Empty warehouses in Cleveland often are fire, health hazards

Cleveland struggles with hundreds of empty warehouses

Saturday, November 10, 2007

John Caniglia

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

When a fire roared through an East 45th Street warehouse on Halloween, it gutted one of four vacant buildings within a half-mile. That part of the city, just east of downtown, thrived decades ago, when manufacturing was king. The building that caught fire was used years ago to recycle textiles. People found jobs next door at a plant that cleaned industrial work gloves.

 

More below:

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

[email protected], 800-683-7348

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2007/11/fire_danger_builds.html

sign of the times

by no means was this their most egergious example, but once again i dont like the overall tone of this peedee article - sheesh!

 

instead of taking the post-fire opportunity to sell the city in a positive way and discuss the exciting and infinite possibilities, not to mention how lucky cleveland is to still have all that old warehouse space, as usual they tilted heavily toward the negative aspects.

 

for ex, first they say the building was "crumbling and vacant" but further along oh surprize guess what the building was being cleaned to be converted into housing. why not say that at the outset?  :whip:

 

then, an owner says there is just no market for his warehouse? well guess what? maybe $1.2m for your place is way, way overpriced in this market. lower your price guy. sorry about your luck, but i bet he would still make money -- and that certainly doesnt mean burn or tear them down.

 

finally, the last quote was really a blatent shout out for more teardowns. hmm.

 

can or has the city zoned some of these areas or otherwise tried to protect old warehouses to hold onto them? or will insurance scam firebugs pull another south bronx on them? i feel for the firefighters union and the inspectors. please do school me and give me some hope somebody!

 

You mean hope for the PD? No chance. Sorry -- now I'M being negative!!

hello??? developers have no money to turn the warehouses into residential, and if they do turn them into residential space who would want to move in??, who would want to live in a warehouse in cleveland and worry about getting shot or mugged when you walk outside?? why not move to the burbs and get whatever you want and not have to worry about any problems. And the reason these warehouses are going up in smoke is because these developers are falling on hard times so why not just burn it down and recover the insurance. I know this because i know a firefighter who is my friend and he has told me what is going on. You can't get the truth from the paper or the news.

hello??? developers have no money to turn the warehouses into residential, and if they do turn them into residential space who would want to move in??, who would want to live in a warehouse in cleveland and worry about getting shot or mugged when you walk outside?? why not move to the burbs and get whatever you want and not have to worry about any problems.

 

Yeah, that's right, NO ONE in their right mind would want to live in a converted warehouse in Cleveland.  Can't imagine what those guys were thinking when they decided to convert a whole bunch of them into residential and call the whole thing the "Warehouse District".  That'll never work...  :whip:

^Yeah, once again Cleveland has proved he/she doesn't have a clue about whats really going on.

The first of the two warehouses to burn was to have been the latest in a growing number of residential warehouse conversions in that immediate area.  That developer has done other warehouse projects in other areas of the city as well.  It is obvious that it can be done, and developers are at work doing it.  Maybe you didn't know that, Cleveland,(though it was stated in the article) but I have ask if you're really just here to raise hackles, because that seems to be what you primarily try to do.

"You can't get the truth from the paper or the news."

 

You also can't get it from your posts - copius amounts of misinformation, yes; a spectacular display of ignorance, absolutely; but truth from your posts? We're waiting with baited breath, chief. :roll:

Hundreds of empty warehouses.

 

Or as I like to call it: Opportunity.

How is it that these warehouse owners came to own the buildings?*  They probably bought them as a speculative real estate purchase.  If they cannot keep up with the taxes and fire protection improvements, they should sell them at whatever the fair market value is, which probably is not very much.

 

*Probably not from an estate settlement

I had actually heard from a very reliable source that the PD writer was definitely taking a "let's tear down these hazards" angle when interviewing ... the story was skewed from the beginning. The individual spoke to the reporter regarding the hundreds of artists who have moved into these warehouse spaces and was hoping that the tone of the story would change some. Unfortunately, it obviously didn't. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a "tear them down" editorial board within the next week.

 

As for Cleveland, I live about half a mile away from where the fire took place, and my census tract has the lowest reported crime rates citywide. Crime rates in my neighborhood are considerably lower than in many of the suburbs you recommend people flee to ... but I also have all the amenities and quality of life that come from living in a vibrant urban neighborhood ... something that can't be replicated in the big boxes and gated communities of exurbia. You're entitled to live wherever you want, but it does a disservice to me and the other residents of my neighborhood to suggest that we're on the verge of some criminal apocalypse when quite the opposite is true. Let's stick to the facts and let people make their locational decisions based on rationale and not unfounded fear.

Hundreds of empty warehouses.

 

Or as I like to call it: Opportunity.

 

Exactly!

 

 

Well, both from the standpoint of new developments and... abandonments ;)

thx guys, i feel a little better now that it wasnt totally just me ranting frustration with the peedee yet again.

 

yeah, real bright knee-jerk trough you led us horses to there mr. pd writer: let's tear down even more of the unique infrastructure of the city. worse, let's kind of side with the slumlord owners and minimize the developer with the proven track record who just got his renovation project burned down.

 

any other decent city paper would or could have taken this opportunity to be rallying to put up a statue of "perkowski the heroic warehouse developer," well ok ,that's way over the top -- but at least researching ideas and asking aloud what the city can do to help motivated people like that. sheesh.

Hundreds of empty warehouses.

 

Or as I like to call it: Opportunity.

 

 

 

NICE!

I agree with you Mr NYC. When I was reading it I was thinking about how I have a client who wants a warehouse building. Of course he's not looking for the size of these, but I didn't know that till I read the article. I say the City should offer them at $1 a sq ft and forgive the taxes until they are up and running as something new.  Who can we get interested in this?  Why not high tech lofts or marketing company lofts. I watched 30 something back in the day, advertising types love lofts :-)

It is devastating to think of the old brick wearhouses being destroyed. We will never have anything like them again. Nothing is built like that! I would still love to see the formation of a coop and the rehab a warehouse. A group would jointly pay for basic rehab (roofing, electrical etc), and finish interiors as they choose. While I live in new contruction, I would  rather see more emphasis on rehab than building new housing with always questionable quality. Here a kind of neat "single family" warehouse rehab I saw today (hope link works: http://progressiveurban.com/homepage_frameset_lowres.htm) edit-link just goes to PURE . its listing #  2423141

 

a little (ok,a lot )  pricey for me, but the kinda thing that would be really cool to  find and rehab on your own

okay I was able to copy the listing info from our mls system - not the photo though.  It's a great property peabody I agree.

 

Residential  MLS #:2423141  Status:Active-NORMLS LP: $389,900

1668 E 40th St  Cleveland OH  44103-2319 SP: $

Subdivision/Complex: Hitchcock County: Cuyahoga

Parcel ID# (PIN): 102-30-056 Area: 1001 Map: C8C1

MLS Cross Ref #:    Multiple PIN #'s: 

Sub Prop Type: Other List Date: 11/12/2007 

Photos: Media:  6 

Directions: NORTH OF PAYNE - SOUTH OF SUPERIOR

Condominium

 

Monthly Maint Fee:  Annual Recreation Fee:  Unit Floor #: 

Maintenance Includes:  Limitations: 

 

General Information

 

Finished SqFt:  Unfinished SqFt:  Total SqFt: 7005 SqFt Source: 

Lot Dimensions:  Irregular: N Acres: 0.07 Frontage: 44

Construction: Existing Basement Y/N:  Homeowners Assoc:  Zoning: Commercial, Residential

Year Built: 1907 Tax Amount 1/2 Yr: 3409 Assoc Fee:  Unit/Lot #: 

School District: 1809/Cleveland City High School:  Assoc Frequency: 

# Rooms: 9 # Bedrooms: 2 # Fireplaces: 1 # Stories: 3

# Full Baths: 1 # Half Baths: 1 Total Baths: 1.1 Covered Parking: 1

Handicap Mod:  Warranty: No Occupied:  Other Parking: 

Heating: Forced Air Heat Source: Gas Available for Auction: No

Exterior: Brick Cooling: Other

Style: Other Roof:  Fixer Upper: N

Basement: Common Fence: Chain Link, Full

Lot Desc: Level

View Desc: City View Public Trans: Less than 1 Block

 

Rooms Information

 

Room Name Dimensions Level Description

Living  2  Beamed Ceiling, Ceiling Fan(s), Fireplace, Window Treatment, Wood Floor

Dining  2  Beamed Ceiling, Window Treatment, Wood Floor

Kitchen  2  Beamed Ceiling, Wood Floor

Master Bdrm  3 Beamed Ceiling, Window Treatment, Wood Floor

Bdrm 2  3 Beamed Ceiling, Window Treatment, Wood Floor

Bdrm 3  3 Beamed Ceiling, Window Treatment, Wood Floor

Office/Computer Room  3 Beamed Ceiling, Wood Floor

Other  3 

Other  1 Wood Floor

Other Rooms 1st Floor Bath, 1st Floor Laundry Room, Laundry/Utility Room, Workshop

Bath Level: Main, Upper Bed Level: Upper Laundry Level: Main Unit Location: 

 

Features & Utilities

 

Monthly Gas:  Monthly Electric:  Monthly Water/Sewer: 

Water/Sewer: Public Sewer, Public Water  Garage/Parking: 1 Car, Attached, Garage Door Opener 

Appliances/Equipment:  Cable Electric Link, Dishwasher, Disposal, Gas Dryer Connection, Gas Stove Connection, Range, Refrigerator, Smoke Detector, Washer, Washer Connection 

Exterior Features: Enclosed Patio/Porch

Amenities: Library, Other 

 

Office and Showing Information Online Forms

 

LO #/Name: 2776 /  Progressive Urban Real Estate  LO Phone: (216) 228-6440 Office Web Site:  www.progressiveurban.com 

LA #/Name:  2007001410 / Lauren C. Nutter LA Phone: (216) 571-9669 LA Email:  [email protected]

LA 2 #/Name: /  LA 2 Phone:  LA 2 Email: 

Showing Instructions: CALL LISTER - 24 HOUR NOTICE

Possession: TT15 Lock Box Desc:  Ownership: 

Sub Agt Comp: 0 Buy Agt Comp: 3 Other Comp: *Graduated List Type: Exclusive Right

Compensation Explain: 3% ON 1st $100K, 2% REMAINDER Internet Listing: Yes

 

OWN YOUR OWN BLDG! QUINTESSENTIAL 3 STORY ARTIST LOFT ON THE NEAR EASTSIDE IN CLEVELAND'S ART QUARTER. LEGAL LIVE/WORK SPACE, MINUTES FROM ALL DOWNTOWN HAS TO OFFER! 2000 sgft 1st FLOOR WORKSPACE/WAREHOUSE, 2nd & 3rd FLOOR NEW YORK FINISHED LOFT LIVING.

 

Broker Remarks

 

 

 

Comparable Information Property History

 

Sales Office:  Orig List Price: $389,900 Off Mkt Date:  MT: 6

Sales Agent: /  List Price: $389,900 Contract Date:  Seller Giveback: 

Sales Agent 2: /  Closed By: 

Finance Code:  Financing: Cash, Conventional Sales Price: $ Closing Date: 

 

Prepared by: Carole A. Cohen / (216) 235-3719  Information is Believed To Be Accurate But Not Guaranteed Date Printed: Sat, Nov 17, 2007 

 

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Great location. Right across the street from Loftworks and next door to Shovelworks. And while a little pricey, with more than 7,000 sq. feet, three or foru households could go in on something like that and it's be a steal.