Millennia’s Centennial due this year

Ken Prendergast / April 28, 2023

Although a “groundbreaking” ceremony for the start of one of downtown Cleveland’s largest-ever building renovations may not happen until late summer, you may see work crews going in and out of the former Union Trust Bank, 925 Euclid Ave., even earlier. That’s because an interior demolition permit application was submitted to the city this week to prepare for construction work in converting the 1.4-million-square-foot behemoth into The Centennial, featuring nearly 600 apartments, 170 hotel rooms, plus retail, restaurants and a museum.

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GCRTA gives final OK to new rail car purchase

Ken Prendergast / April 18, 2023

After at least eight years of discussion and planning, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) Board Members unanimously voted to approve the Rail Car Replacement Team’s recommendation of Siemens Mobility Incorporated as the preferred vendor to replace their aging rail fleet during today’s GCRTA Board meeting. This follows a detailed presentation and committee recommendation made on April 4.

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Haslams’ major announcement(s)

Ken Prendergast / April 17, 2023

Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Berea Mayor Cyril Kleem, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and others are due to make one or more big announcements starting next week that will include the lakefront football stadium, the Browns’ Berea campus, mixed-use developments around both plus a relocated Shoreway. The announcements will be about changes intended to activate the downtown lakefront by the end of this decade in ways it hasn’t been since the 1930s and to create a year-round fan-friendly village around the team’s suburban headquarters and practice facility, according to two sources familiar with the developments.

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Bridgeworks wins financing, start date

Ken Prendergast / April 12, 2023

For more than two years, a planned high-rise at the west end of the Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood has sought public funding to fill a financing gap. After missing out twice on tax credits from a statewide program, the developers looked closer to home and found the resources to start and finish construction. This week, the developers united under Bridgeworks LLC were awarded the final pieces of the fiscal puzzle to the $108 million project, allowing them to start work in June, they said.

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Greater Cleveland office market still struggling

Ken Prendergast / April 11, 2023

Newmark, one of the world’s leading real estate services firms, issued its first quarter 2023 (23Q1) office market report for Greater Cleveland today and it continues to show a worsening situation in the region’s office sector. While only one submarket within Greater Cleveland showed an increase in office occupancies, none are taking it on the chin more than the central business district (CBD), its retailers, restaurants and transportation providers. But that data may have been disproportionately affected by a major deal.

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Cleveland RTA reveals its new trains

Ken Prendergast / April 4, 2023

For the first time in four decades, Greater Cleveland is about to get a new Rapid. While NEOtrans revealed in January what type of new rail car Greater Clevelanders will be riding for the next two to three decades, that news was made official today by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). Much more detail about the new rapid transit trains also was provided.

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Board of Elections is moving out

Ken Prendergast / March 31, 2023

Cuyahoga County’s Department of Public Works this week issued a request for proposals from building owners and real estate brokers who can accommodate the requirements of a proposed consolidation of operations by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (BOE) into a new location. For decades, the BOE’s main offices have been located at 2925 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland’s Midtown neighborhood. But it also has two other locations that, in total, equal the size of their main offices and could be consolidated into a new, accessible location by year’s end, county officials said.

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Browns, city want you to rule out FES renovation

Ken Prendergast / March 30, 2023

“I stand by my sources.” I write that after this week’s statement from Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam which followed NEOtrans’ most recent article about the Browns’ desire for a new all-purpose stadium for Cleveland. At the National Football League’s (NFL) Annual Meeting, the Haslams said “They remain committed to upgrading the Browns’ stadium — with the primary goal of renovating FirstEnergy Stadium in accordance with the City of Cleveland’s plans to upgrade waterfront area between Lake Erie and downtown.”

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Bedrock defers to others on riverfront

Ken Prendergast / March 28, 2023

Bedrock has something that few other investors in downtown Cleveland have — about 35 acres of prime, developable land, mostly along the riverfront below Tower City Center. But unlike many other downtown land owners with hopes for the future, they have no intention of developing anything themselves, be it new buildings or the infrastructure to sustain them.

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Berkadia to expand at Key Tower

Ken Prendergast / March 27, 2023

By the end of this year, commercial loan originator Berkadia Commercial Mortgage will be showing off its greatly expanded offices on the 14th floor of Key Tower, 127 Public Square. And that expansion offers a couple of statements about Greater Cleveland’s economy in general and downtown Cleveland in particular.

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