Their job listings still say remote, so a lot of people may not even be going into their new office. And to the point above, a lot of office workers don’t leave the building once they are in for the day. So, even with a smaller capacity, apartments and hotel rooms could give the neighborhood a bump.

 

 

22 hours ago, coneflower said:

Their job listings still say remote, so a lot of people may not even be going into their new office. And to the point above, a lot of office workers don’t leave the building once they are in for the day. So, even with a smaller capacity, apartments and hotel rooms could give the neighborhood a bump.

 

 

When MMO decided to renovate the Brooklyn building, it was just to be a consolidated operations office and the other half of workers would remain at the corporate HQ downtown.

 

At the completion of that renovation Covid happened and everyone was working from home for the better part of two years. 

 

MMO realized how efficient some of their positions were with people working from home, so they kept about half of their positions as permanently remote. The other half were to report to the office. 

 

This eliminated the need for the two buildings and since they had just spent $50 million renovating the Brooklyn site, they decided to consolidate there and sell the downtown building.

 

2025 is the year Cleveland returns to the office

By Ken Prendergast / January 1, 2025

 

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, many of us are about to rediscover our relationship with the office. Some of us never left. Others left and aren’t coming back. But an increasing number of Americans and Greater Clevelanders will be coming back to the office in 2025, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic caused employers to dabble with remote or hybrid working.

 

MORE: 

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/01/2025-is-the-year-cleveland-returns-to-the-office/

 

Always enjoy reading the articles.

 

My question is what actual indicators are there that Cleveland and other cities will see a surge in daily office workers? It seems some large tech and banking have slowly led the charge in 3-5 day returns, Government soon, but those aren't particularly significant industries in Cleveland outside a few banks. And Europe... is too different. Better. Hard to compare.

 

I also get the arguments that employers and commercial agents propagate, despite contradicting realities I.e. Gen Z/millennials generally need to job hop for actual job and compensation advancements; thus, there is no real benefit to being in-person for the dangling, yet often fictional, carrot of promotion.  Those "younger" employees seem to appreciate that reality, whereas Gen X/remaining Boomers still hold onto that illusion. The "work hard play hard" mentality, rightfully, has scaled down dramatically, at least from the perspective of the 20- and 30-year-olds. 

 

Just some generalizations/observations.

 

My impression is that 2025 won't be noticeably different, though as more buildings convert to residential, then commercial vacancies will drop as a percentage. Assuming the damage from the upcoming administration is negligible, of course.

As someone who thinks a vital part of any downtown MUST include a large number of office workers l am very glad to read that WFH may be receding. If cities can get back to even 85-90% occupancy l will consider that a win. But the war continues. The outcome is still to be determined. On one hand you have the traditional way of working in an office. On the other you have a new approach to working by a new generation of workers. That, coupled with changes in technology will ultimately determine the outcome.

 

In this case, l'm on the side of tradition.

 

 

As usual with these "we need to return to the office!" things I read, it's commercial real estate owners/developers that are yelling the loudest for it. I wonder why.

 

Look, I work a hybrid schedule, with my office downtown and working remotely from my home or on the road either out of the city or state to meet with clients. And for what it's worth, in a typical all office week, I'm downtown more than I'm at home. There are upsides to being in the office, but let's stop pretending that there's any real difference in productivity between the two. The balance is different for every person for where they work best. The discussion of having buildings with amenities that people actually want to draw people into the office is a start, but what's happened with people bailing on companies that have issued RTO mandates is people leave and morale plummets. Even worse if they choose a shudders suburban office park.

 

If you really want people to come back to your fancy, expensive offices, give them a reason to choose to come, don't force them to, ESPECIALLY when in a lot of cases you won't see the executive teams in the offices 5 days a week. Don't focus on improving the situation for office building owners, focus on improving the city in general and the people will come.

A lot of the problem is solved with radical wage increases for those who come in-person. 

 

Bump compensation 10-20% for those in 4 days a week, with strict termination conditions for those who abuse, and there will be a tremendous voluntary RTO.

The only contribution I have.  I'm sick of having several legnthy teams calls per day with people that work in my office, but are never there at the same time.  Just when I'm being productive, the third reminder of the morning pops up with a teams call in 15 minutes.  I talk on the phone/computer more now than I ever have, and legnthier conversations, then ever before.  Sometimes I really wish that everyone was in the office, on the same schedule, everyday, so I could pop my head in their space for a minute, and move on.

I can’t believe we’re still debating WFH in 2025. At this point, it’s a standard benefit every company is going to look at on a sliding scale from none at all to embracing it. Providing flexibility is something employers can use to entice workers, especially if they don’t pay top dollar like Amazon or Chase. Something that gets lost when talking about this is in our region, it allows a lot of smaller companies to source qualified people nationwide, which may be more critical than getting butts in cubes. I don’t see this phenomena changing at all. Although, surely there will be optimization, like requiring people to come on the same days. That is what Smuckers has been doing to maximize in person time. 
 

The big challenge I see for downtown is for many jobs there is no real need for proximity. Where there is value of having people physically close, like having lawyers near the courthouse, you see folks making use of downtown offices. But because our economy is now a hub of a national and international market, many colleagues or customers are going to be in other places, so those companies are going to pick locations that are cheaper, more convenient, etc. There isn’t much need for prestige space downtown. 
 

I know it’s easier said then done but my pitch to the powers that be is WFH is not the problem, it’s lack of economic growth. If we had more job growth, empty office buildings would not be as big of a problem.

31 minutes ago, CLEeng said:

As usual with these "we need to return to the office!" things I read, it's commercial real estate owners/developers that are yelling the loudest for it. I wonder why.

 

 

The sources I quoted are not prone to self-serving in that manner. Coyne is, when it comes to his "Look at me" approach, but not when it comes to pretending the market is doing something when it isn't just because he doesn't like it. he tends to be pretty sober when it comes to market trends. I found some of their comments very interesting about why America has been so loathe to return to the office vs the rest of the world. And a big reason why is because of urban sprawl and the long commutes it subjects us to (in addition to having larger homes). If corporate America truly believes there is a corporate benefit to having people back in the office, then it needs to start doing something about having more comfortable offices AND urban sprawl which may be adding a new set of ills that corporate America can appreciate -- starting with reduced productivity and innovation, loss of corporate culture, loss of control, etc. I would hope that major office employers consider financing mixed-use developments with housing at their core within walking distance of their offices as a means to get more people into the office.

9 minutes ago, coneflower said:

I know it’s easier said then done but my pitch to the powers that be is WFH is not the problem, it’s lack of economic growth. If we had more job growth, empty office buildings would not be as big of a problem.

 

The USA has the best job growth among the G7 and yet has the least amount of workers returning to the office. What we do have the most of is urban sprawl and long commutes. Address that and you address WFH/RTO.

26 minutes ago, coneflower said:

I can’t believe we’re still debating WFH in 2025. At this point, it’s a standard benefit every company is going to look at on a sliding scale from none at all to embracing it. Providing flexibility is something employers can use to entice workers, especially if they don’t pay top dollar like Amazon or Chase. Something that gets lost when talking about this is in our region, it allows a lot of smaller companies to source qualified people nationwide, which may be more critical than getting butts in cubes. I don’t see this phenomena changing at all. Although, surely there will be optimization, like requiring people to come on the same days. That is what Smuckers has been doing to maximize in person time. 
 

The big challenge I see for downtown is for many jobs there is no real need for proximity. Where there is value of having people physically close, like having lawyers near the courthouse, you see folks making use of downtown offices. But because our economy is now a hub of a national and international market, many colleagues or customers are going to be in other places, so those companies are going to pick locations that are cheaper, more convenient, etc. There isn’t much need for prestige space downtown. 
 

I know it’s easier said then done but my pitch to the powers that be is WFH is not the problem, it’s lack of economic growth. If we had more job growth, empty office buildings would not be as big of a problem.

At the end of the day, you can't really be a WFH advocate and also a true urbanist. The former is great for the individual, but it is absolutely destructive for cities. The vast majority of downtown buildings are not able to be retrofitted or repurposed, ancillary businesses starve, and the allure of living downtown collapses. Who cares about living near a theater district when you can't even buy a shirt or reasonably priced meal nearby.

 

Plus someone has to make up the lost revenue from absent businesses; those budgets aren't paying themselve. Higher residential taxes is the only remedy, which limits the desirability of an area even further. 

 

I'd also argue that downtown being or becoming a neighborhood is a misnomer. Neighborhoods require a great deal of amenities that most downtowns, these days, can't provide, so when you hear about more people living downtown, it feels very short sighted. A transient student/white collar base with some public housing and jail comprising the downtown population is not sustainable, especially with the enormous COL, lack of corporate businesses, and lack of amenities. 

Edited January 1Jan 1 by TBideon

Interesting thought KJP. Maybe employers should think about developing workforce housing again.  Given that housing costs are a big burden on young people and a huge factor in disillusionment with our system.  There are precedents; look at Birdtown or Pullman Village. 

5 minutes ago, KJP said:

The USA has the best job growth among the G7 and yet has the least amount of workers returning to the office. What we do have the most of is urban sprawl and long commutes. Address that and you address WFH/RTO.

New York doesn’t have an issue with vacant office space because their local economy is more dynamic than ours. 

In terms of the global scene, Americans are also more highly paid but our job security, benefits and paid time off are terrible compared to Europe. My own belief is that American workers view this as one benefit they do get they don’t want to give up. The highest levels if WFH are people in cities, so I’m not so sure we can just blame it on sprawl. 
 

I do think it’d be cool to see employers invest in housing and mixed use to get people into offices. We haven’t seen it yet but I think it’s a good idea. 
 

I’m not arguing working downtown in an office is bad or something. I’m just trying to put a practical lense on it. I think there are a lot of challenges but expecting employers to bring the hammer down to solve it is not going to work. 

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

The sources I quoted are not prone to self-serving in that manner. Coyne is, when it comes to his "Look at me" approach, but not when it comes to pretending the market is doing something when it isn't just because he doesn't like it. he tends to be pretty sober when it comes to market trends. I found some of their comments very interesting about why America has been so loathe to return to the office vs the rest of the world. And a big reason why is because of urban sprawl and the long commutes it subjects us to (in addition to having larger homes). If corporate America truly believes there is a corporate benefit to having people back in the office, then it needs to start doing something about having more comfortable offices AND urban sprawl which may be adding a new set of ills that corporate America can appreciate -- starting with reduced productivity and innovation, loss of corporate culture, loss of control, etc. I would hope that major office employers consider financing mixed-use developments with housing at their core within walking distance of their offices as a means to get more people into the office.

You'll appreciate me taking that with a massive grain of salt. I don't know them personally, but the loudest voices for people returning to offices 5 days a week are often real estate developers/owners and middle managers who feel like they need to watch people during work hours to feel like they've done something. Coyne's quotes in the article read a LOT like the other things I've seen developers say about the "importance" of being in the office 40 hours a week.

 

You also left out the rest of my post talking about a bunch of your points. If companies want people to return to the office and not revolt at the thought, it's on them to improve the amenities and draw for people. Simply giving a blanket mandate to return because of perceived benefits it's near good enough. Productivity levels of people working remotely vs in the office is highly, highly debatable. There have been studies to show both sides of it. Culture for that matter too, my group in my company is one of the most scattered across offices, yet we have one of the healthiest cultures in the company. Maybe good corporate culture doesn't come from being in an office every day and rather it comes from the people working together well and personalities meshing.

 

Companies may not like it, but 2020 changed the game entirely, it showed you don't need to in your cubicle from 9-5 5 days a week so Bill Lumberg can come talk to you about your TPS reports.

I'm the first to admit that had l the option l would have preferred a hybrid schedule. Something like 2-3 days at home. That seems to be the best approach. All WFH has it's downsides. It can be isolating and an employee can feel like simply a mercenairy worker and not a part of a company. All RTO also has downsides that's why l think hybrid is best. My stand is along the line of "Do as l say, not as l do." Hypocritical not doubt.

 

The only reason l want RTO is my nostalgic (completely unrealistic of course) desire to see American cities become what they were and not what they are. Downtowns full of life. Active streets, restautants, stores and offices. A lifestyle that still exists outside the US other than NY. Chicago and maybe a few others. I am an urbanist. I despise sprawl. Love light rail, density. All that. And yes, you can't put the genie back in the bottle but as long as l'm free to desire something that will never be l'll continue to beat that flame.

since 2020, my company, which had no remote, now has employees living in 30 states. this includes execs in Cal and NY.  

 

The hiring practice has changed so much that it'll take a decade for many companies be fully back in office.

On 12/26/2024 at 4:13 PM, cadmen said:

I can't seem to wrap my head around these bargain basement prices. Less than 11 million for a structure as beautiful as the Rose building? Sure, l understand WFH along with some other societal changes have greatly transformed the downtown office market. It's just that it's hard for an old guy like me to digest that much change that fast.  Downtown used to be synonymous with offices. Companies HAD to be there. Now they don't. Shopping malls were THE place to be. Now they're not. I get it, things change but man, those two changes took place in a very short time period. There was an American way of life and then there wasn't. Almost overnight.

 

I was with you until the statement that shopping malls were an important part of American life. Evolution is inevitable and some things are meant to pass. Vibrant downtown shopping districts with mom-and-pop stores were once a part of American life too but shopping malls killed them. I digress though - back to Medical Mutual.

 

Edited January 6Jan 6 by ASP1984

On 12/28/2024 at 10:43 AM, roman totale XVII said:

I’ll say that every time I’m back in the UK, I’m always pleasantly surprised at how busy the pubs are with the post-office crowd, especially in the big cities (e.g. London, Manchester). Of course, that depends on having a downtown office crowd in the first place and it also helps massively that most all of those people are walking home, or taking public transportation. I have high hopes for this project in bringing at least some of that vitality back. As Ken’s article states, the number of residents won’t compare to the number of employees that MM had there, but I moved downtown over 10 years ago and IME you’d never had known that over a thousand people worked in that building. The MM crowd generally seemed to be a very suburban crew who packed their lunch and came to work downtown and nothing more. They simply got in and got out every day. The move to Brooklyn probably suited most of them to a tee. 

 

yes in general after work seems ok, or at least around ny here, but i meant drinking before 4pm. there are only a handful of scattered outright bars here left that are open before then. and seriously they are all only full of occasional old farts like me, having a breakfast guinness before i go on with my chores. i guess i should be grateful i can at least find somewhere to hang with people my own speed lol.

 

also, the other thing about england is, at least in the big cities, they have the tradition of stepping out in the afternoon for a session beer and then going back to the office. of course thats unheard of here, even though a session beer is basically beer water, or what used to be 3.2 beer for 18yr olds in ohio in back in the days. that helps the pubs no doubt -- and yes i think america should lighten up and pick up that tradition. 😂

 

New downtown office expansions, renovations
By Ken Prendergast / January 6, 2025

 

At the start of the new year, employers are expanding, relocating, renovating and otherwise retrofitting their office spaces. Ironically, the current and former Oswald buildings in Downtown Cleveland are the addresses where most of these investments are planned, according to public records. As NEOtrans reported last week, 2025 may be the year that Cleveland returns to the office.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/06/new-downtown-office-expansions-renovations/

 

 

2 hours ago, ASP1984 said:

 

I was with you until the statement that shopping malls were an important part of American life. Evolution is inevitable and some things are meant to pass. Vibrant downtown shopping districts with mom-and-pop stores were once a part of American life too but shopping malls killed them. I digress though - back to Medical Mutual.

 

 

Well malls WERE an important part of Americana as well as downtown offices. Of course, change is inevitable. My point was that the change seemed to be overnight. 

 

Maybe it's because l'm older and grew up in a time when most every downtown had a little New York in them, when the mark of making it meant a downtown office and now much of that is obsolete. And just as downtown once meant office space so did shopping mean going to the mall. Ironically, anchoring those malls were the same stores who started in downtown first. So yes, nothing changes like Ameeica but sometimes it's the speed of that change that can be a little unsettling.

On 1/1/2025 at 6:04 AM, KJP said:

 

2025 is the year Cleveland returns to the office

By Ken Prendergast / January 1, 2025

 

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, many of us are about to rediscover our relationship with the office. Some of us never left. Others left and aren’t coming back. But an increasing number of Americans and Greater Clevelanders will be coming back to the office in 2025, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic caused employers to dabble with remote or hybrid working.

 

MORE: 

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/01/2025-is-the-year-cleveland-returns-to-the-office/

 

I found this prt of the article regarding the AECOM building and Westin Hotel very interesting:

 

“Its pedestrian connection to the Westin Hotel is lined with retailers, restaurants and cafes.”

 

I didn’t know there were businesses in the connector. Does anyone have any pictures or a list of businesses?  

7 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

I found this prt of the article regarding the AECOM building and Westin Hotel very interesting:

 

“Its pedestrian connection to the Westin Hotel is lined with retailers, restaurants and cafes.”

 

I didn’t know there were businesses in the connector. Does anyone have any pictures or a list of businesses?  

I haven't been in there in years, but there used to be the usual barber shop, small convenience store, etc.  

2 hours ago, Cleburger said:

I haven't been in there in years, but there used to be the usual barber shop, small convenience store, etc.  

The interior entrance to Winking Lizard, there's a Colossal Cup Cakes bakery in there.

Interesting article in the WSJ https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/real-estate-office-vacancies-shortages-1b640791?st=7kruM2&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

Quote

Even With an Office Glut, Firms Can’t Find the Kind of Space They Want

Developers are planning new office projects to meet the demand for high-quality workspace

 

Yet even some tenants in cities hardest-hit by the glut of space, such as Washington, D.C., and Chicago, are shocked by the few choices on the top shelf. 

“Brokers kept coming to us, and I was like: That’s it? Is that the best you got?” said Ira Coleman, chairman of McDermott Will & Emery, about the law firm’s recent search for space in Washington, D.C.

 

40 minutes ago, coneflower said:

Interesting article in the WSJ https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/real-estate-office-vacancies-shortages-1b640791?st=7kruM2&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

 

 

Same as it ever was - it’s a matter of flight to quality, amenities and the “shiny new things”.

It will be interesting to see how Trump's return-to-the-office plans repopulate the Celebreze Federal Building and Northpoint (which has a big DoD office).  Assuming he carries through with his plan, of course.

7 minutes ago, Dougal said:

It will be interesting to see how Trump's return-to-the-office plans repopulate the Celebreze Federal Building and Northpoint (which has a big DoD office).  Assuming he carries through with his plan, of course.

 

Seems to be a popular talking point with the right, but it won't result in some major surge of office workers, most of them are already in the office the majority of the week: https://www.afge.org/publication/setting-the-record-straight-about-telework-use-by-federal-employees/.

 

Of course this comes from a govt. employee union, but the sources they use to hit back at points are pretty neutral. 

 

On 1/1/2025 at 11:51 AM, cadmen said:

On one hand you have the traditional way of working in an office.

 

Even with return to office, most people take meetings on zoom/teams even if everyone's in the same place. So in essence, you're sitting at your desk doing the same thing you do at home, you just happen to need noise cancelling headphones to focus.

7 hours ago, Dougal said:

It will be interesting to see how Trump's return-to-the-office plans repopulate the Celebreze Federal Building and Northpoint (which has a big DoD office).  Assuming he carries through with his plan, of course.

Everyone from the DOD exited Northpoint years ago, unless I’m not familiar with other than DFAS/DoD. They did used to have a large presence. The DoD does still occupy almost 11 floors with anvailable occupancy and one full floor that was due for renovations but was put on hold doing Covid. The DoD does have other sites near downtown with smaller square footage space.

7 hours ago, Dougal said:

It will be interesting to see how Trump's return-to-the-office plans repopulate the Celebreze Federal Building and Northpoint (which has a big DoD office).  Assuming he carries through with his plan, of course.

 

6 hours ago, GISguy said:

 

Seems to be a popular talking point with the right, but it won't result in some major surge of office workers, most of them are already in the office the majority of the week: https://www.afge.org/publication/setting-the-record-straight-about-telework-use-by-federal-employees/.

 

Of course this comes from a govt. employee union, but the sources they use to hit back at points are pretty neutral. 

 

 

Even with return to office, most people take meetings on zoom/teams even if everyone's in the same place. So in essence, you're sitting at your desk doing the same thing you do at home, you just happen to need noise cancelling headphones to focus.

Downtown’s federal occupancy is less than 25%. 

57 minutes ago, stpats44113 said:

Downtown’s federal occupancy is less than 25%. 

 

Not trying to be a jerk, but where's this number coming from? And does it include telecommuters? 

I can’t tell you where the numbers are coming from but the 25% includes telecommuters that come in the office two days or less a week. The other smaller offices have higher occupancy.

 

Downtown Flagstar Bank closing; What does it mean?
By Ken Prendergast / January 15, 2025

 

Customers who have accounts at Flagstar Bank’s Downtown Cleveland branch received letters this week saying that the branch will be closing and that all accounts will be moving soon to Flagstar’s Ohio City branch. But the $2.6 billion question is: why?

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/15/downtown-flagstar-bank-closing-what-does-it-mean/

I'd wager it to mean Terry Coyne is right, downtown is on yet another death spiral 

7 minutes ago, AsDustinFoxWouldSay said:

I'd wager it to mean Terry Coyne is right, downtown is on yet another death spiral 

I would be very surprised if that was the case. Downtown is fine and continuing to get a lot of investment with a lot more in the pipeline.

 

It's 1 bank branch. They're closing everywhere. Almost 100 of them have closed in Cuyahoga County over the last 3-4 years. 

8 hours ago, AsDustinFoxWouldSay said:

I'd wager it to mean Terry Coyne is right, downtown is on yet another death spiral 

Ummm if you’re referring to Terry Coyne’s comments in @KJP’s article above re: Downtown’s office resurgence, that doesn’t seem to be his message at all (no matter if you agree with him or not). 

8 hours ago, AsDustinFoxWouldSay said:

I'd wager it to mean Terry Coyne is right, downtown is on yet another death spiral 

 

Yet another death spiral?? How many more deaths can downtown take!!

On 1/7/2025 at 2:36 AM, jeremyck01 said:

I found this prt of the article regarding the AECOM building and Westin Hotel very interesting:

 

“Its pedestrian connection to the Westin Hotel is lined with retailers, restaurants and cafes.”

 

I didn’t know there were businesses in the connector. Does anyone have any pictures or a list of businesses?  

winking lizard, colossal cupcakes, a gym for building tenants, and a lunch/juice place called Anna in the Raw. Also there used to be a Starbucks but it closed during covid.

Yeah, Downtown is clearly not in a death spiral. Its resurgence is taking longer than I'd like, but it's trajectory is upwards. That's obvious to anyone paying attention. Downtown apartments are filling up fast, and more are getting built or converted. Some businesses are moving out, but that's less to do with Cleveland, and mostly to do with national level trends towards remote/hybrid work. 

Ugh, move already.  Go somewhere else. Focus on somewhere you will be happy in then.  The incessant whining about how downtown Cleveland is this terrible place is annoying, even to us who usually just lurk the site.  I don't even live in the Cleveland CSA, but I can tell you, Cleveland's downtown is no worse off then every other peer city in the eastern Great Lakes region, interior NE and Midwest.  My office was along the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh... go read about how businesses are leaving, crime has gone up, and storefronts are becoming vacant - it's a narrative that so many cities seem to be focusing about lately in the news. 

2 hours ago, MissinOhio said:

Ugh, move already.  Go somewhere else. Focus on somewhere you will be happy in then.  The incessant whining about how downtown Cleveland is this terrible place is annoying, even to us who usually just lurk the site.  I don't even live in the Cleveland CSA, but I can tell you, Cleveland's downtown is no worse off then every other peer city in the eastern Great Lakes region, interior NE and Midwest.  My office was along the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh... go read about how businesses are leaving, crime has gone up, and storefronts are becoming vacant - it's a narrative that so many cities seem to be focusing about lately in the news. 

I read alot of articles/opinion pieces in the Pittsburgh media and beleive me they are no better off. In fact they may be worse off. St. Louis is very much worse off. No, ill take CLE any day

On 1/15/2025 at 9:34 PM, KJP said:

 

Downtown Flagstar Bank closing; What does it mean?
By Ken Prendergast / January 15, 2025

 

Customers who have accounts at Flagstar Bank’s Downtown Cleveland branch received letters this week saying that the branch will be closing and that all accounts will be moving soon to Flagstar’s Ohio City branch. But the $2.6 billion question is: why?

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/15/downtown-flagstar-bank-closing-what-does-it-mean/

 

Flagstar (aka New York Community Bank) is not in great shape. Stock down from $31 to $9 in the last year.  Declining earnings. Lots of mortgage loans nonperforming and worth less than par. A while back they entered the Cleveland market by buying Ohio Savings. The merger wasn't a great success and they have been slowly closing local branches.  They will probably survive, but it won't be pretty.

 

They might even be a candidate for a buyout by Key, with all Key's new Canadian money. 

 

On 1/16/2025 at 8:44 AM, mu2010 said:

winking lizard, colossal cupcakes, a gym for building tenants, and a lunch/juice place called Anna in the Raw. Also there used to be a Starbucks but it closed during covid.

 

Did Colossal expand, or relocate?  I know they took a big hit during the you-know-what.

23 hours ago, MissinOhio said:

Ugh, move already.  Go somewhere else. Focus on somewhere you will be happy in then.  The incessant whining about how downtown Cleveland is this terrible place is annoying, even to us who usually just lurk the site.  I don't even live in the Cleveland CSA, but I can tell you, Cleveland's downtown is no worse off then every other peer city in the eastern Great Lakes region, interior NE and Midwest.  My office was along the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh... go read about how businesses are leaving, crime has gone up, and storefronts are becoming vacant - it's a narrative that so many cities seem to be focusing about lately in the news. 

Don’t worry in 30 days this same crowd will magically say everything from crime to the economy are sooo much better. Even though both are in relatively good spots nationally.

5 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Did Colossal expand, or relocate?  I know they took a big hit during the you-know-what.

Neither. They expanded. They have 2 locations downtown and one out in North Olmsted 

I don't understand how the one on e9 is making money. 

14 hours ago, Dougal said:

 

Flagstar (aka New York Community Bank) is not in great shape. Stock down from $31 to $9 in the last year.  Declining earnings. Lots of mortgage loans nonperforming and worth less than par. A while back they entered the Cleveland market by buying Ohio Savings. The merger wasn't a great success and they have been slowly closing local branches.  They will probably survive, but it won't be pretty.

 

They might even be a candidate for a buyout by Key, with all Key's new Canadian money. 

 

 

Other way around. New york Community Bank bought Flagstar and adopted the name. It's in the article... 😉

On 1/8/2025 at 9:20 AM, Dougal said:

It will be interesting to see how Trump's return-to-the-office plans repopulate the Celebreze Federal Building and Northpoint (which has a big DoD office).  Assuming he carries through with his plan, of course.

And how many in the government quit or retire early.

On 1/17/2025 at 9:55 AM, E Rocc said:

 

Did Colossal expand, or relocate?  I know they took a big hit during the you-know-what.

They moved in after the pandemic, maybe early 2023. Coyne signed a lot of new tenants at the time including my former employer. As the article said, it was one of the strongest buildings coming out of covid as a lot of companies moved in. Winking Lizard came from across the street at that time as well. And he redid the gym and shared conference rooms. It’s a nice place.

Actually not sure where colossal was before that, not a big cupcake guy haha.

Edited January 19Jan 19 by mu2010

More good news......

 

 

2025’s return to the office? It started in 2024
By Ken Prendergast / January 23, 2025

 

Although a variety of four-letter words have frequently been used to describe the office market since the pandemic, there’s a new one being uttered lately — “hope.” That word made its appearance in the latest Cleveland office market report by Newmark, one of the industry’s most respected collectors and analysts of real estate inventory market data.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/01/23/2025s-return-to-the-office-it-started-in-2024/