The former Union Trust Bank Building in Downtown Cleveland could become a technology hub instead of a primarily residential redevelopment if plans by its owner and an emerging development team pan out (Gordon Brothers). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Change of plans comes as auction looms
With a court-imposed auction looming two months from now, the owner of the former Union Trust Bank Building, 925 Euclid Ave. in Downtown Cleveland, is trying to organize a dramatic change of plans for the building’s redevelopment that could include significant artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Previously, Cleveland-based Millennia Companies and its founder Frank Sinito, doing business as HH Cleveland Huntington L.P., sought a residentially focused redevelopment of the 1924-built, 1.45-million-square-foot Union Trust Bank Building as The Centennial.
Now, it is seeking technology-heavy programming for the 21-story building whose most striking feature is arguably its soaring, L-shaped bank lobby, once considered the largest bank lobby in the world.
But that new direction may happen only if it can retain ownership of the building. HH Cleveland Huntington is in default of two loans — one for $33.4 million from Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch and the other for $5 million from Cuyahoga County. That put 925 Euclid in receivership since January.
It also owes $1.7 million in property tax payments to the county, according to a foreclosure action pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Yesterday, HH Cleveland Huntington’s request for a second 30-day extension to pay its debts in full was denied by Judge Charles Fleming.
The massive office building at 925 Euclid Ave. has sat vacant for about 15 years, awaiting a new purpose and financing to make it happen (NEOtrans).
HH Cleveland Huntington declined to appeal the decision. A court-appointed receiver, John Lane of Mentor-based Inglewood Associates, urged Sinito to submit a stalking horse bid for the project prior to a Sept. 15 deadline. That would set a minimum baseline price prior to the Nov. 3 auction so others could not underbid it.
“The project team is focused on working through the court process, so we are not in a position to provide a detailed breakdown of the (new) project scope at this time,” said a spokeswoman for HH Cleveland Huntington in an e-mail to NEOtrans.
However, the spokeswoman broadly described the new Centennial redevelopment as “A mixed-use, integrated technology campus designed to restore a landmark downtown building, support local job creation, and return underutilized space to productive use.”
As currently envisioned, she said the project would include 200+ residential units, approximately 420,000 square feet of office space, retail space, advanced technology space, a hotel, and a restored bank hall that would also serve as convention and event space.
“That space is intended to function as a technology hub capable of hosting major tech conferences, convenings, and programming, helping position The Centennial as a central destination for technology activity in Cleveland and the broader Midwest,” the spokeswoman added.
Previously, an affiliate of Millennia Companies proposed to redevelop the former Union Trust Building as a residential-heavy project called The Centennial. While the project name will apparently remain, its uses will be significantly different (Millennia).
“Tenant discussions and project details are still pending, and the technology component is intended as an innovation and R&D facility that would support a potential anchor tenant,” she said.
The spokeswoman declined to identify the tenant. But in the various legal filings made in recent days by HH Cleveland Huntington, one was an Aug. 28 letter from a potential lender, Citizens Business Bank of Laguna Beach, CA, offered as an exhibit to the district court bolster the owner’s case.
The letter noted that Citizens Business Bank was conducting due diligence for potentially $50 million in financing for a future redevelopment at 925 Euclid. However, it noted that no financing was committed at this time. And the letter made no mention of HH Cleveland Huntington, either.
Instead, the letter was addressed to Kevin Carr of Hyperscape Digital based in Sheridan, WY. On its Web site, Hyperscape Digital describes itself as “We develop, own, and operate AI infrastructure — from raw land to running campuses.”
Also on its Web site, it identifies eight sites that are hosting or planned to host AI infrastructure campuses, which is not necessarily the same thing as a traditional data center. Six of those sites are in Texas, one is in Delaware and the last is in Ohio.
Since it acquired 925 Euclid in 2018, Millennia has tried to find the right program of new uses to reactivate the 102-year-old property (Millennia).
The Ohio location is called “The Opal” and is defined as having or will have Class I infrastructure. A Class I campus for AI infrastructure typically has high-performance hardware, power and networking systems built to run massive AI training workloads at scale.
“Individual site detail — location, capacity, energization timeline, and lease structure — is shared under NDA (non-disclosure agreement) with qualified hyperscale tenants, colocation operators, and institutional capital partners. Request access and our team responds within one business day,” the Web site noted.
NEOtrans reached out to Hyperscape Digital to learn the location and description of The Opal but has not yet heard back. This article will be updated if the inquiry is answered.
Under Cleveland’s zoning code, building spaces that house data centers and AI infrastructure have been categorized as office uses. Cleveland City Council passed in July a three-month moratorium on adding new data centers in the city until officials could review Cleveland’s zoning code.
Millennia had planned to repurpose 925 Euclid’s grand bank lobby as a fine-dining restaurant and museum. But now it plans a convention/event space (Millennia).
Last month, NEOtrans reported that 925 Euclid was the subject of a renewed redevelopment effort by Millennia and Sinito. The Centennial’s prior general contracting team comprised of Gilbane Building Co. and Marous Brothers both acknowledged they are no longer part of the project.
Sources said Mayfield-based Panzica Construction was the redevelopment project’s new general contractor. However, e-mails sent by NEOtrans to their top executives seeking confirmation and additional information were not answered and HH Cleveland Huntington’s spokesperson declined to comment.
HH Cleveland Huntington’s spokesperson said the project team continues to work with financial, technical, and development partners to advance the redemption of the loans and 925 Euclid’s redevelopment.
“This project represents an opportunity to revitalize an iconic Cleveland landmark and support long-term economic activity in the region,” she said. “HH Cleveland Huntington remains committed to bringing together the financing, partners, and project leadership necessary to make this redevelopment a success for lienholders, stakeholders, and the broader community.”
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