At this stage of the process, there’s a one-in-four chance that the current Justice Center will continue to be Cuyahoga County’s courthouse in the coming years. That’s because there’s four site options left for the courthouse and only one of them involves renovating the existing courthouse tower (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Thorough review vs. greater inflation influence
Should it stay or should it go? That’s the question about the location of Cuyahoga County’s Consolidated Courthouse facilities which could lead to one of the largest and most expensive real estate projects in Greater Cleveland. But county officials don’t appear to be in a hurry to answer that question, according to a source who spoke to NEOtrans on the condition of anonymity.
In fact, it may not be answered until the end of the year, said the well-placed source who was familiar with the county’s decision-making process involving the future site of a Consolidated Courthouse. In early April, the same source told NEOtrans that an ad hoc committee comprised of county and city of Cleveland officials evaluating sites for the new Consolidated Courthouse might make a decision by mid-summer.
Since we’re past mid-summer without a decision, NEOtrans checked in with the source again. The source said the committee would likely only narrow the field of prospective courthouse proposals from four remaining sites down to perhaps two options sometime in September. From the two surviving proposals, the best one could be picked by the end of the year. Real estate brokerage CBRE is assisting the county in the site selection.
The source said the reason for the extended time period was because the committee was trying to be careful in its decision making and wanted to thoroughly review the options, given the scale of the project. “They want to make the correct the decision,” the source said. County officials caution that no decisions have been made, as yet.
The four remaining site proposals for the Consolidated Courthouse in Downtown Cleveland are shown here. This graphic can be enlarged by clicking on the image (Google).
The four remaining site proposals for the courthouse are all in Downtown Cleveland:
- Renovation of the existing Justice Center courthouse tower, 1300 Ontario St., along with demolition of jail facilities, construction of expanded courthouse space and potential additional development on 7 acres of county-owned land, submitted by DBL Development LLC, comprised of Loomis Companies and MRN Ltd., represented by Cushman and Wakefield Principal Rico Pietro.
- New construction of courthouse facilities and parking at “The Pit,” roughly 8 acres of parking lots owned by the Kassouf and Coyne families at 600 Front Ave., submitted by Twenty-One Six Development LLC led by Beachwood-based TurnDev in partnership with the affected property owners. This is the only all-new construction courthouse proposal remaining.
- Renovation of the vacant, century-old, 1.3-million-square-foot Centennial building, 925 Euclid Ave., with courthouse facilities and additional office, restaurant and retail uses, submitted by property owner HH Cleveland Huntington LP, an affiliate of the Cleveland-based Millennia Companies. Millennia put on hold its proposed $500 million mixed-use conversion of the property so it could be considered by the county.
- Renovation of the 94-year-old, 900,000-square-foot Landmark Building, 101 W. Prospect Ave., with courthouse facilities, submitted by property owner Sapphire Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Detroit-based Bedrock Real Estate. The building is currently leased primarily by Sherwin-Williams for its global headquarters until its new office tower opens next year.
At the Justice Center campus downtown, the jail block at right has about six years left until it is razed. The fate the courthouse tower at left is uncertain. While unlikely to be demolished, it could face a new use if vacated by the county. That could subject the tower to another request for proposals for repurposing it (Google).
According to the county’s request for proposals, it is seeking nearly 900,000 square feet of new or renovated office space plus additional space for parking thousands of cars. The cost of the project is likely to fall in the $400 million to $700 million range and would be funded by a 40-year, quarter-percent sales tax extension that was passed by Cuyahoga County Council in December 2023.
That funding will also support construction of a new $750 million Cuyahoga County Central Services Campus, formerly called the consolidated jail on 72 acres of land the county acquired in April at Interstate 480 and Transportation Boulevard in suburban Garfield Heights. Also in April, Cuyahoga County Council approved a $33.353 million design/build contract with Gilbane Building Company of Providence, RI. Gilbane has an office in Downtown Cleveland.
But a construction industry source that NEOtrans contacted said the additional time the county is taking to carefully review the proposals could cost taxpayers millions of dollars due to the effects of inflation. A $400 million project delayed six months at current inflation rates of 3 percent could add $6 million to the price tag. At $700 million, a six-month delay could add more than $10 million to the cost.
“Taking more time to be careful in selecting a site may be costly when it comes to inflation,” said the construction industry source, who preferred anonymity because his firm sometimes works with the county. “There’s a trade-off in trying to save money by taking time to choose the right site.”
NEOtrans revealed in April that three courthouse proposals were rejected. They were submitted by Lincoln Property Company Commercial LLC, doing business as Chicago-based Lincoln Property Company; U.S. Realty Advisors of New York City, and DMD Development Group based in North Olmsted.
Five years ago, Cuyahoga County and city of Cleveland officials began participating in an ad hoc committee to determine the fate of the Justice Center complex. So far, the jail facilities and Cleveland Division of Police headquarters have found new homes. But the courthouse has yet to find a place to land (PMC).
Lincoln Property Co. and U.S. Realty Advisors were apparently rejected because their proposals were too vague and didn’t address where a new or renovated Consolidated Courthouse would be located.
DMD was informed in January that it was no longer in consideration due to a long timeline necessary to move forward on its proposal. That plan involved waiting for the new Cleveland police headquarters and jail to be built, with the latter project taking up to six years to complete.
The existing Justice Center’s 25-story, 675,887-square-foot courthouse tower is too small for the county’s and city of Cleveland’s needs. The 48-year-old tower is one of four main uses on the county’s 7-acre downtown campus. Also on the site are the two jail blocks which will be closed and demolished after the new jail complex in Garfield Heights is built.
Also on the campus is the Cleveland Division of Police headquarters. It too will be closed and possibly demolished when the new police headquarters opens next year at 2540 Superior Ave., just east of downtown. TurnDev is renovating the historic Artcraft Building for the new headquarters and adding a parking garage there.
Nearly five years ago, the county’s facilities advisor Project Management Consultants said that, of the four main structures at the Justice Center campus, the courthouse tower was in the second-worst condition. Only the police headquarters was considered by it to be in worse shape.
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