Euclid Avenue proves the right environment for this business

 

Now if every article could be opened with this type of enthusiasm.  It would help change the mindset, real or perceived, of downtown. 

It looks like Environments 4 Business, office furniture dealership based out of Akron... primarily rep allsteel.

 

http://www.thinke4b.com/

 

 

 

Just walked past here and there were people working at desks and moving around inside. There was no sign that said open but it looks like the office (?) is open.

Does anyone know if there is going to be any kind of signage going for the Environments 4 Business office?

Yes there is... Pretty "standard" stuff.  There will be a raceway added with some illuminated channel letters on it.  This will be building standard signage.

Yes there is... Pretty "standard" stuff. There will be a raceway added with some illuminated channel letters on it. This will be building standard signage.

 

Any idea as to when this is going to be installed?

Haven't heard, but it was approved a while ago...  I'd imagine in the "near' future (complete guess... but I'd say within 4-6 weeks, seeing as they just opened).

Haven't heard, but it was approved a while ago... I'd imagine in the "near' future (complete guess... but I'd say within 4-6 weeks, seeing as they just opened).

 

Thanks a lot! I was hoping it would have been up by now with them being open, but hopefully something will be up soon.

Not sure if they technically are open, though, just "in place". There are plastic signs up in the interiors (as of yesterday) that say "Coming Soon".

Anybody uses 515 Garage for monthly parking? I could not reach them for 2 days to get the rates :-D

 

OR, Could you suggest anything else around East 4th?

Anybody uses 515 Garage for monthly parking? I could not reach them for 2 days to get the rates ;D

 

OR, Could you suggest anything else around East 4th?

 

Throw a dart on a map of downtown.  There are hundreds of parking spaces around.  Negotiation is in your favor.

I park at the garage on Euclid between 668 and the City Club. It's $125 a month but it's staffed 24/7 and over the last 3 years I've never had a problem.

The sign for Enviroments for Business is going up today.  I took a picture with my phone, but it's pretty terrible.  I suggest MayDay take a stroll and get a nice pretty picture. 

 

 

pfft... mayday... :)

Nice!

the camera on the iphone is terrible.  Isnt; there an app for this???

I saw mayday hooked us up with the day time photo, so I figured I'd help out here. Quick shot coming home from work. Building and sign look great at night!

 

 

Edit:

 

Thanks. That's a ginormous picture  :D

 

Ya I just realized that. I took the pic with my phone and uploaded while I was walking down Euclid. I just resized it. :-D

Thanks. That's a ginormous picture  :D

Is this open to the public?

How much of this is still vacant?

Aw man... everytime I see this thread, I think they're finally gonna build on top of it!

Aw man... everytime I see this thread, I think they're finally gonna build on top of it!

 

That will be a great day

The 515 Euclid garage was constructed in order to support a condo tower "as the market would bear" - the market (especially banks lending to condo construction) isn't bearing much of anything on the scale of 515 Euclid at the moment. If/when there's ever movement to the contrary, we'll all hear about it.

 

Why does it have to be condos?  The market would bear an apartment tower right freaking now.  At this point, we haven't seen weak demand for single rentals downtown in years.  Who is making our demand measurements for downtown housing and retail?  How are they making these measurements?  How could they be so bad at it and still have that job?

If anyhing gets built it is not going to be by the original owner/developer who are fighting for their financial lives (Goldbergs).

Sounds like they should sell.

If this condo tower ever gets built, I know I would find a way to buy a unit...this is the #1 spot I would want to live downtown.

I'm normally not a big fan of garages...but that 515 parking garage is really sharp and is a nice asset for Euclid.  It's well maintained too; I saw a couple guys washing all that glass for hours this past Saturday.

Harbor Group International buys 10-story parking garage in downtown Cleveland

By STAN BULLARD

1:45 pm, October 4, 2011

 

Harbor Group International, a real estate owner and operator based in Norfolk, Va., has closed on its acquisition of the 10-story parking garage at 515 Euclid Ave. from the estate of AmTrust Financial Corp.

 

Harbor said it paid $8.15 million at an auction for the 525-space garage, which cost $20 million to construct in 2005.

 

T. Richard Litton Jr., Harbor Group president, told Crain's Cleveland Business in an interview that Harbor Group acquired the garage based on the revenue it will produce from parking vehicles and by leasing vacant retail space on its first floor.

 

However, Mr. Litton said the ability to build apartments or condominiums above the garage was a bonus from the purchase. He said Harbor Group would not develop the air rights over the garage itself but would consider selling them to another developer.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111004/FREE/111009957

Wow.... thanks for the commitment to consider selling air rights you have no interest in using yourself. :/

A casual Google search of Harbor Group International suggests they only own/manage apartment complexes. They don't build them.

Well, it could be good....perhaps someone would be interested in building on top if promoted to a buyer.  I must wonder though....will any of downtown be locally owned? So much is owned by groups I sense really don't care much about the city.  Acknowledged that there are surely the local groups who don't seem to care much either--otherwise there would be no need for Cleveland Storefront Art.

For what it is worth one of the better posters at CitiData suggest that a developer has reached an agreement with HGI to develop the tower portion. The post was a couple of days after the Crains article of the garage sale. I wont post the link to another forum, most of you will be able to find it if you need.

If this were true, idk what I would do. Lets pray lol

Hopefully it is true, and not just speculation. Lord knows I could use some type of good news :-D

I've said it before-- if this tower gets built, I would do whatever it takes to get a condo there. (barring crappy interior layout)

^If any of this is actually true (?), I doubt the building would now be condos as orginally planned, but rather rental apartments.

Im surprised the garage wasn't able to find better tenants/fill all storefronts.

I've said it before-- if this tower gets built, I would do whatever it takes to get a condo there. (barring crappy interior layout)

I think you mean barring financing, that will be the biggest hurdle.  Condo financing is in the toilet.

http://www.desman.com/hotproperty/task,view/id,59/Itemid,168/

^My guess is that web page is about a million or so years old, probably created when the garage was first built.  Note it identifies the "client" as Ohio Savings.

^ It is, I remember coming across it quite awhile ago.

You'd like to think that, if quality apartments were built atop 515 were built, (a la 668 across the street), they could someday be changed to market-rate units.  You'd think an apartment tower could get built, given the explosive growth and popularity of the immediate area (if you don't belive it, let me take you back just 4 years in my Time Machine to the pre-finished Health Line lower Euclid)... For once we need an agressive/PROgressive developer along perhaps with a forward looking mayor offering some kind of incentives to get the job done...

 

...Well, we know the former exists (in the personage of Ari Maron), ... just not sure of the latter (in the personage of Timid Frank).

...Well, we know the former exists (in the personage of Ari Maron), ... just not sure of the latter (in the personage of Timid Frank).

 

But, clvlndr, Franks announcment today was meant to show him otherwise.  :| 

You'd like to think that, if quality apartments were built atop 515 were built, (a la 668 across the street), they could someday be changed to market-rate units.  You'd think an apartment tower could get built, given the explosive growth and popularity of the immediate area (if you don't belive it, let me take you back just 4 years in my Time Machine to the pre-finished Health Line lower Euclid)... For once we need an agressive/PROgressive developer along perhaps with a forward looking mayor offering some kind of incentives to get the job done...

 

...Well, we know the former exists (in the personage of Ari Maron), ... just not sure of the latter (in the personage of Timid Frank).

 

With downtown residential occupancy maxed out (at aprox 95%), the prospect of 515 Euclid being built is not so far fetched

I'm sorry willyboy, I must have missed Frank's comments in Crain's article... I want to believe in Frank.  He's a nice man and, thankfully, has tamped down the constant noise and controversy that routinely swirled around City Hall.  I wish he was a little more aggressive about development (esp TOD), but a lot of GOOD things are happening under his watch in a town with huge population losses and a bleak foreclosure portfolio... He helped broker a deal to get the MedMart moving and is spearheading development at the E. 9th St. Pier, that smart commentators (Steve Litt among them) believe is sensibly scaled down and doable... I just hope he can do some strong nudging to get some kind of positive development of 515, which is still a good idea.  The Tower should be the end game, but as someone noted earlier, at least, we need to get some more permanent, high-quality retailers in the ground space along Euclid -- an area that is very hot, now...

You'd like to think that, if quality apartments were built atop 515 were built, (a la 668 across the street), they could someday be changed to market-rate units.  You'd think an apartment tower could get built, given the explosive growth and popularity of the immediate area (if you don't belive it, let me take you back just 4 years in my Time Machine to the pre-finished Health Line lower Euclid)... For once we need an agressive/PROgressive developer along perhaps with a forward looking mayor offering some kind of incentives to get the job done...

 

...Well, we know the former exists (in the personage of Ari Maron), ... just not sure of the latter (in the personage of Timid Frank).

 

With downtown residential occupancy maxed out (at aprox 95%), the prospect of 515 Euclid being built is not so far fetched

 

I dont think that is correct.  Do you mean downtown rental residential occupancy is maxed out around 95%?

^ I was just thinking that, too.

And one bedroom from what ive heard

Has anyone been to the top of the garage?  It looks like you would have 3-5 stories of buildings (depending on the side) right next to any tower built above it, which would kill views (and prices for all of those units, shifting even more weight on the other units pricing).  Unfortunately I think building on top of the garage would be such an expensive endeavor, you would need some serious subisdies from the City/State/Etc to make the project work.  The North facing units of a building there would have an amazing view though, right up the mall to the lakefront  8-)  I would love to see someone come in and take the risk, however I think the best bet at new and high end apartments being built would be a retrofit of an existing building, or a smaller tower somewhere else, with less cost/risk

Has anyone been to the top of the garage?  It looks like you would have 3-5 stories of buildings (depending on the side) right next to any tower built above it, which would kill views (and prices for all of those units, shifting even more weight on the other units pricing).  Unfortunately I think building on top of the garage would be such an expensive endeavor, you would need some serious subisdies from the City/State/Etc to make the project work.  The North facing units of a building there would have an amazing view though, right up the mall to the lakefront  8-)  I would love to see someone come in and take the risk, however I think the best bet at new and high end apartments being built would be a retrofit of an existing building, or a smaller tower somewhere else, with less cost/risk

 

The base and foundation of the building was built so that a tower could be added at a later date, so I'm not sure that such heavy subsidies would be needed to build rentals.

Has anyone been to the top of the garage?  It looks like you would have 3-5 stories of buildings (depending on the side) right next to any tower built above it, which would kill views (and prices for all of those units, shifting even more weight on the other units pricing).  Unfortunately I think building on top of the garage would be such an expensive endeavor, you would need some serious subisdies from the City/State/Etc to make the project work.  The North facing units of a building there would have an amazing view though, right up the mall to the lakefront  8-)  I would love to see someone come in and take the risk, however I think the best bet at new and high end apartments being built would be a retrofit of an existing building, or a smaller tower somewhere else, with less cost/risk

 

I disagree. First, any residential, particuarly rental needs serious subsidies to work in Cleveland with our cost of living that's not unique to this property (though the reason we see more conversions than newcon is because there are more tools available... fed and state tax credits, vpi, etc). And this garage was built for the purpose of having additional construction above. So the "costs" were already built into the superstructure of the garage. As far as facing out looking at buildings... that is what city living is. If you have been inside 668 on the euclid side, the windows look directly out at the garfield and guardian buildings framing one of the most beautiful vantage points in the entire city.

 

All that being said, its really tough to do residential right now... especially if you don't have access to the tools available for repurposing older historic structures. So I wouldn't see this happening any time soon.