September 25, 201311 yr Who wouldn't want to live in an apartment building with Karl's on the ground floor.... Cuyahoga County council approves sale of three buildings for $3.4 million CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As part of an ongoing process to consolidate its offices, Cuyahoga County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved selling a trio of buildings in downtown Cleveland to a private developer. Weston Inc. is considering converting one of the buildings -- the Marion Building in the Warehouse District at 1276 W. 3rd St.-- into apartments, company CEO T.J. Asher told The Plain Dealer last month. http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2013/09/cuyahoga_county_council_approves_sale_of_three_buildings_for_34_million.html#incart_river_default The other two buildings are the Superior Auto Title Building at 1261 Superior Ave. and the Hamilton Garage at 1801 St. Clair Ave. Weston seems to be really ramping up its efforts downtown.
October 23, 201311 yr http://council.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/102213-council-meeting.aspx Debate on the Consolidated Storage Facility starts about 50:00 Cuyahoga County Council is pushing back on the staff recommendation on whether to put Consolidated Storage Facility into Halle Warehouse on East 40th. The only other option at this point is to build a new building somewhere in/near downtown. But County Executive FitzGerald said the 20-year cost of the Halle building is $33 million compared to $59 million for a new building. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 24, 201311 yr The article that came out of the comments made at Tuesday night's meeting (posted previously)...... $10 million lease deal for warehouse to house Cuyahoga County archives falling apart By Andrew J. Tobias, Northeast Ohio Media Group on October 23, 2013 at 7:32 PM, updated October 23, 2013 at 9:14 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In what council members are calling the latest communication breakdown with County Executive Ed FitzGerald's staff, the future of a $10 million deal to lease a warehouse for the county archives is uncertain at best. Council on Tuesday seemed ready to reject the administration's proposed 10-year lease for three floors of the Halle Brothers warehouse located just east of downtown. But FitzGerald convinced council to wait until their Nov. 12 meeting before taking final action. "My suggestion is before we close the door on the Halle building proposal, we take a couple weeks and see if there are options," FitzGerald, a Democrat, said at the council meeting Tuesday. Re-opening the search could take up to 18 months, a county consultant said this week. READ MORE AT: http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2013/10/cuyahoga_county_lease_deal_falling_apart.html#incart_m-rpt-2#incart_m-rpt-2 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 19, 201311 yr Weston affiliate buys three downtown Cleveland buildings from county for $3 million By STAN BULLARD 12:57 pm, November 19, 2013 An affiliate of the Weston Inc. real estate ownership and development firm has completed the $3 million purchase of three buildings from Cuyahoga County that will add to the company's already-considerable downtown holdings. Through Marisupham LLC, which lists Weston CEO T.J. Asher as its agent in state records, the firm acquired the seven-story Marion Building, 1264 W. Third St., and one-story retail and office buildings at 1261 Superior Ave. and 1801 St. Clair Ave. The most high-profile acquisition is the Marion, which dates from 1913 and includes about 100,000 square feet of office space. The building could qualify for potent federal and state historic preservation tax credits, which help developers raise equity to pay for construction costs. READ MORE AT: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20131119/FREE/131119776# "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 30, 201411 yr I totally missed this story when it came out. It's big news, especially the part in bold below. But even some of the lesser-scale projects outlined in the article should spruce up at that butt-ugly complex..... Cleveland, Cuyahoga County could spend $295 million or more to upgrade aging Justice Center By Andrew J. Tobias, Northeast Ohio Media Group on March 14, 2014 at 4:19 PM, updated March 15, 2014 at 11:44 AM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A new report outlines proposals for either upgrading or replacing major portions of Cuyahoga County’s aging Justice Center at a cost to taxpayers ranging from $295 million to as much as $429 million. A draft version of the four-page report from Osborn Engineering, obtained this week through a public records request, recommends seven possible options. County officials hired the consultant to last May to assess the Justice Center for possible repairs and to identify how to create extra space in the justice center to hold court functions for which the county currently leases space elsewhere. ....All the options from the consultant's report seek to create at least 150,000 square feet of additional space for the courts, for which the county currently leases space in off-site locations, as well create a new central booking unit for the county jail, among other changes. The most expensive option is a complete demolition and rebuild of the Cleveland police headquarters building and the courts tower. READ MORE AT: http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2014/03/cleveland_cuyahoga_county_could_spend_300_million_or_more_to_upgrade_justice_center.html#incart_river_default#incart_m-rpt-2 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 30, 201411 yr I think that link is incorrect. At any rate, $300 million to renovate in place seems absurd. Entire project could be rebuilt for less money.
April 30, 201411 yr I had posted it back in March. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3323.700 Here it is. http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2014/03/cleveland_cuyahoga_county_could_spend_300_million_or_more_to_upgrade_justice_center.html#incart_river_default#incart_m-rpt-2
April 30, 201411 yr I'm in favor of a complete demolition of the tower and a rebuild, if the old county administration building can be torn down and rebuilt as a 28 story hotel for 270 million, the Justice center cost shouldn't be much more than that. Also it's a complete eyesore so any talk of demolition I would be in favor of.
April 30, 201411 yr That's all fine and dandy but where in the hell do you hold courts, house prisoners etc. if the current one is demolished? In my opinion I think the only way that building is going to get reduced to rubble is build a whole new Justice Center some place else and reuse the current site for new construction with housing, offices etc. https://www.instagram.com/cle_and_beyond/https://www.instagram.com/jbkaufer/
April 30, 201411 yr That's all fine and dandy but where in the hell do you hold courts, house prisoners etc. if the current one is demolished? In my opinion I think the only way that building is going to get reduced to rubble is build a whole new Justice Center some place else and reuse the current site for new construction with housing, offices etc. Good point and I have no problem with that we have plenty of lots to build on. I feel that if possible a new justice center should be built around the area of the federal building or any area in that case that doesn't contain a large amount of residential/entertainment. I feel that the area of the current Justice Center should be slated for residential (pipe dream)with retail at the bottom to add further life to that area.
April 30, 201411 yr I think that link is incorrect. At any rate, $300 million to renovate in place seems absurd. Entire project could be rebuilt for less money. Thanks. My read was that the police station and tower would both be demolished and new structures built in their place for $300 million. Not renovation. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 30, 201411 yr That's all fine and dandy but where in the hell do you hold courts, house prisoners etc. if the current one is demolished? In my opinion I think the only way that building is going to get reduced to rubble is build a whole new Justice Center some place else and reuse the current site for new construction with housing, offices etc. Good point and I have no problem with that we have plenty of lots to build on. I feel that if possible a new justice center should be built around the area of the federal building or any area in that case that doesn't contain a large amount of residential/entertainment. I feel that the area of the current Justice Center should be slated for residential (pipe dream)with retail at the bottom to add further life to that area. I agree completely. This "campus" seperates the warehouse district from our new Convention Center killing the chances of the two areas ever co-mingling as a contiguous urban setting. It could never happen with the current configuration. Start building a new jail by the new Juvenile Detention Center (perfect location), and redevelope this property as residential mixed use. Lakeside and St. Clair would be well served by that.
April 30, 201411 yr If nothing else, the Justice Center is functional, and the location makes sense because it's near the other courthouses. Unless there's a serious structural defect...well, other than the appearance. I'd actually be against blowing a lot of dollars on a new building just for the sake of a new building. If the functionality can be had for tens of millions less, do that, and build a new one in 10-15 years. Would want to see the specific cost comparison between reconfiguration and new construction - man, these are expensive.
April 30, 201411 yr ^I agree. It is very functional for the purposes of the county courts. I'd think an improvement would be to build a new Cleveland Municipal Court and put it in a separate building (or at least a separate, connected tower) from the Common Pleas Court. That would alleviate a LOT of the crowding.... especially in the security lines and elevators. Tearing it down seems like a massive waste of money which could be put to better uses. We already have a ton invested in that building/complex. Rumor has it that, when all was said and done, it cost the county more than what was paid to construct the Sears Tower in Chicago. ***I certainly wouldn't mind a multitude of aesthetic changes. The bathrooms need upgrading and the wall paneling in the courtrooms need to be redone (years ago, they removed the vertical lined wall which the jury faced due to nausea complaints, but left the other three walls the way they are).
April 30, 201411 yr The jail windows just look godawful. Anyone got any professional idea on how the aesthetics can be improved?
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