MidTown’s newest mid-rise, The 70th Apartments, fills the site of a demolished warehouse on East 70th Street (Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Progress Pics: The 70th, Warner & Swasey, African Town Retail Plaza, more
While Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood and overlapping MidTown district have lost much of their historic architecture over the decades, new developments are expanding their housing stock and employment base.
The area’s largest project by far, Cleveland Clinic’s $1.1 billion Neurological Institute, is wrapping up work at 2083 E. 89th St. The 1-million-square-foot facility, planned to open in January 2027, is expected to create thousands of permanent jobs.
Expected to be the Clinic’s largest-ever building upon opening, the structure’s 14 stories would include four floors for outpatient care, four floors for inpatient care, and a floor for surgery.
Cleveland Clinic’s 1-million-square-foot Neurological Institute nears completion on the north side of Carnegie Avenue at East 89th Street (Harrison Whittaker).
The Neurological Institute was designed by global architecture firms Hopkins Architects and Stantec, Inc. Turner Construction is the project’s general contractor.
The Clinic’s next projects include building a massive parking garage at either end of its sprawling campus and expanding its emergency department. Once it can clear enough space, the campus is expected to add a new bed tower and more.
Meanwhile, MidTown’s largest new construction residential project, The 70th Apartments, is rising just south of Euclid Avenue at 2024 E. 70th St. A larger three-building apartment complex proposed at the opposite end of MidTown is not yet underway.
Looking north on East 70th Street toward Euclid Avenue, Sabor Group USA is developing a five-story apartment building (Harrison Whittaker).
Hungarian-founded Sabor Group USA is developing the five-story, 64-unit apartment complex on East 70th Street in partnership with Renew Partners of Montville Township, OH. The mid-rise replaces an industrial building that was demolished in 2023.
First proposed in 2022, The 70th was redesigned last year with help from Akron-based Grassroots Architecture, making it cost-effective enough to move forward. JCI Contractors of Ashtabula is leading the project’s construction.
A new Chipotle location, complete with a drive-thru pickup lane, nears completion on the south side of Euclid Avenue at East 82nd Street (Harrison Whittaker).
Half a mile to the east, another unlikely site is preparing to be activated. Chipotle and its contractor Derek Inc. are building a standalone restaurant with a drive thru pickup lane at 8114 Euclid Ave., replacing a long-vacant takeout restaurant with a storied past.
Further into Fairfax, yet another retail project appears to be preparing for construction. On the south side of Cedar Avenue between East 76th and 78th streets, Nigerian-born James Sosan is developing African Town Retail Plaza.
Early signs of construction were spotted at Cedar Avenue and East 78th Street, where African Town Retail Plaza is planned to rise (Harrison Whittaker).
Described as a business incubator and community center for recent immigrants from Africa, the 23,000-square-foot building would include 38 small commercial units for startups.
Ground-level units would focus on retail, while upper-level spaces could include offices. At the center of the retail plaza, a community space would allow tenants to showcase information about their businesses.
Earlier this month, site preparation work was confirmed to be underway.
At the northwest corner of Cedar Avenue and East 77th Street, work appears to be wrapping up on the redevelopment of the former Cedar branch YMCA into African Town Plaza (Harrison Whittaker).
The retail development builds on Sosan’s African Town Plaza, which appears to be in the final stages of construction at 7515 Cedar Ave., directly across the street.
The $5 million project is transforming the former Cedar Branch YMCA into 19 apartments and 10 offices as well as event, studio, and commercial kitchen spaces.
Ultimately, Sosan hopes the two buildings can serve as a hub for Cleveland’s African immigrant population — similar to enclaves like AsiaTown or Little Italy.
Looking east along Carnegie Avenue, work continues on Pennrose’s redevelopment of the historic Warner & Swasey factory at the heart of Cleveland’s MidTown district (Harrison Whittaker).
However, the neighborhood’s largest renovation project is the $64 million rehabilitation of the long-abandoned Warner & Swasey factory, 5701 Carnegie Ave.
The five-story, 194,000-square-foot structure would be renovated into 112 affordable apartments for households making 30-60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).
Market-rate housing could come in a second phase, in a building behind the former factory.
A historic mixed-use building at the southeast corner of Cedar Avenue and East 83rd Street is being renovated with six apartments over ground-floor retail space (Harrison Whittaker).
The Warner & Swasey project is being led by Philadelphia-based Pennrose and MidTown Cleveland, Inc. John G. Johnson Construction of Cleveland is the project’s general contractor.
Other historic rehabilitation projects include the renovation of a historic three-story building at 8302 Cedar Ave. into six apartments over ground-floor retail space by general contractor Crawley Construction. The historic building was considered for demolition in 2024.
A historic gas station prepares for demolition at the southeast corner of Cedar Avenue and East 93rd Street (Harrison Whittaker).
According to county records, the mixed-use building is owned by Pace Infinite LLC — which Ohio Secretary of State records indicate is affiliated with Andre Cisco II, brand strategist for Machine Gun Kelly and co-owner of 27 Club Coffee.
But while some historic structures are being saved, others aren’t so lucky. At 9300 Cedar Ave., a gas station building dating to the 1920s and owned by the Cleveland Clinic is slated for demolition.
On East 93rd Street, Knez builds three single-family infill homes — with foundations for the third visible at right (Harrison Whittaker).
Still, losses from demolition have been somewhat offset by new construction activity in the neighborhood.
Painesville-based Knez Homes, a prominent homebuilder in Greater Cleveland, has been delivering infill homes just south of the Cleveland Clinic in Fairfax for years.
Knez wraps up work on three single-family infill homes on East 100th street in the Fairfax neighborhood (Harrison Whittaker).
At least six homes are confirmed to be under construction on East 93rd and 100th streets, less than a 10-minute walk to the Clinic campus, with more to come. One of them is currently listed for $400,000 — a relative bargain compared to new construction in other neighborhoods.
Development isn’t the only thing bringing energy back to MidTown and Fairfax. At the Dunham Tavern & Gardens, home to the oldest building in Cleveland still standing in its original location, a new Heritage Walking Trail recently opened.
At Dunham Tavern & Gardens, a new Heritage Walking Trail is now open (Harrison Whittaker).
The trail, whose cost was estimated at $520,000, was funded in part by a Green Infrastructure Grant from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). The F. Buddie Contracting Co. of Cleveland was the project’s general contractor.
For more construction updates around Greater Cleveland, check out NEOtrans’ other Progress Pics articles.
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