^they are really struggling on getting that place open.  I know there's a lot of build-out & specialty items to getting a brew pub open, but seems like they might not have had the best planning.  Whether it's financing, getting the lease straight, or whatever, I've seen dozens of places open faster than this with high end buildouts

Getting a production license for alcohol is a very lengthy process in and of itself, you can't compare how long it takes with a normal restaurant opening.

good point

 

Its called 'Holy Craft'

Too bad someone like Nationwide Realty in Columbus doesn't own all the parking lots in WHD.  I just happened to end up in Grandview Yard in Columbus a few weeks ago and it is very clear that Nationwide knows how to pull off an urban project on a grand scale...

Some very accomplished developers here in Cleveland too.  Weston, Forest City, DDR, Stark...  these people know what they're doing.  Risk & rate of return just seem to favor parking lots for the time being.  Don't discount the legacy costs of doing development in Cleveland vs a town like Columbus either.  You have no idea what's under those parking lots or what it would take to build on them, but Weston does.

Unless I am mistaken, this sign went up today. Could this be the end of the parking lot?!!!!! This is an awesome space, right next to the Samsel building. Let's hope so .....

 

 

Was that the District Park Site?

^yes...that seems like a million years ago

This is the parking lot on W 9th, next to Constantino's. Not sure who owns it.

Unless I am mistaken, this sign went up today. Could this be the end of the parking lot?!!!!! This is an awesome space, right next to the Samsel building. Let's hope so .....

 

 

 

What makes you think it might be the end of the parking lot?  It could potentially be bought by one of the parking lot companies which tend to be flush with cash, and the demand for parking in that area is stronger than ever.

 

I wonder of Marous still owns it (or did they ever own it...maybe they just had an option to buy when they were planning District Park).

Unless I am mistaken, this sign went up today. Could this be the end of the parking lot?!!!!! This is an awesome space, right next to the Samsel building. Let's hope so .....

 

 

 

There have been for sale signs posted at that lot for at least the past few years. Sadly, I don't think this is an indication of anything exciting.

In that case, an oops on my part. But maybe a brand new sign means something.  Sorry if I got everyone's hopes up. I was pretty psyched myself up to 2 minutes ago.

Unless I am mistaken, this sign went up today. Could this be the end of the parking lot?!!!!! This is an awesome space, right next to the Samsel building. Let's hope so .....

 

 

 

What makes you think it might be the end of the parking lot?  It could potentially be bought by one of the parking lot companies which tend to be flush with cash, and the demand for parking in that area is stronger than ever.

 

I wonder of Marous still owns it (or did they ever own it...maybe they just had an option to buy when they were planning District Park).

 

 

WEST 9TH PROPERTIES LLC

 

RAR STATUTORY SERVICE CORP.

6685 BETA DRIVE

CLEVELAND,OH 44143

We finally got our street lights back on the north side of St. Clair between W. 3rd and W. 6th.  They look great.

 

Finally is right

Al  has gotta be so happy. his customers, of which i am one, have had no street lighting the whole 10 yrs or so that he's been there.

The previous  ones didnt work since about 2000. Then they were removed , what ?, about 3 yrs ago. Then someone tripped over the prongs(?) (that remain when the lights are removed) and hurt himself/herself.

Intead of putting up new streetlights pronto, the city "covered" the exposed and dangerous metal prongs with orange construction cones. For 3 years!

btw, there are still many of these situations, w/out the aid of an orange cone, around downtown

 

World Cup in the WHD, from this past wkd

 

 

 

Harris Stanton on W 9th, now open.

 

WEST 9TH PROPERTIES LLC

 

RAR STATUTORY SERVICE CORP.

6685 BETA DRIVE

CLEVELAND,OH 44143

 

Yes, RAR is Marous.

Just remembered this. I saw an interesting thing going on in the WHD last Friday... or perhaps it was Thursday. There was a boring sample truck set up in one of the parking lots. I am pretty sure it was the one on West 9th, but it could have been West 6th.

 

 

Any guesses as to what this was for?

*fingers crossed*

Just remembered this. I saw an interesting thing going on in the WHD last Friday... or perhaps it was Thursday. There was a boring sample truck set up in one of the parking lots. I am pretty sure it was the one on West 9th, but it could have been West 6th.

 

 

Any guesses as to what this was for?

 

I saw it during the day on Saturday in the W9 parking lot. I even mentioned to my gf I wonder what they're boring for.

What does a boring sample truck do?

What does a boring sample truck do?

 

Drills down to take samples of the dirt below. Usually an indicator that someone is looking for a geotechnical analysis of the site in order to program for a building.

I've always wondered how much "Old Cleveland" remnants we'll find under those lots one day.

 

Outstanding news on the site prospecting!

You can see some remnants of this down there!!

 

 

^ Whoa, what is that?

^ Whoa, what is that?

 

It's the 1873 Cleveland Harbor Light. Amazing, right? Nobody knows about this. The only remnants are the stone steps that led to the keeper's house. They're on W 9th, under the Shoreway bridge.

Well goddamn, that is amazing.  Thanks for the history lesson.

Wow....! The things we learn on UO!  That is amazing. Was it torn down for the shoreway?

Wow....! The things we learn on UO!  That is amazing. Was it torn down for the shoreway?

Here ya go!

 

Lieutenant Colonel Jared A. Smith used the Cleveland Lighthouse, built in 1872 and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the United States, as the basis for his plans for Braddock Point Lighthouse. Perhaps this was because Cleveland Lighthouse, rendered unnecessary by harbor lights, had been deactivated at the close of navigation in 1892 and was scheduled to be torn down in 1895, making the tower’s lens, lantern room, and decorative metalwork available for use elsewhere. Both of these towers and dwellings were built in the Victorian era and definitely showed signs of the then popular architectural style.

 

CLE history

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=282

 

Bradock Point Light PA -  they stole our lighthouse!

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=303

Ooooo... I actually knew that, Surf. I even showed our mutual Filipina friend the remnants of that a while back. I didn't know it looked liked that though. Very nice.

Ooooo... I actually knew that, Surf. I even showed our mutual Filipina friend the remnants of that a while back. I didn't know it looked liked that though. Very nice.

 

You know everything Musky! Hey, let's get a kickstarter campaign going to rebuild the lighthouse ha ha.

What does a boring sample truck do?

 

Drills down to take samples of the dirt below. Usually an indicator that someone is looking for a geotechnical analysis of the site in order to program for a building.

 

They did all that years ago back when Marous had plans to develop their building on that site.  They had the construction plans done and were preselling condo's in 2004 when the cost of steel skyrocketed and the deal tanked.  THey had photos of all the foundations exposed & such.  pretty radical.

What does a boring sample truck do?

 

Drills down to take samples of the dirt below. Usually an indicator that someone is looking for a geotechnical analysis of the site in order to program for a building.

 

They did all that years ago back when Marous had plans to develop their building on that site.  They had the construction plans done and were preselling condo's in 2004 when the cost of steel skyrocketed and the deal tanked.  THey had photos of all the foundations exposed & such.  pretty radical.

 

Wasn't Marous's development (district park?) in between the Bingham and National Terminal? Or was there another one on this corner that was planned?

^Yeah, I thought Musky indicated that the boring was going on at the West Ninth and St. Clair lot.  Wasn't the Marous condo building further north.

I found this under current developments.  Not sure how accurate it is under Vintage Development Group's website. These are the folks behind Battery Park

 

http://www.vintage-group.com/current_developments.asp

 

District Park

 

Willoughby, OH

 

District Park is a Chicago-style residential development in the Historic Warehouse District that will take downtown living in Cleveland to a new level. Located on West 9th Street between the 250-unit National Terminal Building to the north, and the newly renovated 340-unit Bingham Building to the South, the project will consist of 300+ for-sale condominium units, street level retail, and a 500+ car parking garage. The project will occur in three phases.

 

For more information, please contact:

Mark Katcher, Community Sales Manager

Nothing

It's the 1873 Cleveland Harbor Light. Amazing, right? Nobody knows about this. The only remnants are the stone steps that led to the keeper's house. They're on W 9th, under the Shoreway bridge.

 

"Some" people know about this. ;)

 

^Yeah, I thought Musky indicated that the boring was going on at the West Ninth and St. Clair lot.  Wasn't the Marous condo building further north.

 

Yes it was. This is different. If you're referring to the NE corner of West 9th and St. Clair, the property is owned by the Historic Warehouse District Corp. If the property is on the SE corner, it's owned by a paper company called West 9th Street Investors. The real identity of the company is a mystery.

That is identical to the former DP proposal.  That image is quite the blast from the past.  Formerly something we discussed a lot on this site years ago.  Also, I think Vintage is a subsidiary of Marous. 

Vintage is a subsidiary of Marous and is the same company developing Battery Park.

Nothing

It's the 1873 Cleveland Harbor Light. Amazing, right? Nobody knows about this. The only remnants are the stone steps that led to the keeper's house. They're on W 9th, under the Shoreway bridge.

 

"Some" people know about this. ;)

 

^Yeah, I thought Musky indicated that the boring was going on at the West Ninth and St. Clair lot.  Wasn't the Marous condo building further north.

 

Yes it was. This is different. If you're referring to the NE corner of West 9th and St. Clair, the property is owned by the Historic Warehouse District Corp. If the property is on the SE corner, it's owned by a paper company called West 9th Street Investors. The real identity of the company is a mystery.

 

The borings were being done in the southeast corner of W9 and St. Clair.. Across W9 from Mallorca and the former BRGR9 space.

The borings were being done in the southeast corner of W9 and St. Clair.. Across W9 from Mallorca and the former BRGR9 space.

 

OK, now I want to know the company's ownership.

There are nine contiguous parcels totaling just over 2 acres on the southeast corner of West 9th and St. Clair which list to an owner called West Ninth Street Investors LLC. The property right at the southeast corner has an address of 1369 West 9th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113. West Ninth Street Investors LLC purchased the properties from System Property Development (a parent of System Parking) in July 2006 for just over $10 million ($10,064,421). The company West Ninth Street Investors LLC was apparently formed for the purpose of acquiring and owning this property, as the company was incorporated in June 2006 in the state of Delaware.

 

Its property tax bill is mailed to an accountant, Dennis Frausto of National Tax Search LLC, 303 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1040 in Chicago, IL 60601.

 

All legal inquiries are directed to West Ninth Street Investors' statutory agent Parasec Inc. (Paracorp Inc.), P.O. Box 160568, Sacramento, CA 95816.

 

Parasec Inc. (Paracorp Inc.) does have a local office. It is:

 

4568 Mayfield Road #213

South Euclid, OH 44121

 

Parasec is the statutory agent for about 200 companies, many of which are companies you may have never heard of, and many of which may exist only on paper. But some are legit, including Trader Joe's.

 

The Mayfield Road address is the Maywood Center office building. It is owned by Theatrical Management whose principal is Jeff Spitz and has an office next door to Parasec.

 

Ironically, the same information all traces to Arena Parking Investors LLC which owns the big parking lot on the southeast corner of East 4th and Prospect.

 

And it's also the same guys who own Prospect Garage Investors LLC which owns the parking deck off Huron Road, next to the curving, ground-level walkway across from the Fifth Street Arcades.

 

So that's when I remembered that a Los Angeles-based company bought ALL of these properties. So I did a search of Los Angeles parking lot owners in these areas. And lo and behold......

 

_________________

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20060731/FREE/60728031/los-angeles-firm-pays-24m-for-prime-lots

 

Los Angeles firm pays $24M for prime lots

By STAN BULLARD

July 31, 2006 4:30 AM

L&R Auto Parks of Los Angeles is the new owner of three of Cleveland’s best-located parking sites.

 

Land records show companies formed by L&R paid, respectively, $9.4 million for a 250-space surface lot north of Quicken Loans Arena; $5.35 million for the 400-car, nine-story parking garage next door at 630 Prospect Ave.; and $10 million for the 400 spaces on the southeast corner of West Ninth Street and St. Clair Avenue in the Warehouse District.

 

Network Parking of Cleveland is picking up management of the lots from the local office of L&R’s hometown rival, Los Angeles-based Ampco Parking.

 

System Parking Development Co. of Los Angeles sold the lot in the Warehouse District and the surface lot by Quicken; the Kaplan Trust and a local investor group sold the garage.

 

END

 

_________________

 

 

Who is L&R?

 

http://www.tlrgc.com/

 

_____________

 

Yes, the lot on the SE corner of West 9th and St. Clair is for sale or lease. I now recall seeing it listed at loopnet.

 

L.A. outfit finds time is right to shed downtown Cleveland land

Company marketing buildings, lots in view of big construction projects

By STAN BULLARD

4:30 am, October 31, 2011

 

Owning land in downtown Cleveland is like playing cards. There is a time to hold it and a time to play by selling it.

 

With casino gaming and a new convention center on the horizon, L&R Group of Los Angeles is trying to sell its downtown holdings. L&R has sold one of its properties and is in the hunt for buyers for parking lots near Quicken Loans Arena and the East Fourth Street and Warehouse District redevelopment hotspots.

 

In a small sale that may telegraph bigger property plays, L&R through L&R 612 Prospect LLC recently sold for $1.1 million a tiny, two-story building at 620 Prospect Ave., according to Cuyahoga County land records. Most recently, the structure was the home of the closed View nightclub on the second floor, but it was beloved by bibliophiles as the one-time home of Kay's Bookstore. Three retailers occupy the first floor.

 

.....However, Mr. Lumer said L&R is marketing the balance of its downtown Cleveland land and buildings. Those sites include the parking lot occupying most of the space between Prospect and Huron Road west of 620 Prospect; an empty building at 310 Prospect; and a parking lot on the southeast corner of West Ninth and St. Clair Avenue. He said he does not believe the company has put a price on the lots.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20111031/FREE/310319966&template=printart

 

_______________________

 

You may remember L&R from a much more recent news story...........

 

Request to demolish historic Herold Building is denied by Cleveland Planning Commission; debate over land continues

By Teresa Dixon Murray, The Plain Dealer

Email the author | Follow on Twitter

on March 21, 2014 at 3:40 PM, updated March 23, 2014 at 10:09 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland City Planning Commission today denied a request to demolish the Herold Building, a historic four-story structure on Prospect Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

The denial came after a representative for building owner L&R Group of Companies wasn't able to provide the commission with enough answers about whether the building could be restored or what they would do with the property at Prospect and Fourth if the building was torn down.

 

Built in 1906, the Herold Building has been empty for more than a decade and has been condemned for years. An L&R affiliate bought the glass-fronted building, at 310 Prospect Ave., in 2008 and since then has been battling the city about restoring it or redeveloping the 0.19-acre site.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/03/request_to_demolish_historic_h.html

 

_________________

 

So what do the parking lots in the Warehouse District and in the Gateway District have in common? Weston and its affiliates have acquired many parking lots and underutilized buildings in these areas. In fact, they are the dominant parking lot owner in the Warehouse District, and is adding the Standard Building to its portfolio. Weston is rumored to be in the market for more property acquisitions for potential development.

 

Sorry to list all of this, but I needed to put all of this down on a digital record for purposes of later reference. And now you can also see how my mind works to get from one place to another. Scary, isn't it!

KJP 

You are a fantastic sleuth!  Thanks for doing that

 

Thanks! I learned how during my days researching organized crime.

http://www.clevelandcontainerstructures.com/new-projects/

 

This is gong into the W 6th and St Claire parking lot owned by Weston. The Plain Dealer also is running a video regarding this project today

Here's the article/video....

 

Parking lots we love to hate: How Small Box project will change that in Warehouse District (VIDEO)

By Amanda Harnocz, Northeast Ohio Media Group

on July 04, 2014 at 6:06 AM, updated July 04, 2014 at 6:07 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Last November, the editorial board at cleveland.com featured 11 grass-roots campaigns in what we called "Change for change."

 

You, the people, voted at crowdrise.com/nurtureanidea and pledged dollars to help these ideas become a reality. As of July 3, more than $48,000 was raised for 11 different projects and it's still possible to donate.

 

Months later, these crowd-funded projects are coming to fruition. Through video and stories, we'll be sharing the progress and challenges these initiatives have faced.

 

READ/SEE MORE AT:

http://www.cleveland.com/interact/2014/07/parking_lots_we_love_to_hate_h.html#incart_m-rpt-1

 

Councilman Cimperman was being coy with me this evening on Twitter regarding the near-term future of some of those parking lots. I commented on the above picture and told him the parking crater was embarrassing. He said "#clerising will soon fill it." I said I have confidence too and asked if construction could start by mid-2016. He said "I think that's right!" I asked if he'd seen any current renderings. He said "awkward."

 

Yep, it's so vague you can take whatever meaning you want from it. Perhaps it could mean the Small Box project. Perhaps it could mean something more.

always a good sign of an active market when prime parking lots are being traded. hopefully into real deal developer hands.

Like I said previously, I think that with PS getting rebuilt, I feel that the city is aware of plans, and more concrete plans, that developers are ready to move on these parking lots.  I just never felt the re-rdesign and construction of PS was really worth it unless there was some type of development on those parking lots.  I honestly believe that the genesis of the PS plans were becasuse of increased activity on the deal making side of those lots.  Could be way off, but my opinion. 

Like I said previously, I think that with PS getting rebuilt, I feel that the city is aware of plans, and more concrete plans, that developers are ready to move on these parking lots.  I just never felt the re-rdesign and construction of PS was really worth it unless there was some type of development on those parking lots.  I honestly believe that the genesis of the PS plans were becasuse of increased activity on the deal making side of those lots.  Could be way off, but my opinion. 

gotribe[/member] I don't think you're far off at at all.  With commercial real estate, they see a beautiful TC Complex, but a not so inviting or useful (to some) public space in PS. With our local economy doing, well, unemployment low, downtown rental housing very strong, the mall, CC/MM construction and open successfully executed, news of recent conversions and a resurgence in civic pride, the tide has turned and PS is another improvement project that can lead to the overall improvement of the city.  Developers can see the need for housing, retail, hotels etc and this area is OVER rip for development.  Hopefully we'll see some real development on the Jacobs plot, which may spur others.