Across Lorain Avenue from the Urban Community School’s Urban Squash Cleveland building, at left, is the Seamus-O Building at East 47th Street in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. The Seamus-O Building and several additional parcels sold to a company led by local businessman David Ferrante and attorney Adam Rosen (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Ferrante’s proposed use remains unknown
The “who, what, when and where” questions surrounding the sale of a prominent structure in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood are known. But what isn’t yet known is the answer to the question “why.”
The Seamus-O Building, 4700 Lorain Ave., sold on Sept. 25 but the deal wasn’t announced publicly until today by brokers David Leb and Brad Nosan, both vice presidents at Cushman & Wakefield | CRESCO Real Estate. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Back in 2015, when I was just getting started in commercial real estate, this was one of the first buildings I tried to sell,” wrote Leb, head of CRESCO’s investment sales division, in a LinkedIn post. “Ultimately the owner wasn’t ready, but it was just a matter of time. Eleven years later here we are.”
Acquiring the property was NEO Seamus LLC, whose statutory agent is Adam Rosen, a partner at Trzaska Rosen Faller LLC based nearby in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
Previously, Rosen served for four years as director of economic development at the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, now the Northwest Neighborhoods CDC. He did not respond prior to publication of this article to an e-mail from NEOtrans’ seeking more information.
Included in the sale of the Seamus-O Building are several grassy lots behind it on West 47th Street (Google).
Leb described the seller, Ronald Hangauer, as “a longtime owner ready for retirement” and the purchaser as “a repeat buyer client with the vision to reimagine the building and give it a new life.” In other words, the “why” for this property remains elusive.
“The buyer is still exploring ideas for the property’s next chapter, but I’m excited to see what takes shape,” Leb explained. “Buildings like this have a ton of character, and its great to see another one positioned for reinvestment along Lorain Avenue in Ohio City.”
The buyer is local businessman David Ferrante, according to a certificate of disclosure requested Sept. 11 from the city’s Building Department by the title company preparing the property title transfer. That document listed 8777 Rockside Rd. in suburban Valley View as the buyer’s mailing address.
That Rockside address is also the offices of The Kaplan Trucking Company, Horizon Freight System Inc., TRX Trucking Inc., Eastern Express Logistics Inc., and DD&S Express. Ferrante is the agent of record for all of those firms. He relocated their offices from 6600 Bessemer Ave. in Cleveland to Valley View in 2018, state records show.
But he may be best known for his ownership and operation of Visible Voice Books which opened in 2007 on Kenilworth Avenue in Tremont, then relocated a decade later within the same neighborhood to 2258 Professor Ave.
The building at left was built in 1915 for the Noss Baking and Specialty Co., later the Noss Pretzel Cone Co. Its business expanded by this 1937 view into the former Fisher Foods grocery store at the corner of Lorain Avenue and West 47th Street. The store was demolished for an expanded, modernized Noss factory in 1946 that became today’s Seamus-O Building (City of Cleveland).
Last year, Ferrante moved the bookstore and coffee shop again. This time Visible Voice Book relocated to the historic Lorain Theater building, 4601 Lorain. Aided by historic tax credits, he invested nearly $2.5 million on the renovation of that two-story building, according to city records.
The certificate of disclosure filed with the city last month listed Professor Properties, LLC as Ferrante’s corporate affiliation. But it is unlikely that Ferrante would move Visible Voice Books again so soon, especially after making such a large investment to its latest abode.
City and county records show that the legal use of the two-story, 24,384-square-foot Seamus-O building, is industry and warehousing. The building’s change of use would require city approvals. The origin of the name Seamus-O could not be located.
The western side of the building was built in 1915 as a factory for the Noss Baking and Specialty Co., later the Noss Pretzel Cone Co., which made Num Num potato chips and pretzels, plus O-KE-DOKE cheese-flavored popcorn. It expanded among two locations along Lorain, the other being at 4180 Lorain.
At Lorain and West 47th, the successful business expanded by the 1930s into a former Fisher Foods grocery store. It was one of the first Fisher Foods stores in Greater Cleveland. The store was demolished for an expansion and modernization of the Noss factory in 1946, as today’s Seamus-O building.
The original wall, at left, of the 1915 Noss Baking and Specialty Co., later the Noss Pretzel Cone Co., remains to this day although the rest of the structure was expanded and modernized in 1946 for the growing Noss business (Google).
Noss’ successful business was sold to The Frito Co. (later Frito-Lay) in 1958. Afterwards, the Seamus-O Building housed Artistic Metal Spinning Inc. and its division Zoia Banquetier Co., a maker of custom stainless steel dinner plate covers and roll racks, as well as Erie Container.
Across Lorain from Seamus-O is Urban Community School’s Urban Squash Cleveland building. And to the east, across West 47th, are The Amelia and Forest City 5 townhome developments achieved by Knez Homes and Jim Miketo, owner of Forest City Shuffleboard Arena and Bar, 4506 Lorain Ave.
Behind the building is a parking and loading area plus three grassy-lot parcels on West 47th Street that are included in the Seamus-O Building sale. All four of the transacted parcels total 0.63 acres.
“I’ve always liked its presence along Lorain Avenue,” Leb said of the building. “Impressive masonry building, expansive window line, clear-span construction, and excess land make it a really unique property with a lot of potential.”
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