The Emerging Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

Commercial Real Estate Hits 5-year Sales Peak. Sales of commercial properties in Northeast Ohio soared mearly 73% to $702 million in 2012, the highest level since such sales reached the stratospheric heights of $1.3 billion in 2007 - the last year before the financial crisis struck and the nation entered the recession. This is the finding of a survey of sales of income-generating commercial properties by Alec Pacella, a vice president of the NAI Daus real estate brokerage who has collected such data for years; as reported in Crain's Cleveland Business, January21, 2013 edition. ¶ Retail sales accounted for 59% of last yera's sales and apartments for 16%.

Uptick In Economy Drives 4.3% rise in RTA Ridership. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority had 2 million more riders last year than in 2011, an increase agency officials said was largely driven b an p tick in the local economy. ¶ RTA officials attribute the 4.3 percent increase in ridership to the Horseshoe Casino on Public Square, which opened last year, the Inner Belt Bridge construction and a jump in parking fees around downtown; as reported in the January 19, 2013 edition of The Plain Dealer.

Tech Companies Here Attracted $201 Million In Venture Capital. Bucking the national trend, Cleveland's high-tech sector emjoyed a burst of momentum last year as venture capitalists poured new levels of money into the region. ¶ Young te4cdhnology-based companies here attracted about $201 million in 2012, a 34 percent spike over the previous year, according to a study released by JumpStart, a Cleveland-based technology accelerator; and reported by The Plain Dealer, January 30, 2013 edition.

Convention Center To Open Under Budget, Weeks Early. Downtown Cleveland's convention center and a proton of the adjoining Global Center for Health Innovation will open early and under budget, officials said. ¶ The convention center, which was scheduled to open July 19 for the National Senior Games, is now expected to be completed June 1 said Jeff Appelbaum, Cuyahoga County's point man on the project. Reported in The Plain Dealer, March 28, 2013.

City Officials Push Downtown Improvements. Using a federal transportation enhancement grant, the city is making nearly $1 million worth of improvements, including wider sidewalks, benches and bicycles racks, between St. Clair and Lakeside Avenues. The project is scheduled to be finished by mid-July . The city also is remaking West Ninth Street between Front and West Superior Avenues in a $2 million project that will create a better gateway to the Flats East Bank project, a waterfront development where a hotel and restaurants are to open in june, as reported in The Plain Dealer, April 12, 2013 edition.

Downtown Apartment Occupancy High, Office Softens. Apartment occupancy in downtown Cleveland was 96.3 percent in the first quarter, according to the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. Demand held steady even as developers added 700 units and planned roughly 1,000 more in the center city. The office market softened, though, as Easton Corp.'s departure for the suburbs bumped downtown vacancy up to 20.3 percent. The alliance, which represents property owners, released market updates for times each year. Reported by The Plain Dealer, April 26, 2013 edition.

Cuyahoga Council Approves Geis Plan For Converting Ameritrust Complex. The Cuyahoga County Council unanimously approved plans for a new government headquarters, made possible by selling the long-maligned Ameritrust complex. ¶ The county will receive $27 million on the sale from Streetsboro-based Geis Cos., then pay the developer $6.7 million a year for a modern, eight-story building to open in July 2014. At the end of the 26-year lease, the county will pay $1 to won the building, at the northeast corner of Prospect Avernue and East Ninth Street. ¶ The connected 28-story tower will become high-end apartments, the historic rotunda would be used for retail or another public use and 1010 Euclid Ave., also known as the Swetland building, would become apartments and office space.

DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND

Freighter Sailors Enjoy Exotic Port of Cleveland: The Plain Dealer reports May 19, 2012 that the docks' proximity to downtown makes shopping, sports popular. With the Polish freighter Wicko safely in port, the crew headed for fun. The captain went shopping on the city's West Side for a Harley-Davidson. The electrical officer took in a game at Progressive Field and the cook went to the West Side Market. The top destination was Wal-Mart at Steelyard Commons. Seamen prefer Cleveland to other ports because the docks are close to downtown.

BrandMuscle Will Move 150 to Downtown: The Crain's Cleveland Business reports May 13, 2012 that one of Northeast Ohio's fastest-growing software companies is moving to downtown Cleveland. BrandMuscle Inc. of Beachwood is in the process of finalizing a lease to take 40,000 square feet at 1100 Superior and East 12th Street. The company has 150 employees and it plans to move all of them downtown before the end of the year.

Horseshoe Casino: The Plain Dealer reports May 13, 2012 "Horseshoe work force is among city's largest." The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland now ranks as one of the city's largest employers, its 1,600 workers outnumbering the population of Bratenahl. Workers will be at the casino round-the-clock, 365 days a year, after it opened Monday in the former Higbee's store on Public Square.

WEST 25TH STREET AND THE MARKET DISTRICT

The Awakening of a Sleeping Giant: Crain's Cleveland Business reports April 8, 2012 that more than 20 businesses have opened in the M Market District in the past 18 months. Ask any of the business owners in Ohio City, and they'll tell you the West Side Market is the lifeblood of the neighborhood. The venerable market, which turns 100 years old this year, brings more than a million people a year into the growing district. Home to more than 100 vendors, ranging from butchers to bakers, the market has gained national recognition as one of the premiere public markets in the country. ¶ Strong Partners: While the West Side Market could be considered the heart of Ohio City, the neighborhood's two other anchor institutions - St. Ignatius High School and the Cleveland clinic's Lutheran Hospital - also have invested heavily in the redevelopment of the area.

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY

CSU Plans $45M Center for Health Care Focus: Crain's Cleveland Business reports April 29, 2012 Cleveland State University is laying the groundwork to take on $71 million in new debt, a hefty chunk of which is expected to finance the construction of a building devoted t health care careers. ¶ The roughly $45 million Center for Health Professional, as it's been named, is still in the conceptual stages, but Cleveland State president Ronald Berkman characterized it as one of the "most important"" pieces in his vision for growing the urban university. ¶ President Berkman stated "When I came I said health care needed to be one of the core strategic areas of the university." The new building would be located at the site of the soon-to-be demolished Viking Hall on Euclid Avenue.

MOCA Shaping Up to be an Attention-Getter:  The Plain Dealer reports 02/04/12  ¶The new Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in University Circle is a Rubik's Cube of a building packed with visual and spatial experiences unlike any other structure in Cleveland.  ¶ A visit to the museum-in-the-making - now on time and on budget and scheduled to open Oct. 5 - shows that MOCA is shaping up as an architectural thrill ride. 

MOCA Sets Opening Show: The Plain Dealer reports 03/05/12 "MOCA Sets Opening Show at New Building for Oct. 8."  ¶ MOCA is to announce today that its iconic building, designed by Farshid Moussavi of London, will open to the public on Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 8, with works by a star-studded cast of 13 artists from six countries.  The goal of the opening show, entitled, "Inside Out and From the Ground Up," is to test the building as a place to see art, not as a place to contemplate architecture for its own sake.

University Circle Plan Moves Ahead: The Plain Dealer repots 03/06/12 ¶ Offices, apartments, a hub for tech companies and a 700-car garage could rise from a surface parking lot at the edge of University Circle and Little Italy starting early next year. ¶ After years of discussions, University Circle Inc. has picked a plan and developers for one of the most pivotal pieces of real estate in the dynamic Cleveland neighborhood.  The Coral Co. of Cleveland and Panzica Construction Co. of Mayfield aim to build a $100 million-plus project on 2.2 acres off Mayfield Road, north of Circle Drive. ¶ The ambitious proposal would fill a gap in a market that, though flush with hospitals, museums and schools, lacks modern office buildings to house multiple tenants and enough places for visitors and residents to park.  Name Intesa - an italian word meaning "understanding," "agreement" or "accord" - the development would be one of the largest in University Circle, where construction has flourished despite a rocky economy.   

Cleveland Casino:  The Plain Dealer reports 02/16/12 "May 14 Opening Set for Cleveland Casino."  Cleveland's casino will open May 14, making it the first full-service gambling facility in Ohio.

Cleveland State University: The Plain Dealer reports 02/16/12 ¶ Cleveland State University expects to receive $112.7 million from the state to renovate a building for a new engineering program. ¶ Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp. will collaborate with CSU on the new engineering program, which will be housed in Stillwelll Hall, an 85-year-old building near Fenn Tower that will be updated to house laboratories, said CSU President Ronald Berkman.

West Side Market: The Plain Dealer reports 02/06/12 "The Market: 100 Years, Hungry for More." ¶ The West Side Market turns 100 years old this fall, so tie on a babuska, grab a shopping bag and get ready to blow out a lot of candles.  City Officials, vendors and market supporters are announcing a trio of major centennial events today, starting with a family-friendly party June 2 (rain date June 23) in the renovated Market Square Park across the street.  Expect multicultural entertainment, fireworks and an ice cream social provided by Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream.  That local company also expects to open a new production facility in the neighborhood around that time.

UNIVERSITY CIRCLE: University Circle Institutions are Job Engines, Study Finds. ***

Michelle Jarboe of the Plain Dealer reported September 5, 2010: “¶ Hospitals, institutions and other nonprofit groups have been creating jobs and fueling construction projects in University Circle, laying the foundation for more apartments and other private development in the neighborhood. ¶ Since 2005, 17 organizations in the University Circle area have added the equivalent of 4,540 full time jobs, according to a study scheduled for release this week. Those organizations could create 2,900 more jobs within five years, expanding their collective work force to a projected 36,758 full[time positions. ¶ The study was jointly paid for by community development group University Circle Inc. and the Finch group, a Florida developer that has been investing in the area. Projecting growth through 2015, the research could be a valuable tool for developers considering projects between East 90^th and East 120^th streets. ¶ “It’s hard to find anywhere else in the region or the state of Ohio, for that matter, that has incurred growth in a down period,” said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc. and a candidate for the new Cuyahoga County Council.”