Owner of 925 Euclid wins more time

A wide-angle lens makes 925 Euclid appear less dominating than the 1.45-million-square-foot structure looks in person. The financing needed to return this building to productive use is also just as imposing (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Judge gives owner extended deadline

With hours to go before a July 30 deadline to settle its debts or lose its property in the wind-up to a potential Nov. 3 auction, the owner of 925 Euclid Ave. won a third option — an extended deadline.

On July 28, defendants HH Cleveland Huntington, L.P. and its principal Frank Sinito filed a motion in federal court on a pending foreclosure case to extend an equity of redemption deadline from July 30 to Aug. 30.

Two days later, without hearing any objections, U.S. District Court – Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division Judge Charles Fleming ordered the extension so HH Cleveland Huntington, a Millennia Companies affiliate, could arrange payment and retain ownership of the property.

“Defendants support their request for extending the equity of redemption deadline by stating they anticipate the ability to exercise their redemption rights by Aug. 30,” Fleming wrote in his order, filed in public records.

“And they ‘have made significant progress towards obtaining funding and are only weeks away from obtaining a loan or funding commitment sufficient to redeem the property,’ and redemption of the property by defendant would be a ‘win – win for all parties’,” the written order continued, quoting Sinito.

Millennia Companies has planned to refurbish 925 Euclid’s L-shaped bank lobbies, once the largest such lobbies in the world, as a high-end restaurant and museum display space (Sandvick).

John Lane, court-appointed receiver of 925 Euclid, did not object to the requested extension. Lane had no comment for this article. NEOtrans also reached out to an HH Cleveland Huntington spokesperson for comment and received the following e-mailed reply.

“HH Cleveland Huntington, L.P. continues to make substantial progress toward satisfying the outstanding loan and exercising its right of redemption for The Centennial,” said the company spokesperson in the written statement.

“The company has extended existing entitlements and put in place the necessary mechanisms to obtain financing and satisfy the bank loan,” the statement continued.

“HH Cleveland Huntington appreciates the court’s decision to grant an additional 30 days to complete the payoff and redemption process and thanks the receiver for working constructively with the company.”

“HH Cleveland Huntington remains focused on completing the transaction and advancing plans to revitalize this iconic landmark in support of downtown Cleveland and the broader region,” the e-mailed statement concluded.

Millennia Companies has a chance to retain ownership of 925 Euclid and repurpose the 1924-built building as The Centennial comprised of 870 workforce apartments, 90,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 20,000 square feet of retail (Millennia).

Two weeks ago, the last time NEOtrans reported on the matter, Lane told us that “If Frank Sinito can pull it off, great. That’d be wonderful. If he can’t, the whole purpose of receivership is to provide a backstop process to sell it.”

The court’s extension fits within a previously established time frame before a possible sale could occur. Fleming on June 30 set a schedule for a court-monitored sale of 925 Euclid.

The deadline for qualified bids is Oct. 24. Bidders will be notified Oct. 28 if an auction will be held. An auction, if necessary, will be held Nov. 3. Deadline for objections to a sale to be submitted to the court is Nov. 10.

HH Cleveland Huntington in 2015 acquired 925 Euclid and planned a $500 million redevelopment of the 1924-built, 21-story office building into The Centennial, a mixed-use complex. Planned is workforce housing, offices and retail spaces.

Millennia acquired the massive, vacant structure for $40 million but has been unable to secure enough financing to renovate the property, despite winning $70 million in public-sector grants, loans and tax credits.

In October 2011, Huntington Bank was in the process of packing up and moving out of 925 Euclid for 200 Public Square. But the huge bank atrium was still open to the public and a security guard kept watch (NEOtrans).

But Millennia was unable to make payments on its $33.4 million loan from Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch, it secured to acquire the property. So Deutsche Bank filed a foreclosure action in October 2025 with the court. A receiver was appointed by the court in January to start a sale process.

Cuyahoga County joined the matter as it awarded The Centennial redevelopment project a $5 million loan. Millennia also has $1.7 million in unpaid property taxes to the county.

To redeem its equity in the property and prevent the sale process from going forward, Millennia’s affiliate would have to pay back the entire $40.1 million by the court’s deadline.

Cleveland-based Millennia owns Key Tower, several other downtown properties, notable restaurants like The Marble Room and LockKeepers, and owns or operates nearly 30,000 residential units and commercial spaces across more than 25 states.

END

Scroll to Top