Unforntunatly, even with reduced sale price, the holding price on this property is significant (property taxes on 3m valuation were 94k/year - and this doesn't include ECP vault assessments and new BID assessment).  That's a lot of money for a building that won't potentially get a street level tenant until ECP is finished, has no structured parking (there are roughly 8 surface spaces in the alley behind), and needs a substantial infusion of cash.

 

BUT, I'm sooooo glad someone finally bought these.  One thing that confuses me is that they haven't put a "sold" sign or taken down the listing sign.  A residential broker would do that right away to take some credit for the sale.  There have also been more lights on during the day on different floors, so I hope they plan to move quickly with whatever they are going to do with this property.

I had the chance to talk to Eli Mann on Friday and we've got an appointment set up for Monday, so I'll have more details afterwards.  All I know at present is that he's bought these properties with plans to turn them into for-sale condos and that this is just the beginning.  He told me that he plans to do a lot more Downtown in the near future!  Amen to that!

 

Also, you may see some non-paying tenants on the ground floor in the coming months.  Courtesy of the Storefront Cleveland Initiative!  Will keep you posted on this as well...

^ Inquiring minds want to know about those bigger plans what "the near future" means!

 

Urbanlife, thanks for the description.

 

 

It is amazing to start watching all the puzzle pieces falling into place (Euclid Corridor, E 4th, The Avenue District, etc.) and without a lot of push from a higher authority such as the city or county.  I hope to see it snowball onto bigger things!

^ Inquiring minds want to know about those bigger plans what "the near future" means!

 

KJP,

I heard that Mann and Stark are teammates in the Midwest  Championship League Bocci ball tournament. ;)

^ Mama mia!

ha, good one Wimwar... I wouldn't be surprised if they were buddies, though.  The development world isn't so huge that they wouldn't have run into each other at some point!

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to bring up Mr. Stark at our meeting on Monday.  The meeting went quite well, though!  Mr. Mann is a gentleman (he bought me and YSOH coffee/tea/muffin) and a developer with a vision. 

 

I am going to practice prudence here and not divulge everything that we talked about (Mann seemed a little peeved that the PD wrote that small piece about the project and I don't want to be that ass that does the same thing!), but rest assured that he has plans on the table and wants to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.  Realistically, in Cleveland, that means that nothing will happen for several months.  But his plans do include a pristine rehab of the ORIGINAL facades (which are gorgeous...he showed us pics!) and to convert the buildings to whatever mix use the market will afford.  That means he's open to ideas.  If a firm comes in and wants two floors, he's not going to turn them away.  But that doesn't mean that the remainder couldn't still be condos.  And naturally, retail is the priority on the ground floor.

 

Basically, the guy loves and believes in the future of Downtown Cleveland and is putting his dollars in the mix to make sure it comes true!

Very cool. I'd be interested in hearing more about this. Please PM me when you get the chance.

I heard that the Ave. District project released pricing.  Anyone seen the list yet?  Is it more Stonebridge or Pinnacle range? 

 

Any word when the East Bank is going to get pricing out?  I assume that may be awhile...

 

Also, I was at the City Club this week to hear Wolstein and Mitchell Schneider talk about their developments.  They said the discussion would be available as a podcast.  It's not posted yet, but check back at: http://www.cityclub.org/content/podcasts/index/Podcasts.aspx

Well, I answered by own question by just going to there website. (sorry) They say:

 

The Avenue District pricing is now available.  Our Elegant Loft pre-construction pricing starts at $232,390.  Our first building features 21 exquisite floor plans ranging from 942 sq. ft. to 2737 sq. ft. at the Penthouse level.  In addition to our pre-construction pricing, the first 10 buyers will receive $10,000 in free custom features!  To secure your place in The Avenue District and for more pricing information, please call our Sales Manager, Frank Lalli at 216.589.8524 or visit our sales office in the Galleria.

 

Here are two from today.  1001-1021 are the three buildings directly to the right of the Huntington Building.  There is one remaining building between them and the Statler Arms (red brick).  I'm not sure who the owner is there.

 

 

That last building is listed as belonging to one Trebmel Construction, Inc.  They've owned it since '83.

I changed the title so you can include various other little (or big) projects in this thread besides downtown.

Does anyone know if the Flats East Bank Neighborhood project will call for any of the old bridges, train, car ect. to be torn down? I hope not there is alot of history there. That also makes the river look pretty cool! Thanks

No bridges will be torn down.

Nice pics of the Huntington. That's one of my favorites(inside and out.) Does anyone know how Huntington Bank was named? Was it just pick a name out of a hat? I heard on the radio yesterday about a guy named Samuel Huntington from Connecticut who was the first President of the United States of the Assembled Congress during the Articles of Confederation. Cleveland being in the Western Reserve, it's plausible that the bank took his name, but that's probably a stretch. Now that i think about it, Huntington may not even be the banks original name. Anybody know anything about that?

That building's original owner was the Union Trust Bank, which built the structure in 1921 or 1924 (can't remember which). Union Trust Bank later became Union Commerce Bank. I couldn't find history on Huntington Bank.

^ i saw it listed as 1923.

New Project on Fulton near St. Rocco's

 

Townhouses bring slice of Italy to area

Thursday, February 16, 2006

By DAVID PLATA

West Side Sun News

 

I was playing around with Google Earth and some of the different layers available on www.googleearthhacks.com the other day and thought it would be cool to create layers that showed the projects underway in Cleveland.  You'd be able to see the new buildings in the Avenue District, Flats East Bank, Stonebridge, etc. rise and become part of the skyline.  Essentially you'd get a preview of what Cleveland might look like in a few years.  Could also imagine a different layer or different color for buildings depending on the year they're likely to be done or coding renovations of existing buildings or how certain the project is to move forward.

 

I'm pretty sure I won't get around to it, so I thought I'd throw it out here - maybe someone's crazy enough to put it together.  (Note: I think you need to buy some more advanced version of Google Earth (Pro?) for like $20/yr in order to add new buildings, etc.) 

 

Any takers?

Re: Envisioning a Future.....

 

Not sure if anybody else has heard this or not, but one of the Downtown organizations (Downtown Cleveland Partnership, I think - but could be wrong)during a meeting of some kind this week, a video using GoogleEarth is being shown with all of the currently proposed projects around Downtown Cleveland. Including the East Bank, CSU, Euclid Corridor, etc.

Does anybody else know about this? I would sure like to see it.

So would I. If you have any luck finding it, please post it (or a leak).

Well, here's a link to WKYC coverage of the event with some clips of the video.  It looks like we'd all enjoy it, though we probably wouldn't learn a whole lot from it.  I don't have audio on this pc, so I can't tell you what everyone's saying in the video...

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=49039

JMC, Thanks for posting that article about the St. Rocco's townhouses. They sound like they'll be great -- dense and built with sturdy materials (if we are to believe the comment about stone and brick).

I have not found the video, but there was a report on it on Channel 3 news the other night. It is nothing like I expected. They use Google Earth , but just the aerials anybody can see. Some of it is shown on the report.

 

You can view the video of the news segment here:

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=20740

 

 

So, Musky posted this on his blog, but I didn't see it until today...

 

Apparently, the theater across the street from the Kent State Urban Design Collaborative that was once planning to house the Second City comedy troupe, will open as a night club by mid-June:

 

from clevelandplanner.blogspot.com:

 

DRC 06-007: 811 Prospect Avenue, Fantasy One Night Club, Renovation and Signage.

The owners are asking for final approval for this property that used to be the site of the former Standard Theater. (approved)

 

From CinemaTreasures.org:

 

This downtown Cleveland theatre, which was sort of out of the way on Prospect Avenue, was mainly a venue for adult pornographic films, although it had shown mainstream films early in its life. The Standard closed in the mid-1980's. The theatre had shown black-oriented action films briefly in the early 1980's.

 

The building that exists there now has been empty ever since it was constructed in the mid 80’s 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.

 

Kuri suggested they test the lighting out first because the streetlights may drown out the special lighting, as is what happened with the lighting for Cleveland Public Art.

 

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

Great to hear something is going in that space, finally.  I wonder if this will nudge out the idea of a cutting edge arcade on East 4th St.

MGD, that theater was actually built by Hilarities in the mid-1990s, which was being moved out of its Warehouse District location by RTA for its offices. Hilarities went belly up before the project was done, and Second City took over to finish the project. They bailed out of it and it has sat empty ever since.

 

I hope this nightclub will make a go of it, but nightclubs being what they are, I suspect it will have a half-dozen names and probably as many owners in the next decade.

I live across the street and always wondered what that building was originally. This leaves me a little confused however. On the ground of the building there is a banner which says "future home of net 11", it has been there for about a month now. Does anyone know what net 11 is?

I always thought it would be a great ESPN Zone.

This is the next best thing, I guess.

And it's locally owned.

One more thing I forgot to post on the blog - immediatly after being approved, the developers submitted their application for construction permits in the appropriate offices at city hall.

Net 11 was another casualty of the dot-com bust.

^So how long has that sign been up?