The Carriage Co., a $51.6 million mixed-use redevelopment of the former Voss Industries plant in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, received financial assistance today from the Port of Cleveland that will help it get renovations work underway by spring (SA Group). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Financial support awarded to three projects
Three redevelopment projects — two on Cleveland’s west side and one in Lakewood — were awarded financial assistance today by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s board of directors to advance them to construction in the coming weeks. The assistance totaled more than $97 million worth of financing, sales tax savings and bonds.
The approved projects include the redevelopment of the historic Voss Industries property in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, the construction of a new senior living and library facility in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, and the transformation of the former Steve Barry auto dealership in west-suburban Lakewood, port officials said.
Together, these projects will add more than 300 new apartments, including 51 units of affordable senior housing, along with commercial and community spaces. With this latest action, the Port has now approved more than $850 million in financing assistance since January 2024.
“The Port Authority continues to be a pivotal force in advancing redevelopment across the Cleveland region,” said J. Stefan Holmes, Port board chair in a written statement. “We are proud to support these projects that will transform key sites, create much-needed housing, and enhance our communities.”
Site plan for The Carriage Co. by MRN Ltd. also shows alleys crossing in the middle of the complex that will become pedestrian passageways for residential and commercial tenants. The top of the image shows a former Voss Industries employee parking lot that is to be developed with apartments by others per news exclusively reported by NEOtrans on Jan. 31 (SA Group).
Built as the Rauch & Lang Carriage Co., the former Voss plant, 2168 W. 25th St. in Ohio City, was provided with sales tax savings through a capital lease and $8 Million in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Bond Fund Bonds by the Port. Renovations for The Carriage Co. is expected to begin within the next month and be completed by the end of 2026.
The financing will help realize the $51.6 million mixed-use project by MRN Ltd. Planned are 129 apartments, 8,000 square feet of commercial space, 5,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, and parking for 122 vehicles. The 18-building redevelopment site is located at the south end of Ohio City’s Market District.
The first structures on the site were built in the 1870s and played a key role in Cleveland’s carriage and electric auto industries before being repurposed for aerospace manufacturing and materials handling. Voss relocated its 300 jobs to suburban Berea in 2020. NEOtrans broke the story two weeks ago that an employees’ parking lot behind the factory is proposed to be redeveloped with a new apartment building by others.
Looking south on Brockley Avenue toward Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, the large former car dealership site offers an opportunity to re-energize this section of the first-ring suburb with more sidewalk activity (Vocon).
Also, a $30.5 million redevelopment of the old Steve Barry Buick site, 16000 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, was awarded $24.4 million in lease revenue bonds from the Port. That will allow construction to start in the coming weeks on a pair of four-story mixed-use buildings with 124 apartments plus a 1,500-square-foot, stand-alone Huntington Bank Branch. Work is due to be done by mid-2026.
The development is led by NewBrook Partners of Rocky River and The Krueger Group of Cleveland. For nearly a century until 2018, the car dealership operated on both sides of Detroit. All of the former car dealership’s structures were demolished in recent weeks.
The long-awaited Karam Senior Living and Walz Library, 7918 Detroit Ave. in the Detroit-Shoreway, could see construction start by April thanks to $5 million in lease revenue bonds awarded to it. The Port is partnering with Northwest Neighborhoods Community Development Corp. and Salus Development LLC to develop the $21.2 million project.
Site plan for the redevelopment of the former Steve Barry Buick properties on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. Two apartment buildings on both sides of Detroit plus a new Huntington Bank branch at lower left should see construction start in a matter of weeks (Vocon).
Karam Senior Living will feature 51 affordable apartments for persons 55 years and older. It will also have a community room, laundry facilities, on-site parking and a wellness center. On the ground floor of the new building will be a new Walz branch of the Cleveland Public Library. The Port is also providing a capital lease to give sales tax savings to the project.
The development was delayed for nearly three years by a lack of financing and construction costs that had nearly doubled. If construction can start in the next month as expected, the four-story building should be completed by fall 2026. The old Walz library and the Detroit Chateau apartments were demolished in early 2022 to make way for the new development.
“The Port has been another key partner in the interconnected relationships that are ensuring success for this catalytic project,” said Northwest Neighborhoods’ Executive Director Bridget Kent Marquez,
It’s been a long time coming, but the planned Karam Senior Living apartments atop a new Walz Branch Library on Detroit Avenue at West 80th Street in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood may finally be near to construction thanks to financing provided by the Port of Cleveland (Bialosky).
Northwest Neighborhoods is the nonprofit provider of affordable housing and community development services for Cudell, Detroit Shoreway and Edgewater on Cleveland’s west side.
Since 1993, the Port of Cleveland has provided over $5.4 billion in financing for close to 200 projects across Cuyahoga County and beyond, playing a pivotal role in advancing redevelopment projects that otherwise might not have moved forward.
In 2024 alone, the Port approved 20 projects totaling $753 million in development financing — making it the second-highest revenue year for development finance in its history. Notably, the Port set a new record for revenue while keeping expenses under budget, Port officials said.
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