Folks, I think I've stumbled onto a potential major development for University Circle. As recently as last year, several properties near each other were changing hands but among several different entities. Or at least they appeared to be different. Instead, I think they are the same, and the name of one of the companies gives an indication of what they are attempting to do. Build a City Center for University Circle at Chester Avenue and East 105th Street...

 

For background, read this article:

 

University Circle edge site gets three developer proposals, raising prospect of hotels and more

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/12/university_circle-area_police.html

 

I realized something larger may be afoot when I came across something which at first seemed innocuous. Among the usual building code violations was this, a violation for a non-working elevator which the owner says is moot because the building is going to be demolished anyway. I wanted to know what building and what owner, and why will the building be demolished. I couldn't find answers to all the questions, but I found some suggestions that this site will probably be developed with something significant....

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/bbs/agenda/2015/AGENDA08052015.pdf

 

BOARD OF BUILDING STANDARDS AND BUILDING APPEALS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2015

 

BUILDING: PUBLIC HEARING: 9:30A.M.

Docket A-92-15 10605 Chester Avenue WARD: 9

(Kevin Conwell)

Chester Avenue Partners LLC, Owner of the B Business – Offices, Laboratories, Adult School

Property appeals from a NOTICE OF VIOLATION—ELEVATOR CODE, dated April 14, 2015;

appellant states that they have every intention of taking any correctional action if necessary,

however, at this time, the building is currently vacant and will be razed in the near future;

appellant would request a ninety (90) day Extension of Time to address the violations

 

 

The building to be demolished is substantial and is in a hot development zone. It was recently on the market...

 

 

Here is it's real estate listing...

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/18684957/10605-Chester-Avenue-Cleveland-OH/

 

Here is the sale information...

 

Transfer Date: 01-OCT-14

Parcel 119-20-025

Deed Type Warranty Deed

Sales Amt $600,000

Convey. Fee $2,400

No. of Parcels  3

Grantee(s) CHESTER AVENUE PARTNERS LLC

Grantor(s) Pentecostal Square Develop

 

Who is Chester Avenue Partners?

 

They do not list their incorporators in their OSS filing. But their statutory agent is Marc H. Feldman (I include his middle initial so that he isn't confused with Cleveland Clinic anesthesiologist Marc A. Feldman who is running for US president on the libertarian ticket!). Feldman is formerly of Developers Diversified Realty, Wolstein's company. Feldman hasn't served as a statutory agent for many corporate filings. The companies include these, a few of which are related to this intersection:

 

NOI PARTNERS, LLC - http://noipartners.com/

FELDMAN LAW FIRM, LLC - https://www.linkedin.com/in/feldmanprofile

CHESTER AVENUE PARTNERS, LLC - the company that bought 10605 Chester and wants to demolish it.

CROSS COUNTRY CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC - unknown

FELDMAN CAPITAL LLC - unknown

MENCHMARK LLC - unknown

UC CITY CENTER LLC - SEE BELOW

FAMILY FUND 7, LLC - unknown

MIDWEST DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS LLC - SEE BELOW

 

The last is run by Steve Rubin, formerly of Stark Enterprises:

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-rubin/7/a90/4b9

 

Note that those firms are involved in the same project at East 105th and Chester, as mentioned in mjarboe[/member]'s article....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/03/university_circle_edge_site_ge.html

 

UC City Center LLC, a joint venture between the Orlean Co. of Beachwood and a local investor group called Midwest Development Partners.

 

Orlean owns Fenway Manor, a 13-story senior-housing building at Euclid Avenue and Stokes, just south of the library and police station. Executives at Orlean have been open about their desire to renovate that building and to establish a broader footprint in University Circle. So it's no surprise to see them bid.

 

But the developers - who also are pursuing the library property - aren't dropping any hints about their plans. "Yes, we have put a proposal in, and we don't have any further comment," said Steve Rubin, a longtime local real estate executive who is part of the team.

 

Midwest Development Partners is a joint venture between Rubin, the former chief operating officer of Stark Enterprises; the Weiss family, which owns American Greetings Corp.; and the Goldberg-Ponsky family.

Oh sh*t son.

Nice job KJP!

These are the properties involved in "UC City Center" and related companies at this time. I'm now hearing others may be involved but don't know which. Even those that aren't directly involved now contribute or will contribute to the density of this area and create a true town center that would make Uptown seem small by comparison. Those include the historic Fenway Manor (part of the development), Judson Manor (not part of the development but its surface lot could be), Upper Chester-Innova, One University Circle high-rise residential tower that's planned, and the new Health Education Campus. The big question is what are the plans for the Cleveland Clinic properties on the east side of East 105th between Chester and Euclid, and those of CCF and other owners on the west side of 105th?

 

UC City Center1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

I think Michelle's articles broke the news that we should expect some kind of big development here, either a hotel on the police station site, or something bigger on the combined hotel/library site (or yet even bigger, if Orleans won the bid and combined its Fenway Manor property with the site).  Michelle also mentioned the sale of that old office building north of Chester. She wasn't able to tie it ton any of the three bidders to the police station lot, though.

 

Given that the three bids were submitted in March, the city's evaluation process has to be pretty far along now. Maybe mjarboe[/member] can check in with the city for an update?

 

Based on your sleuthing, KJP, sounds like we should really be pulling for the Orleans group, who could not only tie a development to Fenway Manor, but also to that property across Chester if that buyer is, in fact, affiliated.

 

EDIT: also, from one of Michelle's articles, how infuriating is the Clinic's project to expand the power substation at the SE corner of Chester and 105, right in the heart of this potential development area?  Anyone notice if there's been any sign of construction there yet?

Michelle broke the news about the police station/library redevelopment. A significant development, to be sure. My discovery is that something even larger than that footprint is in the works and could involve more than one developer.

 

I think the Rubin-Feldman-Orleans group is going to do something in this area even if they don't win the city bid. They already have at least two groupings of properties. Unlike Uptown, it may not be all one developer that turns this area into a highly densified, mixed use, 24-hour neighborhood. Since I made that first posting, I've been getting some feedback from others who say a neighborhood mid-rise to high-rise buildings with 24-hour restaurants and retailers is what's in the cards for that area. Someone else said the Clinic may be willing to go along with it through the sale of its "edge" properties, if not being directly involved with developers. It's probably not a bad thing that one developer wouldn't do everything.

 

Here's some existing conditions in the target area:

 

Looking south on East 105th at Chester:

UC City Center existing conditions5 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Looking east on Chester at East 105th:

UC City Center existing conditions4 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Former Third District police station on Chester at East 107th:

UC City Center existing conditions3 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Looking northerly on East 107th/Stokes at Chester:

UC City Center existing conditions2 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Looking southerly on East 107th at Chester:

UC City Center existing conditions1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Looking east on Euclid toward East 107th/Stokes intersection (1 University Circle will rise on the right beyond the CCF's Walker Center:

UC City Center existing conditions6 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

^I hadn't fully realized how low the amount of density was in that area. Sheesh.

 

EDIT: also, from one of Michelle's articles, how infuriating is the Clinic's project to expand the power substation at the SE corner of Chester and 105, right in the heart of this potential development area?  Anyone notice if there's been any sign of construction there yet?

 

Yeah unfortunately. There is significnat ongoing construction for the past few months

 

 

^Ugh, thanks. I get that that Clinic doesn't want its own campus to be interesting or pleasant to walk through, but it stinks that it's also mucking up the plans of outside developers to make the area nicer.

 

MAybe there is some news on this but i dont know about it...there is what appears to be a new power substation being built on Chester near E. 89th.

Directly on CCF property.

And recently the tall victorian home at the corner of E 89th & chester (http://www.orcahouse.org/) has an "available" sign on the property. That historic home must be the tallest victorian in Cleveland (the picture on the orca website has its scale out of order).

I dont think that that  part of E. 89th St is in the protected city Historic District. Shameful if CCF buys that and knocks it down.

This is an awesome find, KJP.

Also consider - this is the northern terminus of Opportunity Corridor

This is an awesome find, KJP.

Also consider - this is the northern terminus of Opportunity Corridor

 

Thanks. I don't think I have all the parcels identified either. I'm hearing that at full build-out this could be a three-block project.

UCI's Chris Ronayne says the city will probably announce who wins the Third District station redevelopment RFP within the next month.

More density, more vertical construction! http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/09/university_circle_proposal_cou.html#incart_river  :clap:

 

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

Exciting! We should probably continue all discussion of this project in this other thread, which KJP created a couple weeks ago with great prescience: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30268.0.html

Nice work by inspector KJP for sniffing this one out before it was announced. Time for a new thread.

[Redirected from the Uptown thread]

 

More density, more vertical construction! http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/09/university_circle_proposal_cou.html#incart_river  :clap:

 

 

Nice timing, KJP!  And terrific sleuthing to figure out this thing would be on both sides of Chester!

From Michelle's article, this part was interesting:

 

"What we're proposing is to be able to turn this into a walkable area with two-sided retail, with residential above," Rubin said after the community meeting.

 

"We are looking to make traffic patterns more efficient and in keeping with what's going on with the Opportunity Corridor and Euclid," he added, referring to the rapid-transit bus line that runs along Euclid Avenue and plans for a 3-mile boulevard intended to

 

I wonder if they propose eliminating the curved right turn lanes that dump cars from eastbound Chester onto southbound Stokes. One of the benefits of the Opportunity Corridor should be increased flexibility to tighten up the existing roadways, now that they will be less crucial for moving cars at rush hour.

Ex

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

citing! We should probably continue all discussion of this project in this other thread, which KJP created a couple weeks ago with great prescience: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30268.0.html

 

I read in the article that other people are concerned about the library....  what is the issue....????  is the library not able to handle the current number of users....  is the architecture significant....  would it be better to build around it...????

Ex

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

citing! We should probably continue all discussion of this project in this other thread, which KJP created a couple weeks ago with great prescience: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30268.0.html

 

I read in the article that other people are concerned about the library....  what is the issue....????  is the library not able to handle the current number of users....  is the architecture significant....  would it be better to build around it...????

 

They are concerned because the Library is planning on selling the building to the developers, who plan on tearing it down and using the site for this project. They're worried because they enjoy having a library so close by and don't want to see it gone. The developers state they plan on building a new library branch on Euclid right next to the American Cancer Society, but I'm sure alot of these people who are worried will believe that when they see it.

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

 

Why?

^If that's the entire worry, sounds like there's no problem as long as the developers follow through on their promise to open a new library around the corner on Euclid before this one is closed.

I wonder if they propose eliminating the curved right turn lanes that dump cars from eastbound Chester onto southbound Stokes. One of the benefits of the Opportunity Corridor should be increased flexibility to tighten up the existing roadways, now that they will be less crucial for moving cars at rush hour.

 

Yes, my understanding is that getting rid of the curving lanes at intersections (specifically at Chester/107th) to do some traffic calming and make the area more pedestrian friendly is in the cards.

 

And all of this on a major transit corridor whose 50-passenger buses every 5-10 minutes are already packed to the doors with riders.

 

^If that's the entire worry, sounds like there's no problem as long as the developers follow through on their promise to open a new library around the corner on Euclid before this one is closed.

 

I agree. The proposed site for the new library is literally next door to the current site. I hope they can manage a decent looking 2 story replacement on Euclid.

^If that's the entire worry, sounds like there's no problem as long as the developers follow through on their promise to open a new library around the corner on Euclid before this one is closed.

 

I agree. The proposed site for the new library is literally next door to the current site. I hope they can manage a decent looking 2 story replacement on Euclid.

 

Or on the ground floor of a 28-story apartment tower! (just kidding -- I really don't have any insight on that!)

From Michelle's twitter:

 

Michelle J. McFee ‏mjarboe[/member]  2m2 minutes ago

Here's an early massing study for proposed University Circle City Center project. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/09/university_circle_proposal_cou.html#comments … #CRE

 

^Wow, that's a pretty thrilling massing. Double-loading and narrowing Stokes like that would be amazing.

 

Michelle's article said that "The UC3 plan incorporates a single-story library on Euclid, next to the American Cancer Society." I had interpreted this to mean one-story building, but the massing (for whatever it's worth at this early stage) suggests they hope to embed it in a larger building.

 

Oh, and the massing also makes clear how obnoxious the Clinic's expanded power substation is.

Also I see they're showing their hand about developing the park area on the east side of East 107th. This was part of information shared with me earlier but urged not to share it yet (although I hinted at it by saying this was a 3-block project). While this is a city-owned park now, it wasn't always that way. This was the site of the Elysium skating rink (my dad, aunts and uncles skated there in the 1930s and earlier). Later, the Elysium building became a used-car business before it was torn down.

 

BTW, that massing looks even more impressive if 1 University Circle and the Walker Center are included. This area is going to truly look like a second downtown.

Between this and Upper Chester is the Cleveland Sight Center, in an old single story [edit- actually it looks like two story] building on an otherwise empty block of land.  I wonder how long till a developer buys that up and fills that gap.

Playing with graphics during the lunch hour....

 

uc3 developmenthealthline1s by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

That substation really is terrible though. What a horrible location for that. Is it too much to ask the Clinic to think about the surrounding neighborhoods in the slightest?

That substation really is terrible though. What a horrible location for that. Is it too much to ask the Clinic to think about the surrounding neighborhoods in the slightest?

 

It should be over by the railroad line, south of the Clinic. More evidence that the Clinic knows (or cares) zip about urban land use.

 

Also, I don't like a single-story library on Euclid Avenue. I realize the developer has site control there, but unless the library isn't considered for a ground-floor use of a larger building, perhaps a location that's not on a high-density transit corridor would be more appropriate. I suspect that the library will need transit access but also car access with handicapped spaces near the front door. Putting it on Euclid Avenue where 10-20 story buildings exist and are being added seems to be out of place. It's like the Clinic's substation. Why spend money on a low-rise use that's probably going to have to be moved in a few years anyway to make way for more big buildings??

Question for anyone on the board. If demand is high enough (which it may be sooner rather than later) how hard is it to build over the existing disgusting substation? Has this been done elsewhere? That and the Rite Aid are literally the last two things between this and the new Innova development.

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

 

Why?

Because I don't really like the idea of a single story building being built on Euclid. I was hoping it could be incorporated into the project in some way as a part of a larger building. Guess we'll see what's proposed as the project progresses.

I'm sure the power management challenges are immense, but looks like there are literally three other substations already on the Clinic's campus. Just seem surprising a single institution would even need so many.

Question for anyone on the board. If demand is high enough (which it may be sooner rather than later) how hard is it to build over the existing disgusting substation? Has this been done elsewhere? That and the Rite Aid are literally the last two things between this and the new Innova development.

 

What I know is that Cleveland Clinic had never considered this area for a 24-hour neighborhood -- until Innova moved forward and the police station development RFP was expanded to include the library. That expansion of the RFP footprint changed a lot of established thinking among major stakeholders in/near UC from constructing an individual structure or two in this area into creating a multi-building district or districts. That evolution of thought was built on the success of Uptown. Uptown changed some minds and eased some fears about the ability of creating a safe, vibrant, pedestrian-oriented districts next to economically troubled neighborhoods. The Clinic was clearly one of those stakeholders that had to be convinced. Their inward, bunker-style buildings that are largely inaccessible by pedestrians from the streets shows their level of concern about the surrounding neighborhoods. So they are only just now warming to the idea of having a high-density, 24-hour neighborhood almost-next to their campus.

 

My guess, and this is only a guess, is that the Clinic will wait to see what happens with Innova, UC3 and 1 University Circle to see if they bring urban vibrancy or crime. Yes, I thought we were past these questions a long time ago, too. But the Clinic isn't. So their land along East 105th may be seen as a buffer/moat in the short term, and depending on Innova/UC3/1UC, may be seen as a real estate opportunity in the long term.

Also I see they're showing their hand about developing the park area on the east side of East 107th. This was part of information shared with me earlier but urged not to share it yet (although I hinted at it by saying this was a 3-block project). While this is a city-owned park now, it wasn't always that way. This was the site of the Elysium skating rink (my dad, aunts and uncles skated there in the 1930s and earlier). Later, the Elysium building became a used-car business before it was torn down.

 

BTW, that massing looks even more impressive if 1 University Circle and the Walker Center are included. This area is going to truly look like a second downtown.

 

Getting back to the way it was back in the mid 1920's.

Is the property on the east side of 107th currently park land? I would almost prefer for this property to stay in a public green space use and push development onto existing developed areas, if that is the case.

Getting back to the way it was back in the mid 1920's.

 

And as recently as the 1950s it was a still a vibrant area, but it started sliding after Chester was built right after WWII and cut off its theaters, department stores, restaurants and smaller shops from pedestrians walking over from the crowded Hough neighborhood which was still a middle-class neighborhood into the early 1950s.

 

Is the property on the east side of 107th currently park land? I would almost prefer for this property to stay in a public green space use and push development onto existing developed areas, if that is the case.

 

Except the three city-owned parcels on the east side of East 107th may have been part of the RFP. These parcels were once a private indoor skating rink and later a used car business until sometime after WWII.

 

To expand west into developed area means getting into Cleveland Clinic-owned lands, and they're not ready to develop them -- except for electrical substations.

^Wow, that's a pretty thrilling massing. Double-loading and narrowing Stokes like that would be amazing.

 

Michelle's article said that "The UC3 plan incorporates a single-story library on Euclid, next to the American Cancer Society." I had interpreted this to mean one-story building, but the massing (for whatever it's worth at this early stage) suggests they hope to embed it in a larger building.

 

Oh, and the massing also makes clear how obnoxious the Clinic's expanded power substation is.

 

Hi all -

 

The massing showing a multi-story building on the future library site is not correct. The massing was created before the developers and the library agreed on the Euclid Avenue site next to the American Cancer Society and the details of the library-owned, freestanding, single-story building. That said, there are always air rights ...

 

I would interpret all the images as conceptual, and only conceptual, at this point.

 

Michelle

Thanks Michelle.

^Very exciting! Although I'm a little cautious about the plans for the library.

 

Why?

Because I don't really like the idea of a single story building being built on Euclid. I was hoping it could be incorporated into the project in some way as a part of a larger building. Guess we'll see what's proposed as the project progresses.

I don't see anywhere that it stated the size of the parcel they would be getting. The current library is a two-story building. They will probably also demand a surface lot. While I agree that it makes more sense to incorporate it into part of a larger building, I like the prospects of a well designed smaller scale building.

 

edit: I guess Michelle put the multi-story building theory to rest. That's disappointing.

Any indication why the library is so adamant about this?  A new single story building in the midst of all this is just plain wasteful, particularly on Euclid.  What does the library expect to gain?

Any indication why the library is so adamant about this?  A new single story building in the midst of all this is just plain wasteful, particularly on Euclid.  What does the library expect to gain?

 

Textbook example of insular thinking.

Hey, I just found a rendering of the proposed new library on Euclid!

 

SmallBuilding-BigBuilding1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

why not put it further west on chester.....  plenty of space.....

Sad to say, the new library would not look out of place on that stretch of Euclid, where the environment has already been thoroughly suburbanized. 

 

I still wish there were more pushback.  Where did this library branch-- a public entity with no planning discretion whatsoever-- obtain such an ironclad degree of planning discretion?  They aren't the Cleveland Clinic; they can't skip town if they're told no.  And putting a small public building on that parcel is a terrible fiscal move. 

 

This UC3 development calls for celebration-- big time-- and it's a shame that the announcement had to include this kind of backward silliness.

Yep, this is a public entity that doesn't care about the maximization of space and use.  They are insulated from the need to make profitable decisions from their land use.

 

Would make waaayy more sense for the library to contract with the developer to occupy tenant space in a building within the project which would no doubt be multi-story.  Oh well, not the first and won't be the last time a decision like this will be made by the guv'mint.

Yep, this is a public entity that doesn't care about the maximization of space and use.  They are insulated from the need to make profitable decisions from their land use.

 

Sadly you can usually say the same about public schools and public housing.