"Still on the market: The 16-story AT&T building at Erieview Plaza and Lakeside Avenue. "

 

If ever there was a building that as a condo project that could advertise "amazing views" ... it's this one.

 

From today's PD:

 

"But there are rumblings among local real estate brokers that Eaton Corp. is shopping for new headquarters space, perhaps even exploring construction of an office building in or near downtown. "Certainly, we have heard those rumors," CB Richard Ellis' Browning said.

 

Donald McGrath, Eaton Corp.'s vice president of communications, declined to comment.

 

More at cleveland.com

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1169892269197260.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

 

^Very interesting. I wonder if this could be the big news that KJP has been talking about?

If I were a fortune 500 company in northeast ohio, in today's downtown office market, I would be racing to put up a signature HQ building on the empty public square lot.  Someone's going to do it, and the others are going to wonder why they didn't do it first.

 

 

Usually "no comment" means that it is not just a rumor.

I think that the May Co. sale is very interesting.  With Key slated to vacate four floors in that building (i believe that one forumer said that would happen), a new buyer would have to have some viable plans in mind before buying this building.

^Wimwar, what do you think the best and highest use is for the May Co. Building? 

Tough question:

 

Here are my thoughts:

-it has these massive floors (Euclid to Prospect) with very little access to daylight; i would think that this would reduce the rent that you could collect for a employee-intensive operation.

-residential would only be appropriate where it fronts Euclid and Prospect. you could cut out an atrium in the middle, but i don't think that would make enough of a difference.

-it still would make a nice place for a large deparment store, but the surrounding uses are complementary enough where this location would attract enough of a critical mass of shoppers to make the building successful. maybe i'm wrong.

-something different and unique that i don't know about

and the suspense builds.

Usually "no comment" means that it is not just a rumor.

 

In the news biz, we call that a confirmation. But a confirmation of what??

 

My mind is abuzz with all the development projects and possible projects emerging downtown. I still don't know what the "big project" is. The funny thing is, as I've picked the brains of sources, I've come up with nearly a dozen possibles. Yet my original and very reliable source says it's none of these pending projects...

 

> Flats East Bank;

> Lighthouse Landing residential and/or office towers;

> Stark Warehouse District first phase;

> Stark joint-development east of Jacobs Field;

> Avenue District next phases;

> Medical Mart;

> New county administration office tower;

> Courthouse Plaza condominium tower;

> 515 Euclid Avenue residential tower;

> District Park first phase; or

> DFAS office building.

 

I have not yet asked if it's any of the following and I don't think my source would tell me if it's one of these until he's ready to tell me:

 

> Higbee's redevelopment

> May Co. redevelopment

> Eaton Corp. new headquarters

> Ontario Triangle development (at Carnegie)

> Scranton Peninsula

> Tower City - infill at Ontario and Huron

 

So now you see why my mind is swimming with all these projects. And this doesn't include the little ones like Eli Mann's proposed condo conversions along Euclid between East 9th and East 12th, or some of the new restaurants planned for East 4th/Lower Euclid.

I think that the May Co. sale is very interesting.  With Key slated to vacate four floors in that building (i believe that one forumer said that would happen), a new buyer would have to have some viable plans in mind before buying this building.

 

That would be me.  Everyone I talk with at work, including managers, says we'll be out by 09 or 10.  But, we did just paint all the walls and install some goofy gameroom on the eighth floor, so who knows.  Once we move all our servers to the new building in Solon, I think we will hear a more definite plan about moving out of the May Co building.

If ever there was a building that as a condo project that could advertise "amazing views" ... it's this one.

 

Amen to that!  In addition it would be difficult to build south, so there would always be a view and to live in a building that you can see/watch downtown grow up around you...would be amazing.  The views of the lake would be spectacular.

More than just downtown economic news, dating from December 2006...

 

http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/DEC06/highlight1.html

 

Yet, Buffalo residents are apparently as inferiority complexed as Clevelanders, as a couple of people crabbed on that forum that Buffalo has only 1/10th the industrial space as Cleveland and Toronto. Always fun to visit other cities' sites.

 

There's probably a couple of these types up there in Buffalo, but as a rule I find Buffalonians to be fearsome defenders of their city.  Buffalo is really a great town!  One thing I find during my visits there is that, while segregated as much as any other midewestern city, they've suffered far less from white-flight and sprawl.  I think the existence of two decent sized residential universities there helps keep the city economy going and young people staying.

What universities are in there? U of Buffalo? Canisius?  Is Buffalo smaller than Cincy?

U of Buffalo, Buffalo State, Canasius, D'Youville and further to the north Niagara. 

 

The northern part of Buffalo (Delaware, Elmwood) remind me of a giant version of the Clifton neighborhood combined with Coventry/The Heights.  Lots of beautiful old homes mixed with trendy shops, restaurants and bars.

One thing I find during my visits there is that, while segregated as much as any other midewestern city, they've suffered far less from white-flight and sprawl.

 

Since when is Buffalo Midwestern?

Never said it was.  Was comparing it's racial breakdown to other Midwestern cities (i.e. Cleveland).

 

On the contrary, Buffalonians will flatly deny being midwestern--they consider themselves more closely aligned with NYC and the "Middle Atlantic" region.  Some even think they are Canadian!

When I was in Buffalo, it seemed like such a small poor town.  Are there any dense neighborhoods like Lakewood or Cleveland Heights?

Yeah the whole Elmwood Villiage and Allentown area are very much like these Cleveland neighborhoods.  Lots of multi-family housing mixed with big old mansions--almost all is well-maintained.  Delaware Ave was Buffalo's millionare's row 100 years ago and most of these houses (unlike Cleveland) are still standing as converted office and apartment spaces.

When I was in Buffalo, it seemed like such a small poor town. 

 

Agreed

Debbie Downer time, from Crain's.

 

 

Seeley Savidge heads west

 

By STAN BULLARD

 

2:06 pm, February 1, 2007

 

Seeley Savidge & Ebert LLC plans to move the law firm’s main office to Westlake from downtown after purchasing a 5-year-old office building in the suburb for $2.78 million.

 

Gary Ebert, a name partner at the firm, said in a news release that the decision to move the firm’s 30 employees to the Jamestown Professional Building was a difficult one because the firm has been downtown for 29 years. The firm now is in the Fifth Third Center building.

 

However, he said in an e-mail that over time the firm has learned that clients do not like the inconvenience or cost of parking downtown. The firm looked at buying a building downtown, but it did not fit its plans to expand its reach in the region.

 

The firm’s new home will be a brick Georgian-style building at 26600 Detroit Road that is visible from Interstate 90.

 

Mr. Ebert, Seeley Savidge’s administrative partner, emphasized the firm is not abandoning downtown because it will establish what he termed “client conference centers,” which would also serve as a location for lawyers while they are in trial, downtown and in an eastern suburb. The size, location and staffing of the centers is undetermined.

 

Seeley Savidge will occupy the Jamestown Professional Building’s vacant third floor. The building, which was opened in 2002, has several other tenants, Mr. Ebert said. The firm will expand its office 16% when it moves mid-year, as it will occupy about 13,000 square feet from 11,200 square feet downtown.

 

The new owners will rename the structure “The SSE Building” at some point, he said.

 

Cuyahoga County land records show the firm purchased the building for $2.78 million, which is slightly below the $3 million value the county assigned the property for property taxes.

 

The building has 39,450 square feet and 116 parking spaces, and it sits on a two-acre parcel. The seller was Jamestown Professional LLC, a local realty ownership partnership.

 

The new ownership of the building is composed of Tom Gable, a Rocky River-based real estate developer and property manager, and three Seeley Savidge principals, Gregory Seeley, Keith Savidge and Mr. Ebert, according to the release. The three lawyers are all from the western suburbs, he said.

When I was in Buffalo, it seemed like such a small poor town.  Are there any dense neighborhoods like Lakewood or Cleveland Heights?

 

It's kinda sad that we cite suburbs as our best example of dense neighborhoods... That may be partly proving cleburger's point (though I've never spent time in Buffalo and can't comment on how it compares with Cleveland).

I just spent the weekend in Buffalo's Allentown and was really impressed. Lots of interesting food places within walking distance and there were lots of people milling about.. More so than Lakewood without a doubt. Everyone I talked to seemed to identify with Cleveland as far as the difficulties associated with retrofitting economies from industrial oriented to tech/bio oriented, but they all seemed highly optimistic. I should also say everyone was very complimentary of Cleveland, and they all seemed to think we were bigger than we are.

I rode my bike through Buffalo (Cleveland to NYC bike trip) and must have found the skid row route.  The neighborhoods closest to downtown looked like Hough and downtown felt a little bigger than Akron.  I did see a very interesting old glasshouse/botanical garden.  Know anything about that?

 

One other thing about Buffalo: its cool to see how Lake Erie has a definite current that feeds into the Niagara River. Near the mouth/source of the river, it looks like a lake but acts like a strong river.

Not familiar with the greenhouse there Wimwar.  If you rode along the river, you same through the southern then western portions of downtown.  The areas I'm speaking of are from downtown north to the city limits.

 

I agree with you on the lake/river confluence.  It's a pretty amazing site.  The falls have always been an item of interest to me too.

Seeley Savidge heads west

 

By STAN BULLARD

 

2:06 pm, February 1, 2007

 

Seeley Savidge & Ebert LLC plans to move the law firms main office to Westlake from downtown after purchasing a 5-year-old office building in the suburb for $2.78 million.

 

Gary Ebert, a name partner at the firm, said in a news release that the decision to move the firms 30 employees to the Jamestown Professional Building was a difficult one because the firm has been downtown for 29 years. The firm now is in the Fifth Third Center building.

 

Ebert is the law director in Bay Village and is Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough's attorney. Another of the firm's attorneys, Andy Bemer, is Rocky River's law director.

Go figure!  Had to be something more than just parking concerns....

 

Suburbanites need their share of cronyism and graft too!

 

Now starring at the Hanna Building: Short-term, low-cost tech space

 

Downtown Cleveland’s Hanna Building, a fusion of theater and office space on Euclid Avenue, is going geek.

 

Officials of the Playhouse Square Foundation, which owns the 16-story Hanna, are working with city leaders to attract technology-focused startups and boost an 80 percent occupancy rate. (Link: Playhouse site)

 

The project is being marketed as the Hanna Tech Hotel. Tom Einhouse of PSF Management Company LLC, the nonprofit’s real estate arm, said the concept builds on a push to fill the foundation’s nearby Idea Center and other Theater District properties with high-tech tenants.

 

But Hanna Tech Hotel, as its name implies, will come with a few twists.

 

“We realized that not every tenant is going to be interested in signing a five- to seven-year lease,” Einhouse said. “There are a lot of startup firms that would love to go month-to-month.”

 

PSF plans to offer “pre-packaged” office space at monthly rates between $1.25 and $1.50 a square foot. Available space likely will range in size from 500 square feet to 1,500 square feet, said Cleveland technology czar Michael DeAloia, who has encouraged several tech firms to the Theater District. Leases will include furnishings, utilities and broadband phone and Internet.

 

Einhouse and DeAloia both said they are in talks with several prospects, but no deals yet.

 

“This is top-of-the-line space with all of the amenities,” DeAloia said. “If you’re a suburban company that wants to find out how downtown really operates, this is a way to do it.”

 

Nice.

Do you think this will impact the former C-Tix space?

 

No. That was meant to showcase small start ups. They weren't supposed to spend more than six months each in that space. The Hanna plan allows for more permanent leasing.  This is a good thing and maybe it will help fill in some of the retail vacancies on Hanna's first floor. 

does anyone know who specifically is in change of the ctix space?  i'd like to get an update on why it has been empty for so long. 

^ Yeah, last summer there were two cute girls working in there. Now they're gone ;(

I saw a cute girl working in there a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't knock and say "hey, cute girl, what ya doin in there?"

 

I should have.

The girl in there now (not right now - but currently), is the person who started the mp3 tour around the city thing.

Augh, I can't remember the name. Somebody here will know what I'm talking about.

 

I knew this spot was for small start-ups for a limited time, but I thought they had to be technology related. That was what I was referring to.

The Hanna building is for temporary office space, for doing actual business. The "hatchery" is just a showcase thingy.

musky, that's Jennifer Coleman of CityProwl http://cityprowl.typepad.com/cityprowlcleveland/

^ i haven't seen anyone in here for a while, although i guess there is a computer in there. 

 

are there any markings about cityprowl?  it seems like a waste not to at least get a sign up with the web address, or have some of the audio on a loop, or sell (or give away) downloads to mp3 players on the spot.  it is a highly visible space, if only from the number of cars that enter and exit downtown each day. 

When I would walk by (when it was above freezing) i was always confused why there was people in that little building. I scratched my head, and kept walking.

She's in there... not right this minute, but she is there. I walk past it about three or four times a week.

And there is a small sign, which is why I knew she was there.

I just couldn't remember the name (thanks MayDay).

well, i will ask her the next time i am around there to please put up a large sign. 

 

what good does this space do if no one knows who/what is in the "tech hatchery"???

 

she might as well be working in her basement.

 

...and another one leaves.

 

Does anyone know where this firm was located?

 

Mayor: Firm's move here a good thing

Thursday, February 08, 2007

By John Kametz

The Sun Courier

 

BROOKLYN HTS. Looking ahead to the new year, Mayor Mike Procuk spoke of the centrally located Granger Road corridor as one of the key areas for new commercial development in the village.

 

He was particularly excited when he learned a long-established downtown Cleveland law firm, Smith & Condeni LLC, decided to relocate here and build a new professional building on the north side of Granger Road, just west of Lancaster Drive.

 

"I'm very happy, and they're happy because we have the lowest property taxes in the county," Procuk said.

 

Before the first tree was cut to clear the property, Procuk and the economic development department walked the attorneys through meetings with the architectural review board to ensure there were no snags in the plan approval process.

 

"It's been a very smooth process all along. They broke ground in the fall, and construction seems to be moving along well," Procuk said. "The building is going up very quickly. They put lights in there so they could work at night, and there's been absolutely no complaint from neighbors."

 

The idea is for the 12-member law firm to be the major business and anchor for the new professional building and, hopefully, draw other similar businesses to the Granger Road corridor.

 

"That building will be the magnet commercial building in Brooklyn Heights," Procuk said.

 

The law firm also sees Brooklyn Heights as an ideal location, despite a long history of being in Cleveland.

 

"The firm was originally formed in 1981 and my partner, Lindsey Smith, and I have been together about 25 years," attorney Joseph Condeni said. "The areas that we practice in are general litigation, estate planning, probate and personal injury."

 

For the past 25 years, the law firm has been in rental space on East Ninth Street, but circumstances and needs have brought this to an end.

 

"Our lease is expiring this summer. We wanted to stay downtown, but we also wanted to own our own building and have our own parking lot," Condeni said.

 

Their search for a new home ultimately led them to Brooklyn Heights.

 

"We wanted to be some place that was centrally located, because our client base is from the east side, west side and going down into Akron and Canton," Condeni said.

 

He said the new building's proximity to Interstate 480 and I-77 made it a perfect location.

Hey Guys, Jennifer from CityProwl here! Yes, I've been in the eTech Hatchery for about a month & a half & sharing space with Cleveland 365.com. We have been low-key because we are still moving in & getting the office in shape. Some bigger signage is coming, but I think the tour rentals/purchase will be taken care of at the CVB Visitors Center when it opens in a few months. While it has been wicked cold, it is much better than working above the garage (not the basement!). Feel free to stop by & say hello when you are in the area!!

Nice!  Welcome Jennifer and thanks for posting!  We're big fans of your tours here and if you haven't been around the site much yet, you'll find that you have quite a few fellow Cleveland lovers in your midst!

wow that would be really great to hook up the city-prowl thing to all those big forum meets people tend to have in the summer time.  like to somehow have a company linked to what i would consider grass-roots sort of city fans.  if that hasnt already happened hah.

Next big thing?

Key Tower. 200 Public Square. Could the oversized needs of Eaton Corp. and law firm Baker Hostetler spawn another downtown Cleveland skyscraper?

 

By STAN BULLARD

 

6:00 am, February 12, 2007

Chances just got better for a new office building to climb skyward in downtown Cleveland, although it’s way too soon to count on seeing the city’s skyline change.

 

Another huge, marquee tenant unlikely to find many alternatives besides staying put or going into a new skyscraper has entered the fray. Eaton Corp., the big diversified manufacturer based at the namesake Eaton Center office building, 1111 Superior Ave., needs about 300,000 square feet of office space and is circulating a request for proposals among developers that are pondering downtown projects.

 

A tenant Eaton’s size is large enough to justify construction of a new tower, particularly if the same developer also bags the Baker Hostetler law firm as a 200,000-square-foot tenant. Insiders in realty circles say Baker was ready to sign a lease to take empty space at the 200 Public Square office building, but it recently has extended its search.

 

Eaton spokeswoman Kelly Jasko said the company doesn’t comment on rumors. Baker also will not comment on the status of its talks.

 

However, Pat Lott, senior vice president of office leasing at Forest City Enterprises Inc., said he has discussed Eaton’s space requirements with Robert Roe, president of Staubach Co.’s Cleveland office, who is handling the Eaton listing.

 

 

Mr. Lott said he does not believe companies in Cleveland will pay rents high enough to justify construction of a new office building. However, he refused to say if Forest City would respond to the request for proposals from Eaton.

 

The normally talkative Mr. Roe wouldn’t discuss the Eaton matter. George Elliott, a principal at Staubach’s Cleveland office who has fielded Eaton engagements for years, also declined comment.

 

Jeff Cristal, a senior vice president and director of Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Cleveland office unit, recently has been predicting a developer by late 2008 would break ground on an office building in downtown Cleveland.

 

“For any tenant over 100,000 square feet, a new building has to be considered, whether it’s Eaton Corp. or ABC Company,” Mr. Cristal said. That’s because such large volumes of empty floors in the same area can be found in only one building, 200 Public Square, the former BP Tower.

 

Moreover, if Baker does commit to 200 Public Square, it means there is no other newer building to house Eaton. Eaton’s only shot would be to consider new construction or a massive upgrade at a Class B building — generally defined as a structure over 50 years of age. However, the latter scenario is unlikely, because it would be a step back from the 1980s-vintage tower Eaton currently enjoys.

 

Just when Eaton’s lease expires at Eaton Center is unknown. Ms. Jasko said the company does not disclose such terms. However, the lead time for a typical downtown office building is a year to design it and two years to build it.

 

It’s also possible that Eaton’s request for proposals from developers is a way for a tenant representative broker such as Staubach to create a stalking horse to drive a sharper deal at Eaton Center.

 

Securing a tenant such as Eaton would help a developer obtain construction loans from lenders, which typically require a tenant for 50% of a building’s available space, although terms vary depending on the market and the financial strength of the developer .

 

Developers with plans for downtown office towers in Cleveland include Richard E. Jacobs Group, which has a plan for a tower on Public Square; Robert L. Stark Enterprises Inc. of Woodmere Village, which has discussed a mixed-use project between Public Square and the Warehouse District; and Wolstein Group, which plans a $250 million, mixed-use project in the Flats. Retail and housing plans Wolstein Group and Stark Enterprises have laid out would get a big boost from the 500-plus people Eaton would bring to an office tower at their locations.

 

Stark Enterprises and a spokeswoman for Wolstein Group declined comment. Richard E. Jacobs Group did not return two calls.

 

Even with a modestly improving downtown office market, only the bold would undertake such a project. Grubb & Ellis reports Class A vacancy at year-end 2006 was 11% downtown, although total downtown office vacancy is still high, exceeding 20%.

 

To construct a new downtown building likely would require a rent in excess of $25 a square foot; the average rent downtown is just below $21 a square foot.

 

 

Is that 300,000 square feet total, or additional?

 

Either way, I hope this expansion puts cranes in the sky -- on Public Square.

Developers with plans for downtown office towers in Cleveland include Richard E. Jacobs Group, which has a plan for a tower on Public Square;

 

Robert L. Stark Enterprises Inc. of Woodmere Village, which has discussed a mixed-use project between Public Square and the Warehouse District;

 

Wolstein Group, which plans a $250 million, mixed-use project in the Flats. Retail and housing plans Wolstein Group and Stark Enterprises have laid out would get a big boost from the 500-plus people Eaton would bring to an office tower at their locations.

 

A building on Public Square?

Jacobs has owned that parcel for decades - remember, in 1989-ish they were set to build a 1198' tower for Ameritrust but the Society/Ameritrust bank merger put the kibbosh on that. I would imagine that while a parking lot provides a steady cashflow, the folks at Jacobs Group would prefer to have something a smidge more lucrative there.

Jacobs has owned that parcel for decades - remember, in 1989-ish they were set to build a 1198' tower for Ameritrust but the Society/Ameritrust bank merger put the kibbosh on that. I would imagine that while a parking lot provides a steady cashflow, the folks at Jacobs Group would prefer to have something a smidge more lucrative there.

  Most definitely. Jacobs' top man would love to put a significant structure on that parking lot.