Formerly the offices of Thomas J. Unik Insurance and built as the Grossman Paper Box Company, this building on Superior Avenue on the east side of Downtown Cleveland is being partially renovated to make it more marketable for sale and eventual redevelopment (Cresco). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Downtown building could be residential, offices
An historic, four-story commercial building on the east end of Downtown Cleveland has gone on the market. And, at the same time, renovations to the building are about to begin, at least partially. Those two seemingly disconnected actions have a connection — making the property more marketable.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company is seeking building permits to begin an estimated $546,172 worth of interior demolition and renovation work to essentially “white box” the guts of 1729 Superior Ave., which was recently the headquarters of the Thomas J. Unik Insurance Co. It was built in 1902 as the Grossman Paper Box Company.
Public records also show the general contractor, based in Baltimore but with an office in Downtown Cleveland, will make exterior repairs to the four-story building located at the north end of the Campus District, a short distance from Cleveland State University.
The last time the 68,000-square-foot structure was renovated was in 1990, according to marketing materials from Cushman & Wakefield – CRESCO Real Estate brokerage of Independence. No sale price was listed; the property was appraised in 2018 at $1,092,000 by Cuyahoga County for tax purposes.
Interior of the 123-year-old building at 1729 Superior Ave. shows what appears to be a well-built, well-maintained structure. Some floors have office walls, glass panels and other interior features that were added over the decades and will be removed (GBX Group).
The property is owned by Sunshine Diversified Investments LLC which in turn was owned by Thomas J. Unik III until 2022 when GBX Group, headquartered nearby at 2101 Superior, acquired it in entity sale, Ohio Secretary of State records show.
But for what purpose might it be renovated this time? In recent decades, a building like this would have been a no-brainer for a residential conversion with some ground-floor retail. That’s not necessarily the automatic outcome this time.
There are a number of similarly historic brick buildings just to the east along the Superior corridor which have been, or are about to be converted to residential or modern offices from commercial warehousing and even light industrial uses with the help of historic tax credits.
Rico Pietro, a principal at Cushman & Wakefield – CRESCO, said there are a variety of potential outcomes for this property. It could be converted to residential use, or government offices, or the headquarters of a nonprofit organization.
Secure parking underneath 1729 Superior is possible via an existing vehicular ramp from Superior Avenue, at left (GBX/Cresco).
“GBX is motivated to source a net-additive use to the corridor,” Pietro told NEOtrans. “I just started marketing it, but with a clean interior ‘slate,’ and hopeful to get immediate eyes from smart investors looking for an application-ready project for HTCs (historic tax credits).”
The site is located just west of the Superior Avenue Historic District, the western extent of which ends across the street from Plain Dealer Plaza, 1801 Superior. And it is east of the Erieview Historic District which goes no further east than East 13th Street at Superior.
But 1729 Superior is of a sufficient age — more than 50 years old — for it to qualify for state or federal historic tax credits. Marketing materials show the basement has historically had a vehicular ramp and enough room for about 25 interior parking stalls.
The property next door, at the corner of Superior and East 18th Street, is a small parking lot owned by an affiliate of CLE Developers for which Pietro is also a principal. It is currently used as an Avis-Budget rental car/van agency.
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