January 18, 200817 yr Just put myself on the Indigo Imp email list. Can't wait to swing by the promised retail shop to pick some up over the summer sometime.
January 20, 200817 yr math, one of them is my landlord (howard hanna ohio city) and I can never remember which it is so I just say 'hi!' lol I hope something phoenix-like can rise from the ashes.
January 22, 200817 yr My subscription ran out for Crains, but saw this headline from "this weeks issue". I know Weepinwillow hinted about this a little while back. Data services biz plots Tyler Village move: Data services company SparkBase LLC of Solon is planning to move its headquarters to Tyler Village in Cleveland.
January 22, 200817 yr Data services biz plots Tyler Village move By CHUCK SODER 4:30 am, January 21, 2008 Data services company SparkBase LLC of Solon is planning to move its headquarters to Tyler Village in Cleveland. The company, which processes transactions for businesses that sell gift and loyalty cards to retailers, is in the process of finalizing a lease to take 3,500 square feet on the third floor of Building 44 of the sprawling industrial complex, which was once the home of Tyler Elevator Products. SparkBase will have the option to take another 2,400 square feet nearby, and it might need it, said company president Doug Hardman. The company, which aims to move in by March 1, will have seven or eight employees by the time it leaves its 1,000-square-foot headquarters on Bainbridge Road in Solon. It aims to employ 13 by the end of 2008. “My company’s growing like a weed right now,” Mr. Hardman said, declining to give revenue or profit figures. Mr. Hardman said he is moving the company to Cleveland because of the growing number of technology companies located downtown. He chose Tyler Village, which is just east of downtown on Superior Avenue, partly because interactive marketing company DigiKnow Inc. already is there. “They gave it a lot of credence,” Mr. Hardman said. Cleveland developer Graystone Properties Inc. is recruiting technology companies to Tyler Village in its effort to revitalize the 1.2 million-square-foot complex, which consists of more than 20 interconnected buildings. The developer offers high-speed and wireless Internet access at the location, and it is trying to build community among tenants by adding more common space, said David Fleming, Graystone leasing agent. The developer also is interested in recruiting biotechnology companies, Mr. Fleming said. For instance, Analiza Inc., a company that analyzes potential drugs for pharmaceutical companies, moved to Tyler Village from Solon last fall. “We’re close to the Clinic, we’re close to downtown, we’re close to the freeways,” Mr. Fleming said
January 22, 200817 yr very nice website. I thought there would be some sort of residential component to the complex, but there was no mention about residential on the website. Has that been scrapped, or is that just a long way off?
January 22, 200817 yr it's a ways off. We'd like to have the housing component in place, but there are many boulders to move first.
January 22, 200817 yr A few comments on the map: Pretty up to date (Progressive Field). Is there actually a park called "Wade Park". I thought that it is called "Wade Oval".
January 22, 200817 yr I think its proximity to rail is interesting, I have always thought that would make for an interesting extension of the water front line. It could connect the inner city from 55th, but would only have value if the line was developed. Tyler Village is a real good example of what could be developed on such a rail extension. I actually think the rail line is a plus if you just brought it back into tyler like it once was. Passenger rail is nice, but I think you will see a greater use of rail for shipping goods as gas prices rise, adding that component back into tyler could be a boon for different kinds of manufacturing companies.
January 22, 200817 yr Love the website... very nicely done! The only thing I would want more of is a neighborhood scale map that has amenities highlighted. Certainly not necessary, considering the great amount of relevant detail you've already provided. Is there actually a park called "Wade Park". I thought that it is called "Wade Oval". 3231, you should know better... Wade Oval is a part of Wade Park! Though, I guess what is highlighted on the map is Wade Oval.
January 22, 200817 yr Love the website... very nicely done! The only thing I would want more of is a neighborhood scale map that has amenities highlighted. Certainly not necessary, considering the great amount of relevant detail you've already provided. Yep, and we plan on having a much more interactive map that includes all the various restaurants, shopping spaces, developments, etc. in our next phase. We wanted to start off by showing where we are located in proximity to the CBD and UC areas as well as how close the freeways are. We plan on adding more and more to the site to keep folks coming back..
January 24, 200817 yr There were actually two articles about Tyler Village in this week's Crains. I'm surprised no one posted the larger, more in-depth one.... Massive makeover Renamed Tyler Village, a former East Side manufacturing complex is seeing new life with a multimillion-dollar renovation By STAN BULLARD 4:30 am, January 21, 2008 APG Office Furnishings Inc. made a surprising choice to replace its former Huron Road storefront location in Cleveland’s Theater District. The Cincinnati-based supplier of cubicles and work stations traded its ground-floor retail space for the top floor of the seven-story former headquarters of wire products maker W.S. Tyler Inc. in the city’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, east of downtown. More at: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080121/FREE/444041821
January 24, 200817 yr If you're talking about the rail line that runs next door to Tyler Village, it's actually owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. It hasn't been a Penn Central property since 1976 when Penn Central was folded into Conrail. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 25, 200817 yr I'll make a note of it for our next round of updates. We are working with Ante Up for the music on the site. We currently are using royalty-free stuff, but think it would be nice to have one of our tenants be showcased there. Ante Up is responsive to the idea. FYI, we are working with two different retail users who could come in from the suburbs to make Tyler their new home, we are also talking with a 50,000 SF user who is looking for space that would allow them to grow to 150,000 SF in a few years. Finally, we are working with a company from a different area looking at bringing their business to Cleveland starting off with around 10,000 SF. All that and we have a couple of tenants who are growing exponentially here at Tyler already. Things are revving up.
January 25, 200817 yr Good to hear. I wish all the media picked up stories like this. Then the majority of folks with sense would not believe the misconception that our economy sucks and there are no jobs or upward opportunities.
January 25, 200817 yr Thanks WW for the frequent (and cheery) updates- all great stuff. Especially the relocations from out of town and from the suburbs.
January 25, 200817 yr Good to hear. I wish all the media picked up stories like this. Then the majority of folks with sense would believe the misconception that our economy sucks and there are no jobs or upward opportunities. Weepinwillow, you folks down at Tyler should trumpet your project a bit more. I'd be happy to tell your story at Sun (especially noting which communities these employers are coming from, that way the editors of those Sun papers will want to pick up the story). My Sun e-mail is [email protected] and my office phone is (216) 986-6064. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 15, 200817 yr FYI: Sparkbase signed on today. While it was already reported by Crain's a while ago, the deal was actually finalized this morning. They will move their offices from Solon downtown in the early spring. On another note, it looks like a small cafe will be operating here at Tyler pretty soon.. I will give more when I get more. WW
February 15, 200817 yr I love this project, hopefully it will spark development in the surrounding community. I would love to see a wall of midrise and highrise buidling on Payne wiht nice lake views.
March 3, 200817 yr Very good news because these are new jobs. Tech support firm picks Tyler Village By JAY MILLER 4:30 am, March 3, 2008 PC Helps Support LLC of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a tech support firm, plans to open a local call center in the Tyler Village complex in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood by June 1, a company spokesman said. The company expects to staff up to 100 people within the first three years of operation. PC Helps was awarded a $214,800 state tax credit to help set up a Cleveland office.
March 3, 200817 yr AWESOME "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 7, 200817 yr Yes, PC Helps chose Tyler.. I didn't want to comment on it because we actually didn't have a signed lease until this morning. I love Crain's, but nothing scares you quite like an article on a deal you're working on that isn't yet signed. SO: 50 new jobs growing to 100 right here in Cleveland. The guys we took around loved, loved, LOVED what Cleveland had to offer amenity wise, and were psyched to find living spaces downtown. On another note, we have another tech company looking at re-locating from the suburbs into Tyler on the heels of Sparkbase's decision to leave Solon for Cleveland. I also have a new fitness center planning on opening up here as well, as well as a cafe in the works. What else is new? How about a possible 40,000 square foot user growing to 80,000 over 5 years? Or two 10,000 SF users looking at us for office space? Things are rolling, maybe I should get on here a little more and keep the news coming. WW
March 8, 200817 yr we had a Beers of the World party on Thursday to give all the brokers a chance to see the finished spaces of APG and Analiza. We had beer and food pairings at different stations that included Spain, Turkey, US and Germany. There was a live band and a cheese and olive bar set up at the end of the tour. Cleveland's new economic developer gave a speech about some of the new plans she's unveiled to further Cleveland's growth, and everyone had a great time. Indigo Imp Brewery had a Milk Stout, a Belgium Wit and their staple Blonde Bombshell Ale they were serving out of kegs. I'm not saying anybody got drunk, but the party got louder and louder as the night went on. We were very pleased to host over 75 brokers at this event, introducing some to Tyler, some to our new tenants and some to new beer!
March 12, 200817 yr time to get in shape. the fitness center I mentioned earlier signed today to take 3,700 SF at Tyler Village. Nu Life Fitness will bring their "boot camp" style workouts here to the ground floor of building 44. Hmm.. I am getting a little beer gut from drinking too many Indigo Imp blonde bombshells.
March 12, 200817 yr Do I get to shove my finger in the face of the trainer and say things like "You don't KNOW me!"?
April 4, 200817 yr Hey gang...first post! My name is Doug Hardman, and I'm the Founder/CEO of SparkBase. We're moving into TV in a month or so...whenever they finish the build-out. Speaking of build-out... http://office.sparkbase.com/ That's the blog we put together for our move to Cleveland. We documented the whole process from the day we decided to leave Solon for Cleveland. Read it backwards and it's a neat story. Anyway...thought I'd pop in and introduce myself. We're REALLY looking forward to getting into Tyler Village.
April 4, 200817 yr Welcome, Doug! Thanks for posting and sharing the blog. And, of course, welcome to Cleveland. Please keep us posted on your progress. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 4, 200817 yr Welcome to UrbanOhio, and Cleveland! Good luck at Tyler Village. It is turning into a great success story for our City.
April 4, 200817 yr Welcome, and congrats on the move! I live over on East 33rd, so I'm more or less your new neighbor. You'll love the neighborhood. Thanks also for the link; particularly interested in how the motherboard wall turns out ... very creative concept.
April 5, 200817 yr Welcome and thank you. It is commitments from individuals such as yourself that will lead to an even greater Cleveland!
April 5, 200817 yr Moving to Cleveland was something that we decided on back in November. We (my brother Geoff and I) kept telling people how cool Cleveland was, and needed to "put up or shut up" on where we moved the company. Tyler Village was the first place we looked at, and kept comparing everything to it. So it was a pretty easy decision at the end of the process. There are SO MANY cool options in Cleveland if you know where to look. If we didn't need parking, some of the properties that we looked at with Sandy Coakley and Rose Strause were pretty great. At the end of the day, Tyler Village let us build what we wanted and got us a TON of space at a good rate. I'm headed over there in a few min to check the progress. I'll post some pics here when I get back. Thanks for the warm welcome gang.
April 5, 200817 yr Mr. Doug, The commentary on your blog is pretty funny, love the way the space is shaking out.
April 5, 200817 yr Mr. Doug, If you don't mind my asking... what other places did you look at before settling on Tyler? Just curious the types of spaces a company like yours would consider... Great choice on Tyler, I think you'll really enjoy that area.
April 5, 200817 yr Here are a few of the places we looked at... http://office.sparkbase.com/scouting/west-6th-spaces-with-sandy-coakley.html The Bradley Building was nice, but the lack of parking was the determining factor there. We give our employees monthly RTA passes if they want, but it's not a realistic option for some of our guys that live way out in Twinsburg. This space was pretty cool too... http://office.sparkbase.com/scouting/space-hunting-with-rose-strauss.html But the "walking past dumpsters to get in the front door" part wasn't all that conducive to having clients come by. I want to say the rent on that place was about $1,000 a month...which is KILLER...but we couldn't make the location work for us. We also looked at a few places in the Cloak Factory...nothing jumped out at us. Dave Berkowski has some great space coming up in the Bloch Building further up Superior, but we weren't going to be on a time schedule that worked for us. That project seems like it's about 2 years from where we'd need it to be to move in. The bonus for us was that there is SO MUCH space available at Tyler, if we out-grow our space in a year or two, we'd be able to move somewhere else in the complex, and not have to move everything all that far.
April 5, 200817 yr Sidenote... As an audiophile, I'm really looking forward to having my gear in my office where I'll be able to spend all day with it, instead of having one-two hours a night. My vinyl is going to get un-dusty in a hurry. :-D (mocked-up view from my desk)
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