1 hour ago, freefourur said:

They think new apartments will drive up rent. You cant reason with these people.

 

Some do. Others fear traffic. One person asked "How will this project benefit me?"

 

Um, I don't know. How will you painting your garage benefit your neighbors? Why does someone else's investment in Lakewood have to benefit you? It probably does improve Lakewood by expanding the tax base with more taxpayers and keeping property values from skyrocketing higher by reversing the decline in housing inventory. But believing that something will have no benefit to others simply because you believe it won't benefit you is about as American as it gets. Oh, and people interrupting city officials saying "No, you have to listen to me" and then complaining "stop treating me like a child" is the height of irony and sociopathy.

I wish I could've been there. I like to piss off Nimbys and speak in support of development. 

I hate to witness people fighting and arguing. Saw enough of it with my parents growing up. As soon as the developer and the planning director were done with their presentations, I got the hell out of there.

When growing up my parents used to take me to city council meetings.   I used to think that people couldn't get more uncivil than what I saw these functions...then along came social media!

Now I remember why I stopped going to council meetings while working at Sun Newspapers. City officials understood why I would call them the next day to find out what happened. I truly felt sorry for the childish abuse they regularly had to take.

 

They all believe the fix is in, but this project will get approved, rejected or amended based on the data (traffic study, community masterplan, etc). The developer has rights too.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018

Lakewood housing hunt drew Columbus developer here

 

Anyone who has tried to buy a high-quality, competitively-priced home in Lakewood in the last year or two knows the drill. The real estate search is one of the most difficult scavenger hunts you'll play. Unless you're willing to sacrifice many features you want in a home or make a high, all-cash offer, a Lakewood housing hunt is not a game for the impatient.

Real estate developer Jerry Solove of Columbus knows it all too well. His son spent the past year looking to buy or rent a home in Lakewood. Solove and his son learned that quality homes sell within a day or two of being listed with a realtor, with some prices bid upward in all-cash deals. Solove recalled seeing a renovated bungalow for sale this summer on Mathews Avenue, behind the Around The Corner Saloon. It was listed in the evening and, before the sun rose again, it was already under contract by a buyer.

Experiences like this are one reason why Lakewood housing prices rose 22.5 percent, highest among all Cuyahoga County communities in 2018. Another reason for price spike is that Lakewood has lost more than 1,700 housing units since the 1980s due to demolitions of housing and conversions of rental doubles into single-family, for-sale homes.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2018/11/lakewood-housing-hunt-drew-columbus.html

Edited November 28, 20186 yr by KJP

A slightly less interesting article than the one above.... ?

 

 

2 hours ago, freefourur said:

I've been hearing some rumors about the Cove Church property.  It might be up for sale 

 

Oops I posted in wrong thread.

 

Mods ...please delete

 

Cool. It's a pretty big parcel, measuring 1.765 acres. That's huge in a city like Lakewood. And it's at the edge of one of the most densely populated sections of any US city. Wonder if they'd go with mixed use?

Like I said, the Cove United Methodist Church is on a pretty big piece of land....

I think there was talk among city council about the idea if community center there. I dont think it's a good idea at all. Maybe a community center as part of a mixed use development would be fi6.

On Detroit at Sloane/Valley Parkway. Too many cars speeding around corners there, threatening to mow down pedestrians and cyclists. If you can't behave, you get calmed....

 

 

On 12/3/2018 at 5:03 PM, freefourur said:

I think there was talk among city council about the idea if community center there. I dont think it's a good idea at all. Maybe a community center as part of a mixed use development would be fi6.

 

I think this may have stemmed from the idea of turning that mansion at Nicholson and Lake into a community center. It was owned by an Albanian gangst..., er, businessman for many years and it wouldn't sell. It was listed for a decent price, considering how big it was...something like $500,000 to $600,000. The city floated the idea of buying it and turning it into a community center. Finally the market caught up to it and it sold. But the idea of having a community center on the northeast side of the city apparently hasn't gone away.

Edited December 5, 20186 yr by KJP

On 11/1/2018 at 3:24 PM, KJP said:

Yes, end of November is the tear-down date. Bobby O's is part of the Steve Barry Buick property. Presumably all of the buildings on SBB's properties on both sides of Detroit Avenue will be demolished at that time. Still don't know who the new owner is, though.

 

EDIT: Where on Facebook is this being discussed? I don't see anything more recent than a July posting on Bobby O's Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOsLakewood/

Bobby O's is still open. According to a comment on Facebook, they will remain open through the end of the year, if not longer. I wonder what's going on with the demo timeline.

Good question. And Steve Barry Buick still has office stuff for sale in its showroom.

I've been hearing that Bobby O's is closing at the end of the year. But I don't have a good source on this. 

At a recent meeting, Lakewood Mayor Summers said the United Presbyterian Church on nearly a half-acre of land at Detroit and Lakewood avenues is for sale for about $850,000. The city wants to buy it, demolish the church, bury a retention tank there, and then offer the land to developers, probably for housing. If the city can't buy the property, someone else probably will. In other words, this pretty church probably isn't going to last much longer. 

Whoa. Lakewood truck park.

 

http://aodkinc.com/portfolio/lakewood-truck-park/?fbclid=IwAR1ktkHSkYfxbJItgGUoH93JLk0IzRFdw63MehgHPvu7w1hPhuY2wl6Waz4

If I'm not mistaken, this looks like this is a refinement to the Beer Garden concept aodk had previously shared. (Between Edwards & Ethel @ Detroit.)

 

https://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2018/05/new_lakewood_truck_park_bar_pr.html

Edited January 4, 20196 yr by outjet
adding link from May

They have a bunch of stuff on that page that I've never seen anywhere else.  I'm guessing they just float ideas to build their portfolio?

St. Edward High School announces $7 million student commons and main entrance expansion

Updated 6:53 AM; Posted 6:45 AM

By John Benson, special to cleveland.com

 

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Less than six months after it celebrated the grand opening of the brand-new $5.5 million Joseph & Helen Lowe Institute for Innovation, St. Edward High School has announced a $7 million expansion adding a new main entrance and a student commons with dining space on the south side of the Detroit Avenue campus.

 

Construction is set to begin in June with an August 2020 completion date. The commons will feature seating on the main floor, as well as in a mezzanine that connects directly to the second level of the existing school building.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2019/01/st_edward_high_school_announce.html

 

Can't tell from the graphic, but I hope this creates a better street presence on Detroit Ave.-- ie up to the sidewalk.

Articles about suburban development are guaranteed to be missing addresses and any kind of rendering or site plan.

I dont remember or did i see a Lakewood hospital redevelopment thread,  but they are taking the windows out of the building now..  All the north facing top windows are gone and they started on the next floor.  Super excited for what Detroit will look like in a couple years!

 

1 hour ago, G00pie said:

I dont remember or did i see a Lakewood hospital redevelopment thread,  but they are taking the windows out of the building now..  All the north facing top windows are gone and they started on the next floor.  Super excited for what Detroit will look like in a couple years!

 

 

@G00pie FYI.....

 

 

27 minutes ago, Cleveland said:

https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/key-downtown-cleveland-sale-site-changes-hands

 

At the same time, Knez has listed for sale its land on Fry Avenue at Detroit Avenue where it hoped to build a nine-townhouse development called The Mews of Lakewood.

6 hours ago, KJP said:

 

At the same time, Knez has listed for sale its land on Fry Avenue at Detroit Avenue where it hoped to build a nine-townhouse development called The Mews of Lakewood.

 

He could add a Cat Cafe and call it the Meows of Lakewood.  I'd go.

1 hour ago, jeremyck01 said:

 

He could add a Cat Cafe and call it the Meows of Lakewood.  I'd go.

 

Or add a milk and beef bar and spell it the Moos of Lakewood.

Oy. Lock this thread! ?

22 hours ago, KJP said:

 

At the same time, Knez has listed for sale its land on Fry Avenue at Detroit Avenue where it hoped to build a nine-townhouse development called The Mews of Lakewood.

And after a few weeks on the market, it's no longer listed. No one seems to know why?

A survey crew was measuring the Taft School site on Clifton Boulevard earlier this week. This will be the new location for the Lakewood Board of Education offices.  Perhaps work may be getting started later this year. 

 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2018/12/lakewood_board_of_education_an_1.html

Edited January 27, 20196 yr by KJP

In regards to the potential development of the Steve Barry Buick site, Bobby O's recently posted on their Facebook account that they will remain open until "at least July 1." I assume that means this property is no longer changing hands. If so, I am equally disappointed about any potential development falling though as I am about this establishment remaining open...

Where does it say the property is no longer changing hands or that a potential development has fallen through?

It doesn't, hence I am assuming. Glass half empty over here.

Wow. Go to Bobby O's and get your glass filled.

Questions:

 

When I visited the 'Wood recently I was shocked to see 1. the live salsa music club that Barroco folks were opening turned into a bridal shop, and 2. the Dispensary turned into a very strange looking and perhaps atomic bomb-proof residential building. I read news online 18 hours a day, every day. So why the hell didn't I know these things happened?

Edited January 28, 20196 yr by surfohio

19 minutes ago, surfohio said:

Questions:

 

When I visited the 'Wood recently I was shocked to see 1. the live salsa music club that Barroco folks were opening turned into a bridal shop, and 2. the Dispensary turned into a very strange looking and perhaps atomic bomb-proof residential building. I read news online 18 hours a day, every day. So why the hell didn't I know these things happened?

 

Actually, the response to this will be posted at....

 

Edited January 28, 20196 yr by KJP

Just now, KJP said:

 

Because Sun Newspapers has gone away. No one covered Lakewood better than we did back in the day (ie: before 2010 or so).

Great point. Do you have any insights on the bridal shop? It seemed a lot of people  were excited for the salsa place. I did at least hear a rumor that Birdtown's historic designation prevented the dispensary, which floors me that a developer wouldn't know this prior to investing.  

Are you referring to Lilliana's on Madison, next to The Gorilla?

 

As for the dispensary, I assume you mean the one that Tony George wanted to provide in that butt-ugly building of his in the 11800 block of Madison? If that's not going through, then I sure hope a developer buys that from George, flattens it and replaces it with a large-scale mixed-use development that is more befitting a property so close to a rail transit station (and a grocery store, restaurants, etc).

Edited January 28, 20196 yr by KJP

7 minutes ago, KJP said:

Are you referring to Lilliana's on Madison, next to The Gorilla?

 

As for the dispensary, I assume you mean the one that Tony George wanted to provide in that butt-ugly building of his in the 11800 block of Madison? If that's not going through, then I sure hope a developer buys that from George, flattens it and replaces it with a large-scale mixed-use development that is more befitting a property so close to a rail transit station (and a grocery store, restaurants, etc).

 

Wait, I thought Tony George was moving all of his businesses out of Cuyahoga County now that he needs cause to fire a transgender person? 

Tony George lol. Guy needs his own thread.

 

Yes Lilliana's is the name, thanks. I'm sorry I didn't make it over to Barroco to ask them what happened. And this is hearsay, but I heard that Georges bunker is already housing tenants.  

 

Also, that weird Nationality Broadcasting building looks like it's getting RENOVATED. If any building in Lakewood needs to be flattened it's that one. But, instead they destroyed the flophouse place that looked interesting and at least had a proper storefront. 

 

I try not to get too much into Lakewood politics because I don't want to become any more negative and hateful.  

Here is what I was able to find out about the Steve Berry Buick/Bobby O's property… Solove Development, which is proposing the multi-story apartment buildings on the former Spitzer dealership on Detroit east of Bunts, has the Steve Berry/Bobby O's property as his back-up plan.  He has purchase agreements for both properties but has not transferred the parcels contingent upon him getting an approved development plan for either. So if he can't develop the Spitzer site he will pursue development of the Berry site. In other words, don't expect anything to happen with the Berry site for a while.

On 1/29/2019 at 10:35 AM, KJP said:

Here is what I was able to find out about the Steve Berry Buick/Bobby O's property… Solove Development, which is proposing the multi-story apartment buildings on the former Spitzer dealership on Detroit east of Bunts, has the Steve Berry/Bobby O's property as his back-up plan.  He has purchase agreements for both properties but has not transferred the parcels contingent upon him getting an approved development plan for either. So if he can't develop the Spitzer site he will pursue development of the Berry site. In other words, don't expect anything to happen with the Berry site for a while.

There is a meeting at Lakewood city hall tomorrow evening about the plans for the Spitzer property. I gather that many residents think an 8 story building is too tall. I am not able to make it to the meeting.  If you are in support, it might be good to get some YIMBY voices there.

 

On another note, Starbucks will be taking over the Detroit Avenue Burger King. BK is scheduled to close on April 1.

Look for some news about this site soon. It isn't going to be housing....

 

 

Edited February 9, 20196 yr by KJP

Did anyone get to the meeting about apartment development on the Spitzer lot?

I spoke with some people who were there. The plans presented were no different than those presented at the public meeting held in December. Some of the comments were that the buildings were too large, with the largest buildings abutting single-family homes, that there were no setbacks or that the proposed amount of greenspace didn't meet code.

 

^^^That's a great tenant for that spot. I'm just happy it didn't become another drugstore or mini mart.

10 minutes ago, cle25 said:

^^^That's a great tenant for that spot. I'm just happy it didn't become another drugstore or mini mart.

You could work out and then grab a pizza right next door.  ?

An update on the now-closed Marathon gas station at 13900 Lake Ave.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2019/02/developer_planning_cluster_hom.html

 

Quote

WXZ Development planning cluster homes to replace Lake Avenue gas station in Lakewood
By John Benson, special to cleveland.com

 

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Fairview Park-based developer WXZ Development has announced plans to demolish the currently closed Marathon gas station on Lake Avenue in order to build new cluster homes.

"We've been actively engaged with this project for a little over a year and a half," WXZ Development President Jim Wymer said. "We're very excited about the location and the entry into Lakewood for us.

 

"That site presents an opportunity to provide some much-needed new housing that accommodates the empty nester demographic."

With history reaching back to the 1920s, the iconic gas station sits on .6 acres of land, which WXZ Development is currently finalizing remediation. Wymer said the process requires the removal of some soils; however, there is no groundwater effect.

 

Cool! I'm hearing that the Cove United Methodist Church may be next to succumb to new housing on Lake Avenue. The gas station is just 6 tenths of an acre. The church site is comparatively "massive" for this part of Lakewood -- 1.765 acres.