Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Three local developers part of downtown upswing
Click image to enlarge
|
BY: DOUGLAS J. GUTH Senior Staff Reporter
Three local developers are working hard to reclaim the economic momentum Cleveland enjoyed in 1996, its bicentennial year.
Cleveland was flourishing in the wake of projects like Gateway, and downtown residential activity was on the rise.
While progress has continued over the last decade, the pace has slowed, maintains Joe Roman, president of Greater Cleveland Partnership, an economic development organization. Roman moderated a recent City Club of Cleveland forum of local entrepreneurs who envision a dynamic, walkable downtown bolstered by new housing, retail and office space.
Scott Wolstein’s Flats East Bank redevelopment has doubled from its original $230 million price tag. Increased demand for new office, hotel and business space raised the budget to $522 million, including $147 million in public financing.
Most of the venture could be finished by late 2010, asserts Wolstein, CEO of Developers Diversified Realty. The project will include a 150-room hotel, 430 residences, a public park and about 975,000 square feet of offices. Nearly half the office space could be filled by manufacturing giant Eaton Corp., which is seeking to relocate its corporate campus.
While Wolstein attempts to reinvigorate Cleveland’s former “party central,” downtown housing has grown in recent years with the Pinnacle and Water Street condominium complexes in the Warehouse District. Another developer, Zaremba Inc., broke ground last fall on a luxury residential complex in The Avenue District at E. 12th and St. Clair Ave.
At full build-out, the project will add 426 housing units as well as ground-floor retailers, notes president Nathan Zaremba. The first phase will have 50 for-sale lofts, eight penthouses, 15 townhomes, and 9,000 square feet of retail. Zaremba has said he will target suburban empty-nesters and young professionals looking to work and live downtown.
Willoughby-based developer Doug Price is no stranger to the downtown housing game. Price, CEO of K&D Group, gained a presence in downtown Cleveland by building the Stonebridge lofts and purchasing the Reserve Square mixed-use development.
The Cuyahoga Board of County Commissioners recently accepted the company’s $35 million bid to purchase the former Ameritrust complex at East 9th St. and Euclid Avenue. K&D Group is at work on a $200 million redevelopment plan to transform the complex into a mixed-use “lifestyle center” encompassing almost 10 square city blocks.
Price has received an “unbelievable amount of response” from retailers interested in moving into the Ameritrust site, he says.
Overall interest in building up Cleveland is steadily growing, believe the trio of developers. However, the current push comes largely from entrepreneurs born and raised in Cleveland. Wolstein would like to see a future City Club panel with investors from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
It’s up to city officials to promote the positive changes that could attract outside development dollars, remarks Price.
Besides the creation of residential space, Wolstein would like to see progress on Cleveland’s lakefront. He points to Chicago as a model of what can be done with green space instead of asphalt and concrete. “We’ve got to reclaim our lakefront and make it a public park.”
One amenity the developers don’t see succeeding downtown is fashion retail. Legacy Village and other suburban shopping outlets already fill that market, they explain, while Tower City has struggled. Service retail n grocery stores, laundromats and coffee shops n are likelier bets.
Wolstein’s Flats project aims to bring 3,000 residents downtown. Attracting 10 times that number can create a truly vibrant city atmosphere that will “change the face of Cleveland forever,” he says.
dguth@cjn.org
Cleveland was flourishing in the wake of projects like Gateway, and downtown residential activity was on the rise.
While progress has continued over the last decade, the pace has slowed, maintains Joe Roman, president of Greater Cleveland Partnership, an economic development organization. Roman moderated a recent City Club of Cleveland forum of local entrepreneurs who envision a dynamic, walkable downtown bolstered by new housing, retail and office space.
Scott Wolstein’s Flats East Bank redevelopment has doubled from its original $230 million price tag. Increased demand for new office, hotel and business space raised the budget to $522 million, including $147 million in public financing.
Most of the venture could be finished by late 2010, asserts Wolstein, CEO of Developers Diversified Realty. The project will include a 150-room hotel, 430 residences, a public park and about 975,000 square feet of offices. Nearly half the office space could be filled by manufacturing giant Eaton Corp., which is seeking to relocate its corporate campus.
While Wolstein attempts to reinvigorate Cleveland’s former “party central,” downtown housing has grown in recent years with the Pinnacle and Water Street condominium complexes in the Warehouse District. Another developer, Zaremba Inc., broke ground last fall on a luxury residential complex in The Avenue District at E. 12th and St. Clair Ave.
At full build-out, the project will add 426 housing units as well as ground-floor retailers, notes president Nathan Zaremba. The first phase will have 50 for-sale lofts, eight penthouses, 15 townhomes, and 9,000 square feet of retail. Zaremba has said he will target suburban empty-nesters and young professionals looking to work and live downtown.
Willoughby-based developer Doug Price is no stranger to the downtown housing game. Price, CEO of K&D Group, gained a presence in downtown Cleveland by building the Stonebridge lofts and purchasing the Reserve Square mixed-use development.
The Cuyahoga Board of County Commissioners recently accepted the company’s $35 million bid to purchase the former Ameritrust complex at East 9th St. and Euclid Avenue. K&D Group is at work on a $200 million redevelopment plan to transform the complex into a mixed-use “lifestyle center” encompassing almost 10 square city blocks.
Price has received an “unbelievable amount of response” from retailers interested in moving into the Ameritrust site, he says.
Overall interest in building up Cleveland is steadily growing, believe the trio of developers. However, the current push comes largely from entrepreneurs born and raised in Cleveland. Wolstein would like to see a future City Club panel with investors from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
It’s up to city officials to promote the positive changes that could attract outside development dollars, remarks Price.
Besides the creation of residential space, Wolstein would like to see progress on Cleveland’s lakefront. He points to Chicago as a model of what can be done with green space instead of asphalt and concrete. “We’ve got to reclaim our lakefront and make it a public park.”
One amenity the developers don’t see succeeding downtown is fashion retail. Legacy Village and other suburban shopping outlets already fill that market, they explain, while Tower City has struggled. Service retail n grocery stores, laundromats and coffee shops n are likelier bets.
Wolstein’s Flats project aims to bring 3,000 residents downtown. Attracting 10 times that number can create a truly vibrant city atmosphere that will “change the face of Cleveland forever,” he says.
dguth@cjn.org
 |
||
| BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT FOR 5/2 |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of clevelandjewishnews.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments. Registration is free.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
