I agree that more restaurant and retail business storefronts without more residents and workers in the area seems silly.

 

How about some residential on top of that retail?

 

Also, one thing that seems to be missing from the Heights area seems to be Class A office space -- how about some offices above the retail as well. 

I agree that more restaurant and retail business storefronts without more residents and workers in the area seems silly.

 

How about some residential on top of that retail?

 

Also, one thing that seems to be missing from the Heights area seems to be Class A office space -- how about some offices above the retail as well. 

 

Is there a demand?

I know two people who were looking for office space in the Heights and told me they were disappointed in what they found.  One set up an office in Beachwood and the other went to Rocky River, I think.  How much demand there is, I don't know.  Do we have any realtors here who would know how much interest has been expressed in locating offices in Cleveland Heights?

Can't speak to how much interest there is in CH office, but there are really only three office buildings in CH - Severance Medical Building, building at Mayfield and Lee, and the Medusa building.  The Mayfield/Lee building and Medusa building are both definitely class C and from what I know, probably don't have high occupancy rates.  The majority of office space is 2nd floor office in the retail districts.  The Cedar/Fairmount office space tends to have higher rental rates and lower vacancies. 

 

Probably the biggest issue with office development is lack of highway access, so you are much more likely to have local, smaller businesses in the available space.  As far as developing new office, there is no land (unless you want to develop Oakwood Country Club, but there won't be that much demand for it).  If the Top of the Hill is ever developed, my guess is there would be a second floor office component.

 

FYI - office above retail is not typically known as Class A office space.

FYI - office above retail is not typically known as Class A office space.

 

I'm no expert but that seems strange since many downtown buildings have retail/restaurant space on the ground floor and probably have Class A office space on the upper floors. 

 

I agree that there are few office-only buildings in CH.  Most of the office space in CH and UH and to some extent SH seems to be in buildings that only have one to three floors and no main atrium-type main entrance for upper-floor offices.  And much of that office space lacks grounded outlets or building-wide air conditioning (using window air conditioners instead) -- which were some of the specific complaints that I heard about what office space there was. 

 

I suspect there is more room for infill in these neighborhoods than is readily apparent at first glance. 

 

Lack of highway access probably does mean that the office space would be occupied by more local businesses.  But there are a lot of small businesses (insurance, legal, accounting, etc.) that do not require a storefront or a huge amount of space that COULD locate there to serve the Heights communities instead of somewhere further away, if there was high quality office space available. 

 

Mixed-use buildings and mixed-use communities would seem to be more sustainable in the long term than single-use buildings or residential-only communities. 

Looks like there are some bulldozers and new temporary fences parked at the empty part of Cedar Center.  A lot of the debris is finally being cleared out

I saw a guy doing surveying out there last week.  If anyone watches the show Parks & Recreation, this whole Cedar Center North fiasco reminds me of the pit.

According to a friend's facebook newsfeed:

 

"Good news, the Cedar Center construction has finally started after a 2-year hiatus... right outside my bedroom window at 6 in the morning."

Man, I remember going to Cedar Center every other weekend to bowl. And when I was older I would hit Za Za's across the street (they didn't card!)

 

Those were the days:(

 

 

Is the "No Name" bar still there?

Man, I remember going to Cedar Center every other weekend to bowl. And when I was older I would hit Za Za's across the street (they didn't card!)

 

Those were the days:(

 

 

Is the "No Name" bar still there?

 

What's the "No Name" bar?  O'Reilly's is still around, not a bad little neighborhood watering hole.

I took a ride last night and swung by the site.  One excavator and a porta-potty, not much else.  No construction trailer.  It could be getting started, but I sure wouldn't call it 'full steam ahead'

The temporary public art installation along the construction fence appears to utilize all reclaimed materials to mimic the look of a tree's leaves blowing on the wind. Quite captivating and worth a look. Would love to see this much attention paid to stalled/in-progress projects in the center city!

but is it world-class signage??

but is it world-class signage??

 

The temporary public art installation looks cheap and like crap. The plain fence would look better. It looks like trash stuck in the fence blowing in the wind.

It looks like trash stuck in the fence blowing in the wind.

 

Crap, that's exactly what I thought it was...

GF Marketplace will be first retailer at Cedar Center North in South Euclid

 

The city of South Euclid has reached an agreement with Gordon Food Service to become the first retailer at Cedar Center North.

 

Read more:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2010/09/gf_marketplace_will_be_first_r.html

I still am very concerned with the planned influx of new retail in this neighborhood

A GFS is going to be the first "anchor" to this center?!? These very low end bulk grocers are notorious for having horribly designed box stores found in sprawly areas. I do not see how this could be beneficial to the ultimate evolution of this project. It seems having this come in first would set the tone for what other types of retail/dining will come next. I can't imagine any sort of residential development next door to this type of establishment.

I heard construction did not begin in October due to some stinky disagreement with the Cleveland Hts.-Univ. Heights School Board.  What gives??????

Sun Press should publish an article, already!

This article gives a good, recent update.... and explains why the school board is a necessary party to the negotiations.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2010/10/ohio_epa_approval_gained_for_c.html

Thanks.  I didn't want to give the impression I'm on the City's side; I just wanted to see something in writing with more detail than I had heard.  I read the "Sun Press" but not the paper covering South Euclid, normally.

Does anyone know what's going on along Cedar and Miramar, across the street from University Square (Target)? The former synagogue that got torn down has been vacant for several years. About a month ago, a new house was constructed on the far east end of the land. Just yeterday however, all the mature trees were cut down on the remaining land. I'm guessing that houses are not going in there since the landscape was just hacked down. Anyone?

They broke ground today on Gordon Food Services. It was all nice and cute, a white tent with a few people holding shovels. I almost stopped by to ask why a GFS is something to be proud of, but I decided that it wasn't worth the time. There's also a picture of the GFS, with parking on all sides. Looks like a TGI Friday's, pretty pathetic actually.

^Please don't expect much from this development...Coral is the developer and they don't have a great track record (aesthetic wise) in a good economy.  Given the current state of the ecomony and how long they have taken to actually get shovels in the ground, I have fears of massive corner cutting on a project that was not that promising in the first place.

 

They broke ground today on Gordon Food Services. It was all nice and cute, a white tent with a few people holding shovels. I almost stopped by to ask why a GFS is something to be proud of, but I decided that it wasn't worth the time. There's also a picture of the GFS, with parking on all sides. Looks like a TGI Friday's, pretty pathetic actually.

 

Correct. It is hideous.

Does anyone know what's going on along Cedar and Miramar, across the street from University Square (Target)? The former synagogue that got torn down has been vacant for several years. About a month ago, a new house was constructed on the far east end of the land. Just yeterday however, all the mature trees were cut down on the remaining land. I'm guessing that houses are not going in there since the landscape was just hacked down. Anyone?

 

It looks like one house has gone in there.  I wonder if all of the land is slated to be SFH?

http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/05/developer_of_cedar_center_nort.html#incart_mce

 

Developer of Cedar Center North in South Euclid shows plans to city's planning commission

 

Developer Peter Rubin unveiled a plan for the Cedar Center North shopping center his Coral Co. is developing off Cedar Road and, after hearing critiques from members of the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, it was back to the drawing board.

 

............................

 

 

“Walkability was an important factor to us,” Rubin said, stating an intention to make walking easy between Cedar Center on the south, University Heights, side of the road (where Whole Foods is an anchor) and Cedar Center North.

 

But commission member Tracie Zamiska was critical of the site plan, stating that a pedestrian must first cross Cedar Road, not always an easy task, and then walk through the parking lot area that makes up a great deal of the frontage in the Cedar Center North plan to get to its stores.

 

Zamiska and other commission members appeared to be underwhelmed by the public greenspace included in the site plan, space that the city has heralded as being an important part of the development as it will serve as host to public functions.

 

................................

 

Zamiska said she and residents attended design charrettes in which residents gave ideas to Coral as to what they wanted to see at Cedar Center North, including the type of greenspace wanted.

 

“I was at those charrettes,” Zamiska said after seeing Coral’s plan for greenspace. “Why did I waste my afternoons? This public space is not what the people wanted. You have to cross a driveway to get to it.”

 

Don't get me started on this project. I wish someone could post a history of the proposed development. The original designs a few years ago were nice mixed use developments. Now we have a suburban strip mall with a big box GFS. Are we really going to end up with eminent domain to tear down one occupied plaza for a new one? What a shame and an embarrassment.

I am not a fan either, but in fairness, we have to consider that this and many other projects were first conceived and the wheels were turning when the recession hit.  They still have to do better than the cwap they show in the article.  I am glad that there are leaders like Zaminski who recognized that and sent Coral back to the drawing board.

This is disgusting.  At least the dumpy plaza that was there had most of the parking behind it.

I am not a fan either, but in fairness, we have to consider that this and many other projects were first conceived and the wheels were turning when the recession hit.  They still have to do better than the cwap they show in the article.  I am glad that there are leaders like Zaminski who recognized that and sent Coral back to the drawing board.

Good point, but each design proposal has been progressively more standard suburban stripmallesque. Now some of those 2009 and early 2010 proposals after the recession began look great in comparison. Kudos to the council for sending these designs back.

 

But you have no wonder how long they want this parcel to stay vacant? The GFS as I stated in this thread last year really sets the tone for future tenants and uses. This corner really has turned into a hodgepodge of buildings, I really hope S Euclid doesn't settle on a shoddy design that doesn't at least tie the corner together.

Wow, just wow.

 

From May 2005:

 

To May 2007:

 

To May 2011's Strip Mall redux:

 

I read Tracie Zamiska's quotes from the article above and I'm reminded of the scene in Seinfeld where Russell Dalrymple, who's overseeing their TV pilot, "The script. Now, I've read this thing three times.    And every time I read it...  Excuse me for a second."  At which point he runs to the bathroom and vomits.  Violently.

Here is video of Rubin meeting with the Planning Commission.  Unfortunately, since eminent domain was used it's hard to see how the city has any high ground to stand on given that they've created a bigger blight with their heavy-handed actions than what existed before.

 

 

Notable from this video is that it's implied that they cannot build on or relocate what is referred to as "Stanhope Rd" (the access road that served the back parking lot of the old Cedar Center.  It sounded like there are utilities beneath that can't be relocated, and I'm going to presume that this is because they don't have the financing that would be required to do that anymore, because their previous plans certainly did.  With that being the case, it certainly restricts in a great way what can be done on the site.

 

That video ruined my day. Rubin probably knew all along this was the plan and now yippeeeee I can't wait for the new stripmall to be built, in uh, 5 years, if we're lucky. BTW, the guy that kept rubbing his face when the lady was making EXCELLENT points really doesn't get it either.

University Heights approved the long rejected plans of a new McDonald's adjacent to Cedar Center South. I believe they are going to tear down the old shopping center on Warrensville, just south of Whole Foods and Boston Chicken. There is nothing left in there now except an oriental rug place and a closed-up kosher chicken place. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that is the spot. Needless to say, and much like the proposal for a new McDonald's in Lakewood, I say blah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you mean the strip that has Geraci's in it?

Do you mean the strip that has Geraci's in it?

 

No, the one north of there, between Bushnell and Lansdale.

 

This plan sucks.  There were about 5 businesses in that strip (not pretty, built right up to the street at least) very recently.  Now we get one suburban style McDonald's.  Yay!

UH must be desperate...this takes away a long strip of buildings that front on the sidewalk and replace it with a parking lot, bad architecture, neighborhood liter and fat kids.  Progress.

I can't picture that - is this where the Cleveland Hts library is? The Starbucks?

^No...if the information above is correct it is on the west side of Warrensville Center, just south of Boston Market and a bank I cannot recall.

This?

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=cleveland,+ohio&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=28.529345,56.162109&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cleveland,+Cuyahoga,+Ohio&ll=41.499495,-81.695409&spn=0,0.027423&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=41.499497,-81.536217&panoid=0uo019Y8KAWXPlG5pziNGQ&cbp=12,233.61,,0,0&output=svembed

UH must be desperate...this takes away a long strip of buildings that front on the sidewalk and replace it with a parking lot, bad architecture, neighborhood liter and fat kids.  Progress.

 

Those buildings have been mostly empty for at least a few years now.  This is a dumb idea (and I'm still not convinced that it's set in stone), I would have preferred Waterway, but oh well.

This?

 

Yes

^No...if the information above is correct it is on the west side of Warrensville Center, just south of Boston Market and a bank I cannot recall.

 

Dollar Bank.

 

The old shopping center/potential new McDonald's is directly across the street from PNC.  We're talking about the northwest corner of the Bushnell/Warrensville Center intersection.  The most brilliant thing about the plan is that traffic exiting McDonald's will only be allowed exit towards Warrensville Center Road.  For those very familiar with that area and traffic patterns, you'll immediately realize that this is going to create a traffic nightmare on the two side streets (Bushnell and the other one whose name escapes me) near their intersection of Warrensville Center Road.

Those buildings have been mostly empty for at least a few years now.  This is a dumb idea (and I'm still not convinced that it's set in stone), I would have preferred Waterway, but oh well.

 

There is one business left there, but I'm betting it has become mostly empty (it was mostly full just a few years ago) because the tenants were pressured out (or left on their own accord because of the word that the plaza was being torn down).

 

And Waterway was just as horrible of an idea (if not worse) than McDonald's.

two side streets (Bushnell and the other one whose name escapes me)

 

Lansdale

Those buildings have been mostly empty for at least a few years now.  This is a dumb idea (and I'm still not convinced that it's set in stone), I would have preferred Waterway, but oh well.

 

There is one business left there, but I'm betting it has become mostly empty (it was mostly full just a few years ago) because the tenants were pressured out (or left on their own accord because of the word that the plaza was being torn down).

 

And Waterway was just as horrible of an idea (if not worse) than McDonald's.

 

I agree, but if it were one or the other, I guess I would have preferred Waterway.  I hate McDonald's and think it has no place in my community.

I agree, but if it were one or the other, I guess I would have preferred Waterway.  I hate McDonald's and think it has no place in my community.

 

Yeah, I guess you're right between those two.  I hated both plans, but I'm not sure there's a place I hate much more than McDonald's.

The brick structure of what I believe is the GFS has been up for a while now in the back of the property near Fenwick Road.  Earth is being moved elsewhere on the site.  I don't have a camera to take pictures, but things are moving on the north side of Cedar.