Crews are nearly done framing 141 new apartments at Arcadia, just across the street from the transit-oriented Van Aken District in Shaker Heights (Ian McDaniel). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Progress Pics: Warrensville Ctr corridor thrives
With summer in full swing, momentum grows on completing several high-profile construction projects around the east side Heights. Hundreds of new apartments and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment are underway to construct more walkable and transit-oriented districts.
To meet growing demand for housing supply in Greater Cleveland, local investors and investors from around the country are spearheading projects offering a range of rent affordability at all levels.
Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, on the end of Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) light-rail Blue Line, continues its meteoric rise from vacant strip mall to transit-oriented neighborhood with the addition of 141 new apartments at the Arcadia development.
Growing in phases, Van Aken District began with the construction of the main retail corridor and Upstairs at Van Aken apartments. Then demand for upscale inventory brought the Raye apartments in phase two, a pair of modern high rises contributing to the already-high density area.
A worker stands atop the rear portion of the Arcadia development consisting of townhomes designed to transition in density to better match the character of the adjacent neighborhood (Ian McDaniel).
Now, the Arcadia apartments are the phase three of development, set to open across the street from Shaker Rocks on land of a former Buick dealership-turned vacant lot.
In June, the tower crane was busy hoisting wooden frames to top out the upper three floors of apartments. Townhomes are well under construction in the rear of the property facing Helen Road.
Designed by RDL Architects of Beachwood, Arcadia will eventually house their new offices upon completion. Multifamily developer Metropolitan Holdings of Columbus is the project’s developer.
For a rapidly-evolving modern transit-oriented district, Van Aken required a modern light-rail station and bus transit center to keep up with demand on the highly-traveled Warrensville Center Road corridor.
Cinder block walls and steel roof of the new Van Aken-Warrensville Blue Line rail station are nearly complete (Ian McDaniel).
So GCRTA set out to do just that. Construction crews worked through the winter to raise the cinder block and steel for the passenger comfort station and now, the concrete for the new train station’s center island platform is being poured.
Once the new station is complete at the end of 2026, the old station will be demolished and replaced with landscaping. Then, GCRTA will run new Siemens S200 light-rail vehicles on the Blue Line starting in 2028.
Up the street in University Heights, John Carroll University moves swiftly ahead on the Gateway North project, which will offer apartment-style living for upperclassmen beginning roughly halfway through the 2026-27 academic year.
The high density expansion of John Carroll’s campus replaces a former Mr. Tire auto shop and a dilapidated BP gas station. The building will house a new Trader Joe’s grocery store on the first floor, their fourth Northeast Ohio location.
Crews install brick facade on the corner of Gateway North facing Warrensville Circle in University Heights (Ian McDaniel).
Much of the northern leg of the building’s exterior is finished and crews have shifted to the southern corner facing the circle. A mixture of brick facade and modern paneling blends nicely with the neighboring brick houses lining Warrensville Center Road.
Many houses in the neighborhood were demolished for this project, however. In their place, the university has created a new parking lot to replace the student parking lost from the construction of the recently-opened Athletic, Wellness & Event Center (AWE) on Belvoir Boulevard.
The last hold out property on Warrensville Center Road surrounded by this development was recently demolished. A new sidewalk with trees was also installed along Milford Road.
And while the Trader Joe’s will take up the majority of the first floor retail space in the building, three or four additional retail spaces are currently being framed out on the side of the building facing John Carroll Boulevard. No additional tenants have been announced at this time.
The northernmost portion of Gateway North (right) is almost entirely finished with brick and modern paneling. Crews finish interior walls on the first floor (Ian McDaniel).
Moving north along Warrensville Center Road, slow but steady progress continues in the area surrounding the Target and Macy’s at the future Bell Town Center development. Demolition of a portion of the garage to make way for 200 apartments is complete with improvements being made.
While no further demolition of the main building is visible at this time, several tenants have recently moved into vacant storefronts there. Urban Air Adventure Park, Qdoba Mexican Eats and Smoothie King are the latest additions.
According to University Heights Mayor Michelle Weiss, permitting for construction is underway and to expect construction of the apartments beginning in summer 2026.
In the meantime, demolition of the former Waterstone Medical Building on Cedar Road adjacent to the future Bell Tower Center is complete. Crews have cleared the 2.1-acre site and are pouring foundations for a future Aldi grocery store.
Crews have already begun pouring foundations for a future Aldi at the site of a former medical office building in University Heights (Ian McDaniel).
University Heights city council previously turned down a proposal for a Chick-Fil-A at this location in favor of the grocery store. No opening date for the Aldi has been announced at this time.
In Richmond Heights, the $285 million Belle Oaks Marketplace redevelopment of the Richmond Town Square mall is rising fast. With additional bonds issued by the Port of Cleveland recently, the project spearheaded by developer DealPoint Merrill LLC of Los Angeles continues its successful financing streak.
New traffic signals, Wilson Mills Road repaving and other quality-of-life improvements at the intersection of Richmond Road came first and laid the groundwork for the transformation of a vacant mall into a neighborhood with nearly 800 new units.
The opening of Meijer grocery store, Firestone auto service shop and CLEAN Express Auto Wash constituted the first wave of commercial developments. Now, construction of the first three of a dozen apartment buildings are well underway with steel rising and workers framing building walls.
Three of 12 residential buildings have risen above ground at the massive Belle Oaks development in Richmond Heights (Ian McDaniel).
The redevelopment is expected to support approximately 1,400 construction jobs and 500 permanent retail and service positions while attracting new residents to the area.
Community amenities include a 5-acre nature and hiking park and a 20,000-square-foot community center. The leasing office for the development was constructed at the corner of Wilson Mills and Richmond roads.
The final major Heights development is the Marquee at Cedar Lee apartments in the Cedar Lee district of Cleveland Heights. Multifamily housing developer Flaherty & Collins of Indianapolis is leading the project.
New pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and plantings line the Cedar Road face of Marquee Cedar in Cleveland Heights (Ian McDaniel).
The project consists of the 67-unit building on Meadowbrook which is already nearly 100-percent leased and the 139-unit Cedar building which is nearing the end of construction.
After a fire in January 2025 during construction that razed the building facing Cedar Road, developers decided to proceed with a complete rebuild. Exterior finished are complete and workers are busy with interior build out and construction of balconies.
In the interior courtyard of the U-shaped building, installation of a pool for residents is under way. Workers were also busy reconstructing the rear alley connected to the public parking garage behind the shops on Lee Road.
A pool is installed in the interior courtyard of Marquee Cedar (Ian McDaniel).
On Cedar Road, a significant amount of the apartment complex’s streetscaping has been completed. The existing sidewalk was removed and replaced with a wider one that includes a planted buffer between the building and the street, providing shade and making it safer for pedestrians.
Additional amenities like a landscaped walking path and a dog park have not yet been constructed. Units in Marquee Cedar are available to lease starting Sept. 15, according to Apartments.com.
Continue to check in with NEOtrans for future Progress Pics updates on these and other projects around Greater Cleveland.
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