^ Interesting. Stark got schematic design approval back in July according to Michelle's article link). I wonder what changed.

^ Interesting. Stark got schematic design approval back in July according to Michelle's article link). I wonder what changed.

 

We'll find out soon. The graphics should be posted on the CPC website in a day or two.

How about five hours...

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2016/09162016/index.php

 

DF2016-054 – The Beacon – 515 Euclid Avenue Residential Towers Additive New Construction: Seeking Schematic Design Approval

Project Address: 515 Euclid Avenue

Project Representatives: TBD

Note: this project received Conceptual Approval by the Planning Commission on July 15, 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unless I'm reading the renderings too literally, looks like the plan is to keep the parking base's current facade instead of re-facing it to match the tower. 

Unless I'm reading the renderings too literally, looks like the plan is to keep the parking base's current facade instead of re-facing it to match the tower. 

 

Yes it does, and to me, it makes the building appear to lack continuity.  I'd rather it have the parking base match the burnt orange-to-yellow pastel-ish colors in the residential high-rise portion which, in itself, I'm not doing handstands over looks wise.

I quite like the look of the tower. I also quite like the look of the existing garage. I don't, however, think they have any sort of connection whatsoever and believe the garage should change to match the tower (which I think has a stronger design language with more potential) but understand why they aren't.

 

I think this will make a solid skyline addition. I'm glad it's not just all blue glass and Cleveland is mostly avoiding that trend of bland "nothing" blue boxes.

The original images showed rust/red panels covering the columns between the glass. It was subtle but did a good job connecting the top and bottom. Maybe it was nixed? I like the design either way. And I'm already jealous of whoever lives on the balcony floor.

 

Wow... those floor to ceiling windows are amazing.  Totally different level of product than anything else you can get downtown right now.  And as a bonus, apparently if you live on the balcony level you can see the Empire State Building ;)

No wonder he wants to start the garage at nucleus first.  They're going to take over this garage with residents, and fill his new garage with the E4th valet service and patrons that currently use 515. 

^Interesting insight- makes total sense. Hopefully groundbreaking on the Nucleus garage, if it ever happens, sets the chain of projects into motion. 

That penthouse structure is pretty strange.

I'm not totally against the design but that color palette.....ugh.  :-o

What's up with the structure on top...it looks like a shed.

-

Mmmm...  If they opt to select more deep shades of rust & brown from the design palette, it could be renamed THE BACON.

If they opt to select more deep shades of rust & brown from the design palette, it could be renamed THE BACON.

 

I had to log in just to applaud this comment  :clap:

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2016/09162016/index.php

 

DF2016-054 – The Beacon – 515 Euclid Avenue Residential Towers Additive New Construction: Seeking Schematic Design Approval

Project Address: 515 Euclid Avenue

Project Representatives: TBD

Note: this project received Conceptual Approval by the Planning Commission on July 15, 2016.

 

I really like this design.  I may be remembering incorrectly, but I thought the prior design had a smaller footprint on top of the garage.  How soon before they can begin construction?!?

 

I love the balconY (singular stressed).  Why not more of them on the building?  It just appears to be one floor?

I love the coloring, a nice complement to its surroundings.  Many newer downtowns are dominated by gray and white.  I'm glad ours isn't.

whats the difference between this and what was presented to the Planning Commission a few months ago?

Maybe I am misremembering, but I thought design review's original comment was that the parking structure was not well enough integrated with the tower.  The latest renderings do not appear to have addressed that concern.  If anything, the parking deck seems even less integrated than what was shown in the original renderings.  Also, the addition of the shed-like structure on the roof looks absurd, like a total afterthought. 

Maybe I am misremembering, but I thought design review's original comment was that the parking structure was not well enough integrated with the tower.  The latest renderings do not appear to have addressed that concern.  If anything, the parking deck seems even less integrated than what was shown in the original renderings.  Also, the addition of the shed-like structure on the roof looks absurd, like a total afterthought. 

 

Okay.  I am not misremembering.  See the below blurb from the Cleveland.com article discussing Design Review's concept approval.  Doesn't seem like the architects have really addressed any of these concerns.

 

Excerpt from Cleveland.com piece:

 

The design-review committee asked Nadaaa and Westlake Reed Leskosky, the other firm working on the project, to explore ways to better integrate the new tower with the existing, glass-paneled garage. Committee members had mixed opinions about the tower's metal-clad facade, where six shades of paneling ranging from bronze to copper to near-silver will create an ombré effect.

 

"I like the pattern quite a bit," said Jodi van der Wiel, an architect who sits on the committee. "I think it's just the imagery is not doing it justice."

 

Committee member Jack Bialosky, Jr., another architect, encouraged the Beacon designers to push their boundaries. "I don't find this particularly iconic," he said. "It almost feels like your building's being camouflaged to me." 

I really like the sharp disconnect between the garage and the tower, it really brings a uniqueness to the building that we don't really see around here.

I don't understand why Design Review would require integration with the glass paneled garage. To me that already looks dated and out of character. It's not the worst thing by any means. But regardless, I'm not sure it makes sense tailor en entire building around a parking garage.

 

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

I don't understand why Design Review would require integration with the glass paneled garage. To me that already looks dated and out of character. It's not the worst thing by any means. But regardless, I'm not sure it makes sense tailor en entire building around a parking garage.

 

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

I read the Design Review comments as suggesting just that--i.e., that the garage should be updated to conform with the tower; not that the tower should conform to the garage.

I don't understand why Design Review would require integration with the glass paneled garage. To me that already looks dated and out of character. It's not the worst thing by any means. But regardless, I'm not sure it makes sense tailor en entire building around a parking garage.

 

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

I read the Design Review comments as suggesting just that--i.e., that the garage should be updated to conform with the tower; not that the tower should conform to the garage.

Really? Well, I hope you're right and I'm wrong!

 

Excerpt from Cleveland.com piece:

 

The design-review committee asked Nadaaa and Westlake Reed Leskosky, the other firm working on the project, to explore ways to better integrate the new tower with the existing, glass-paneled garage.

 

 

The planning commission gave early, conceptual design approval to the project in July but asked Stark and the architects, Boston-based Nadaaa and Westlake Reed Leskosky of Cleveland, to come back with more details and look more closely at the integration of the glass-paneled garage and the metal-clad tower. Updated images show that Stark plans to remove the color – a reddish-pink – from the garage and spruce up the retail spaces along Euclid Avenue.

 

The tower will float above the 524-space parking structure, separated by both its design and illumination. "We anticipate lighting the underbelly of the building, which we think really enhances the glass that's already there on the garage," said Rebecca Hegyes, Stark's director of development. "Instead of trying to make the garage like the building, I think we're choosing to enhance the garage."

Is the developer trying to get permission to add height to the building? So this building could go even taller if allowed...

The design of the parking garage doesn't allow for a taller building.

Stark Enterprises seeks more design approvals for Beacon high-rise in downtown Cleveland (photos)

By Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer

on September 14, 2016 at 7:46 AM, updated September 14, 2016 at 9:20 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – New renderings of the planned Beacon apartment tower on Euclid Avenue show a textured building with zippered lighting up its sides and a ring of brightened balconies on the 21st floor.

 

Developer Stark Enterprises is seeking a second round of design approvals this week from the Cleveland City Planning Commission, with hopes of closing on financing and starting construction for the Beacon by year's end.

 

The 187-unit building will add 19 residential floors to the existing 515 Euclid Ave. parking garage, which was built more than a decade ago to support high-rise construction.

 

If all goes well, the one- and two-bedroom apartments could open in spring of 2018.

 

MORE:

http://realestate.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2016/09/stark_enterprises_seeks_more_d.html

Hegyes is aiming for an October audience with the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals, which will review the developer's request to build a taller, more densely populated structure than the current zoning on the property permits.

 

Stark has to get a height variance for downtown?? The zoning code really is messed up.

Really excited to see 515 happening - anything of this size bringing new residents downtown is a major victory.

I'm not a pro like many of you in the Forum, but I have learned that judging the building by the renderings can be a bit misleading -

sometimes the finished product looks better than the concept drawings - I'm thinking of the new Hilton...

Having said that, I find the Beacon design to be uninspiring.  Just not a fan of that box-like shape - we see enough of that downtown with buildings like "the 9", Justice Center, etc.  I know there was a height limitation, but it would've been great to have traded some of the bulkiness for a leaner, taller structure with a more interesting shape.

Seems like there was an emphasis on having the building "fit in" with many of the older brick buildings nearby.  I really like that the color fades as it ascends, but I would've liked getting away from the red brick tones completely.  I'm hoping that the big windows will really make the contemporary side of the building's personality come out more.  And I'd love the design commission to suggest a change on that "shed"-like structure on top.

Overall, great addition for downtown.

 

Cleveland Planning Commission approval. http://realestate.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2016/09/beacon_apartment_tower_in_down.html

This project is on the BZA docket next week for variances. 340 feet? Not too shabby.

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2016/crr09-26-2016.pdf

 

9/26/2016 -- Calendar No. 16-237: 515 Euclid Avenue Ward 3

 

Euclid Avenue Garage LLC., owner, proposes to erect a 19 ½ story residential addition on an existing 8 story parking garage in an E5 General Retail Business District. The owner appeals for relief from the following sections of the Cleveland Codified Ordinances:

1. Section 355.04 which states that in an “E” area district the maximum gross floor area cannot exceed 1 ½ times the lot area. In this case 55,461 square feet of maximum gross floor area is permitted and 265,160 square feet of maximum gross floor area (excluding parking garage area) is proposed.

2. Section 353.01 which states that in a “5” height district a 250 foot maximum height is permitted and the appellant is proposing a 340 foot height.

3. Section 357.09(b)(2)© which states that an interior side yard equal to ¼ the height of the building is required and none proposed.

4. Section 357.08(b)(2) which states that a rear yard equal to ½ the height of the building is required and no rear yard is proposed.

5. Section 357.05(a) which states that a side street yard of five feet is required. (Filed August 29, 2016)[/quot]

The things you have to get variances for in downtown and Cleveland in general utterly amaze me.

Cleveland Planning Commission approval. http://realestate.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2016/09/beacon_apartment_tower_in_down.html

 

This is good news -- one more step toward Bob Stark building his first major downtown project and one that will add significant density to one of the hottest areas downtown... BUT he still has to go before the Bd of Zoning Appeals since The Beacon will be taller than what is currently allowed, and THEN return to CPC for FINAL approval BEFORE a single spade goes into the earth.  Sheesh! talk about red tape...  All in the life of an urban builder, I s'pose. 

I thought there was a broad zoning overlay recently put in place downtown in order to allow the process to be smoother for development to take place... But it may have been specifically for the Warehouse District project and not over the entire CBD. Nevertheless, a new 340 ft building is a nice addition.

Hecks Cafe to be a part of 515 Euclid.

Building permits have been issued to Stark Ent. for what is described as 515 Grill/Hecks Cafe at 515 Euclid Ave. with Fabo Architecture.

Hecks Cafe to be a part of 515 Euclid.

Building permits have been issued to Stark Ent. for what is described as 515 Grill/Hecks Cafe at 515 Euclid Ave. with Fabo Architecture.

 

Now THAT i like!  Awesome addition, we need more places like that which can appeal to everyone... especially all the picky people I work with haha

^ now that is awesome news. keeping it local.

Heck's Cafe to open in downtown Cleveland as part of Beacon tower project (photos)

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Heck's Café has developed a devoted following over four decades, even as it operated quietly, nestled amid the residential homes of Ohio City.

 

Now, the classic Cleveland spot known for its gourmet burgers is ready to open amid the skyscrapers and the buzz.

 

The bar-restaurant will open a new location downtown on the ground floor of the 515 Euclid Ave. parking garage. The seven-story garage is part of a new project by Cleveland developer Stark Enterprises that includes a 19-floor apartment tower.

 

"We wanted to partner up with a local operator, and Heck's has done a great job in Ohio City," says Ezra Stark, chief operating officer for Stark Enterprises. "They've done very well with their brunches and breakfasts."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/11/hecks_cafe_to_open_downtown_cl.html

This will be great... I am a big fan of Heck's but working downtown sometimes going to Ohio City for lunch is a bit much.  Wonder what the "National fast food chain" is coming next door?  MY bet is Chick-fil-a.

Could it be a Shake Shack?

The article said a "national fast casual chain", and I would be surprised if they added another burger spot next to Heck's. My guess is Panera or Piada...

Is Potbelly still there?

Is Potbelly still there?

"Potbelly Sandwich Shop will also continue to operate in the 515 Euclid space. "

The article said a "national fast casual chain", and I would be surprised if they added another burger spot next to Heck's. My guess is Panera or Piada.

 

A Piada or Panera would be great additions downtown--especially if they are open til 10pm or so like they are elsewhere. We need dinner places downtown that aren't expensive/sit down restaurants.

Did environments 4 business already close? If so, why?

It moved into new digs in the flats