No I haven't heard of anything but I was just thinking the same thing...

 

It's kinda surprising given the renewed intreat in the Flats /waterfront and, more importantly, unlike Cleveland projects of the past, Fairmout is off the drawing board and nearly half completed, structurally.  ... contrast the Flats to U. Circle Uptown where there's a feeding frenzy of spin-off development that's electric -- even all the way into East Cleveland, for crying out loud!... I guess we can't underestimate the pall of skepticism that fell over the Flats after its demise a decade ago.  We DO now have activity on the West Bank, with the Aquarium (of course, we know, the West Bank never fell as hard as the East).  Let's hope developers pull out of it; it's still an interesting, highly unique setting loaded with potential (and easily accessible by mass transit). ... Are our leaders really pushing hard enough to once again promote the Flats?

 

Just because we don't physically see any work, that doesn't mean behind the scenes or financial "work" isn't underway.

 

Also, I think its unfair to compare one are of Cleveland to another.  Was UC booming like it is 10 years ago?  Several things had to happen in UC before it became what it is today.  You're comparing a newly developed neighborhood to one in its heading into its prime.

 

What's you talkin' 'bout Willis!?

????????????????????

is the watermark still used ocassionally as a catering hall? i know it was after the restaurant closed. that kind of use at least helps the interior remain kept up.

Pic from the FEB Facebook page this morning :D :

 

280' up, 35+ winds, 17 degrees (below zero w/ wind chill).

 

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/FlatsEastBank

wow awesome pic -- hey wait that looks like downtown skies on any old summer day in the 1930s-70s!  :laugh:

I get cold just looking at the picture! I hope no one is working up there today.

I get vertigo just looking at the picture.

wow awesome pic -- hey wait that looks like downtown skies on any old summer day in the 1930s-70s!  :laugh:

 

Well, not exactly unless there were oddly shaped 650' and 900' smoke plumes.  :)

Hey, in the 1970s I remember when there were temperature inversions in the summer that the smog hovered over the city and extended well east of the city. It was general smog coverage, not just plumes from smokestacks.

 

BTW, and to get us back on topic, I though we were supposed to hear some news from Wolstein/Fairmount about a residential component for Flats East Bank. Maybe they're futzing around with the port authority on financing?

plumes from smokestacks

 

I'm pretty sure the "plumes" he's referring to are 200 Public Square and Key Tower.

Sorry... Little slow today!

Had the opportunity tonight to sit & listen to Adam Fishman run through preliminary schematics of the residential portion.  Looks to be about 5-6 stories, nice architectural details, building flared out in a radius to take in as much water view as possible.  Definitely looking to go high end.  Fishman himself said rents in Clevleand are stuck around $1.25/sf but they need over to $1.50/sf in rent to cover land, construction and financing.  Also reviewed a lot of other images of the spaces inside & outside of the hotel & office building, entryway, plaza, etc.  It's going to be a very cool space.

 

In other news, someone needs to open a good dive bar within walking distance because all the new construction stuff is going to be expensive.

Are they only discussing one building right now, or the whole shebang?  Does the overall layout still look like this:

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/pdgraphics/2008/03/29FGFLATS.pdf

yes it still looks like that, pretty much the same layout, only talking about building #5 in the graphic you linked though.  Seeing that graphic makes me think the residential building might be more like 7 or 8 stories.  Whatever.  Still going to be very impressive and totally change the dynamic of this section of city.  I look for ripple effect from this development all the way back up to St Clair/Superior and he even mentioned they are working to change the connection of the East & West Shoreway ramps at W. 6th.  The plan that makes the most sense is to extend Front Street all the way up to W. 3rd through the parking lots on the lower slope.

any timeline for the residential?

it's at least 2 years out.  They are shooting for the office space to open in 14 months, I think March of 2013.  The residential would be at least a year after that.  Essentially they need demand to climb to justify the higher rents and get the financing before they can start construction.  Fishman made an interesting comment about how the downtown apartment business is booming and everyone is running 90%+ occupancies but rental rates aren't climbing yet...  need to turn the corner somehow to justify the expense of this high end new construction.

interesting. are they still planning on all rental or will some apts in the building be rent to buy or condo? or was there even any general discussion on the rent vs own topic? just wondering since the market will be a different animal in 2 1/2 yrs.

Thanks for the update, gottaplan... it all sounds good... This will be the 1st downtown rental new construction in a while...

I suppose how well the Avenue District building does in its transition to rentals will have varying effects on the FEB residential aspirations. 

^possibly.  I would hesitate to draw many conclusions on the Avenue District's success, it's just in a weird part of town.  FEB will have over a thousand people working there for E&Y, CBRE, & Tucker Ellis lawfirm, plus the hotel traffic.  Plus it's a natural extension of the already established warehouse district and waterfront.  RTA access at the front door as an added bonus.  Avenue District has none of that going for it. 

Sounds good, thanks for sharing. And I agree that this has a lot of synergy going for it. Is 'Building 5' just that one low building facing the river, or that one and the taller one to its upper left?

 

This would definitely go on my list of places to live. I may even have money by 2014.

I wonder if they're thinking of siting the residential in the same spot? Currently, we have that temporary large lawn slated, and there's a relatively large surface parking lot behind the lawn. Would hate to see a situation where the residential is ultimately hugging the river and is then separated by a large surface lot from the hotel and the office building, even if the lot might be subsequently phased out. Just seems a weird phasing plan to tackle the western section and the eastern section and leave a big vaccuum in the middle. Am I misreading this?

Here's an update of the construction progress from the FEB webcam.

 

http://www.flatseast.com/webcam.htm

 

 

 

I wonder if they're thinking of siting the residential in the same spot? Currently, we have that temporary large lawn slated, and there's a relatively large surface parking lot behind the lawn. Would hate to see a situation where the residential is ultimately hugging the river and is then separated by a large surface lot from the hotel and the office building, even if the lot might be subsequently phased out. Just seems a weird phasing plan to tackle the western section and the eastern section and leave a big vaccuum in the middle. Am I misreading this?

 

Good point. The hood might seem a little awkward until all the pieces are in places.

 

Sounds good, thanks for sharing. And I agree that this has a lot of synergy going for it. Is 'Building 5' just that one low building facing the river, or that one and the taller one to its upper left?

 

This would definitely go on my list of places to live. I may even have money by 2014.

 

I thought 5 was the whole complex featuring the "rooftop garden."

 

Sorry to hear Gottaplan's report on the scaled down residential. I thought that building 5 was the strongest concept in the plan. Well, at least the most visually appealing. The rooftop garden looked amazing.

What's scaled back?

Is this $1.50/sq ft number needed to justify any residential construction at all, or just that which is "high end?"  Crittenden Court seems to have been successful without pricing out the majority of its potential market.  Heck, it's even made of brick without a hint of vinyl siding.  Not clear to me why we only have one such building. 

 

For the FEB residential, the only building that was discussed the other night was the radius shaped building facing the water.  The previous/original schematic someone linked above had several residential buildings.  Not sure what was for sale/for rent at that time, but the only discussion now is for rent.  In terms of cost and the price per square foot, the budget buster is building a parking structure vs surface parking. 

^And with that, let's get back to the discussion of actual construction.

Taken from the Main Ave. Bridge heading eastbound on 2/7/12.

 

 

I hope there is no ripple effect to the FEB:

 

Pepper Pike financier A. Eddy Zai indicted in Croatian fund swindle

Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 8:58 AM   

John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer

 

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Pepper Pike business icon A. Eddy Zai was indicted in the swindle that led to the collapse of the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union in Eastlake.

 

Zai, 43, was charged (pdf) with 34 counts related to more than $16 million in unpaid loans. The indictment was unsealed this morning. He is one of 19 people charged in what federal law enforcement officials are calling one of the largest credit union failures in American history.

 

Zai runs a variety of businesses, including the Cleveland International Fund that raised $45 million for the Flats East Bank development and is seeking overseas support for construction projects at University Hospitals. Zai also has had a hand in the Cleveland Bio Fund, which has pushed for potential investors in Northeast Ohio.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/02/pepper_pike_financier_a_eddy_z.html

Taken from the Main Ave. Bridge heading eastbound on 2/7/12.

 

 

 

Fantastic.  Thanks for the shots!

I hope there is no ripple effect to the FEB:

 

Pepper Pike financier A. Eddy Zai indicted in Croatian fund swindle

Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 8:58 AM   

John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer

 

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Pepper Pike business icon A. Eddy Zai was indicted in the swindle that led to the collapse of the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union in Eastlake.

 

Zai, 43, was charged (pdf) with 34 counts related to more than $16 million in unpaid loans. The indictment was unsealed this morning. He is one of 19 people charged in what federal law enforcement officials are calling one of the largest credit union failures in American history.

 

Zai runs a variety of businesses, including the Cleveland International Fund that raised $45 million for the Flats East Bank development and is seeking overseas support for construction projects at University Hospitals. Zai also has had a hand in the Cleveland Bio Fund, which has pushed for potential investors in Northeast Ohio.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/02/pepper_pike_financier_a_eddy_z.html

 

Damn.  That guy seems to have a lot of good projects going on.  Sucks...

He's not convicted yet. An indictment is a long way from conviction, both in legal terms and in duration (these cases can take many year). I suspect the Flats East Bank project and other projects will be pretty far along if not done by the time Zai's case is decided. The only exception is if federal investigators put some kind of restraining, or cease and desist orders on all of his business activities. If they haven't asked for such orders yet, I doubt they will.

The money comes from different sources. The Cleveland International Fund is probably not liable even if Zai is personally. No problem for FEB.

^^^ Thanks for the pics Paul.  That tower is really gonna change the look of driving east into downtown over the next year or so!!!

^^^ Thanks for the pics Paul.  That tower is really gonna change the look of driving east into downtown over the next year or so!!!

 

Isn't that interesting?  I find myself wanting new towers in Cleveland, but not liking that it blocks the view of the stadium from the Shoreway approach.  Call it a sacrifice to progress I suppose....

Hey guys, I am an Ironworker down at the Flats and thought I would post some pictures from the top of the core for you.

#2

AWESOME!!!

 

#3

#4

#5

Taken from the Main Ave. Bridge heading eastbound on 2/7/12.

 

 

 

Hey, these pics had me thinking. Is it physically possible that traffic could someday be calmed, and the Terminal Bldg and Tucker Ellis Bldg could build out and form a street front up on the bridge, with parallel parking and sidewalks?

Hey guys, I am an Ironworker down at the Flats and thought I would post some pictures from the top of the core for you.

 

Excellent. Now that's an angle of downtown you rarely ever see photos taken. Looks very urban without any parking lots in view.

Hey guys, I am an Ironworker down at the Flats and thought I would post some pictures from the top of the core for you.

 

Awesome!  Thanks for posting those.  Does this mean that the building is topped out, then?

No, we finished floor 16/22 today.  Pour tomorrow, form lift on Friday.

jssdecker, you win the best photos of the month contest. OK, so we don't have that contest, but if we did, you would certainly win it! Thanks!!

 

EDIT: btw, the fog shot is my fave. Makes me think of the West Side Highway in Manhattan.

jssdecker, thank you for posting those photos here on UrbanOhio - very much appreciated!

Amazing views of downtown skyline would be such an awesome corner office

I agree with KJP, one of the coolest (and definitely most unique views) ever taken of the city!!! You win the UO Aweome Pic Award!

I'm imagining the view of the airshow as the Blue Angels cross the stadium after clearing BKL.  I might have to find someone high-up at Ernst & Young to get some access!