Cleveland: Downtown: The 9 / Rotunda / County Admin Development

[the pope]

giggle,

K&D only bidder for former Ameritrust property

 

Posted by kturner January 15, 2008 11:50AM

Gus Chan/The Plain DealerThe Ameritrust complex

 

The K&D Group was the only bidder this morning on the former Ameritrust complex at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. The Willoughby company bid $35,005,000 for the property, $5,000 more than the minimum bid set by Cuyahoga County.

 

The county bought the property for $22 million in 2005, intending to turn it into government offices. K&D proposes turning it into a mixed-use facility.

 

K&D said it would keep the Ameritrust Tower and the historic rotunda intact. The lower floors of that building would become a boutique hotel with 160 to 170 rooms. The upper floors would hold about 200 residential units. K&D said it hopes to line up a tenant for office space in the building during the next year.

 

The company also plans to build a new Class A office building on the site. The entire complex will become the centerpiece of the Euclid corridor, K&D said.

 

 

[McCleveland]

^one of these days someone is going to have to explain to me how K&D can afford to buy and develop 90% of the buildings in downtown Cleveland

[StapHanger]

Wow, this actually the best possible scenario.  This really seems too good to be true.  K&D are my heroes.  Seriously, am I dreaming?!

 

I'd be fine if they built the County bldg midtown (assuming they limited the surface parking), but one downtown site that was never tossed formally into the mix is the big surface lot at the southeast corner of Prospect and E4th.  I think that site, with its proximity to existing underused publicly owned parking garages, the rapid, the arcades, etc. would be absolutely perfect, IMHO.  Plus, I think that lot is a major eyesore.  Too bad its owners never pitched a proposal there.

[StapHanger]

"The company also plans to build a new Class A office building on the site. The entire complex will become the centerpiece of the Euclid corridor, K&D said."

 

Hmm...I assume they plan to demo the old terra cotta bldg on Euclid for this?  Or maybe just the crappy lowrise part south of the tower?  Oh my god I'm so happy about this.

[Mov2Ohio]

WOW, sp DT C-town is finally getting some truly highrise condos, this is great!

[McCleveland]

I'm extremely happy if the Breuer Tower actual ends up staying (how nice of them to destroy the lobby for no aparent reason)... However if the county building ends up in Midtown i may kill someone.  Downtown needs that foot traffic.  I heard a rumor that if they ended up selling this they may end up looking at the Halle Building... which imho would be perfect.  Beautiful old building, would just need a little updating and that place is like 80% vacant.

[ks5214]

Thank the good Lord.. now the pissing and whining can stop.

[StapHanger]

^Yeah, but my intense desire to see Hagan and Dimora pushed out of office won't.

 

Seriously, did the "whining" bother you more than the idiotic decisions by the county?

[MayDay]

Check out the rendering, folks: http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81396

[StapHanger]

^Cool, thanks.  I'm guessing that rendering was meant to be more inspirational/promotional than anything else.  Sounds like they are gonna save the old building on Euclid (awesome!)- and use the historic tax credits for that part (the tower isn't old enough to qualify, no?).

 

 

I like how the story refers to the building as the "work of French architect Marcel Breuer".  Great job there WKYC.  OK, petty, but seriously.

[McCleveland]

ummm... is that a screen shot from qbert?

[MayDay]

1. I LOVE (loved, since I haven't played it in over 20 years) Q-bert.

2. I kinda like the inverted stepped-glassy look - definitely better than what's there!

[McCleveland]

well it certainly is interesting... i can't wait to hear / see more about it in the coming months.

 

I guess I can also now take Dimora and Hagan off my Steve Buscemi-like "People to Kill" list.

[Florida Guy]

It's a good day for Cleveland & Cuyahoga County!

[3231]

I wonder if he's got some lined up already for the hotel. Does the tower qualify for historic tax credits?

 

 

[McCleveland]

tower does not qualify. The Rotunda and 1010 Euclid Avenue both qualify.

[simplythis]

Big Plans for Ameritrust Tower. http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81396

[ks5214]

Luckily everything has worked out for the best, lets just hope everything goes forward and the building doesn't sit there for another 15 years.

[Map Boy]

my impression was that both 1010 and the Rotunda needed to be preserved in order to qualify.  If they were separate projects, it'd be a different story.  I could be off, though.

 

First impressions from this rendering?  Kinda scary.  Aside from proliferating the overabundance of green colored reflective glass in this part of town (see CSU at E. 18th & Euclid), it looks like something pieced together with PhotoShop in an evening.  I'll take that to mean that it shouldn't be given much thought right now. 

 

If this looks anything like Stonebridge phases 1-4, we could be in for a big disappointment...

[StapHanger]

^Ahhh, no raining on the parade!  Even though you're right.  I'm just super excited by this turn of events for the Breuer tower, that all else is peripheral for me right now. 

 

By the way, is there any chance that this project gets built and there ISN'T a hotel restaurant in the tower lobby called "Marcel" or "Breuer"?

[MayDay]

My first reaction was that the rendering reminded me of a funk-di-fied (yes, the technical term) The Tower in Fort Worth. Image from fortwortharchitecture.com:

 

http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/thetower-12-11-04.jpg

 

Done right, it could work. Done wrong, we'd get a giant version of that URBAN PLANNING building at CSU  :laugh: :wink:

[jmc8651]

K&D plans $200 million redevelopment of Ameritrust space

 

By JAY MILLER

 

12:50 pm, January 15, 2008

 

The K&D Group of Willoughby plans to remake the southeast corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street into a $200 million, mixed-use complex with a boutique hotel, office and retail space and at least 543 residential loft units...

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080115/FREE/482138467/1004&Profile=1004

[w28th]

That rendering of the propsal is scary but with the Breuer Tower saved, really, how could I complain. 

I just hope there is a chance to get the lobby restored to what it was just 6 months ago before the idiotic County Commissioners blew a whole through it with a bobcat.  What great planning on their part. 

But, the news of the day is certainly saving the tower and the prospect of the rotunda being restored and open to the public.  Good for Cleveland, and concerned citizens throughout the world really.

[StapHanger]

K&D plans $200M redevelopment tied to Ameritrust space

By JAY MILLER

12:50 pm, January 15, 2008

 

 

"The rest of the new residences, described as lofts in the site plan of the project, would sit atop two side-by-side parking garages across the Prospect and Huron avenues intersection with East Ninth. Some of the lofts would sit above an existing garage. Mr. Price said he plans to tear down the smaller of the two garages and replace it with a large garage with lofts above.

 

In addition, he said the plan includes a new condo tower at East Ninth and Bolivar Avenue, formerly the New York Spaghetti House and its adjacent parking lot. The restaurant property is owned by the local Frangos Group, which operates USA Parking Inc. and had been considered bidding itself on the Ameritrust property. He said the Frangos Group might be a partner in this part of the project."

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080115/FREE/482138467/1004&Profile=1004

 

Mixes use parking garages?  New construction residential?  Is this April Fools day?  This is the kind of stuff some newbie UOer says "they" should build before getting laughed down by the rest of us.  Such grand plans from a developer with an actual track records is....unexpected.  Seriously.

 

By the way, I'm sure lots of folks have already made this connection, but using the Rotunda as the hotel lobby sounds a lot like the Philly Ritz Carlton.

[X]

That's some huge news there-

 

10 city blocks of redevelopment including:

 

Adaptive reuse of the Ameritrust Tower and Rotunda

 

New towers on the site of the southern office building and above, next to and behind the garage

 

Refurbishment or replacement of 1010 Euclid, plus potentially several other buildings along Euclid

 

This project is growing to FEB or Pesht-like dimensions.  Great news, but how many mega projects can Downtown Cleveland sustain?

[StapHanger]

That's some huge news there-

This project is growing to FEB or Pesht-like dimensions.  Great news, but how many mega projects can Downtown Cleveland sustain?

 

Great question, particularly when so many seem (despite initial intents) to now be predicated on landing one of the finite number of major office tenant relocations.

[ks5214]

This was a comment on the cleveland.com article about it:

 

Posted by andympa on 01/15/08 at 12:06PM

So the county breaks even.

 

I found this interesting.. because technically the county made $5,000.  But, they gained a black eye from any intelligent person realizing the commissioners are idiots.

[the pope]

^add in the costs of preparing a RFP

[urbanlife]

this announcement is very good news.

 

my only concern is whether K&D has the financial ability to develop 668 and the rotunda/trust tower area at the same time.  otherwise, it could be a slow process (ala flats west bank) as 1 building comes online every 18 months.

 

hopefully they can line up financing/partners/leases for everything and work on these projects simultaneously.

[3231]

If somehow the Eli Mann super block, 668 and the Ameritrust Tower are all successfully developed and decently leased-out in the next 4 years, Euclid Avenue would be beautifully vibrant.

[McCleveland]

^ don't forget the restoration of the Scofield building (Euclid and 9th tower) across the street  :-D

[jamiec]

Yeah, this is really astounding. Who needs Pesht if they can make Euclid Avenue dope again!!

 

Hooah!

[cd-cleveland]

this announcement is very good news.

 

my only concern is whether K&D has the financial ability to develop 668 and the rotunda/trust tower area at the same time.  otherwise, it could be a slow process (ala flats west bank) as 1 building comes online every 18 months.

 

hopefully they can line up financing/partners/leases for everything and work on these projects simultaneously.

 

To even put in a bid for that much, K&D has to have something lined up.  It's pretty ridiculous to think that Doug Price, as a for-profit developer, would put that much onto the table purely on speculation.  And if he does move forward with the purchase, any reputable bank would require some very solid leases for the vast majority of space in order to dole out the money for acquisition and rehab. 

 

I'm curious about who's wanting to lease space and is pushing the project.  Has to be someone big. 

[ks5214]

Ernst & Young is across the street....

[StapHanger]

^^I'm guessing he's at least found an interested hotelier.  Coupling that with some pre-sales on the condos (maybe fewer than other developers given K&D's track record) and historic tax credits might be enough to line up financing for the redo of the existing tower and rotunda.  The rest of the project sounds like it could be phased in as office/residential demand arises.

[musky]

As exciting as this it, I can't help but wonder what happened to the other supposed bidders - Jacobs, for example.

[MyTwoSense]

  Beautiful old building, would just need a little updating and that place is like 80% vacant.

 

80%??

[Florida Guy]

^^ The county had set a minimum bid of $35 million on the property

 

I'm guessing this had something to do with it.

[mrnyc]

* rubs eyes *

 

did i just read cleveland will not be tearing down a skyscraper?  :-o

 

whew.

 

[Oldmanladyluck]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

I'm so glad that K&D were the only company to bid!!  I'm still in somewhat of a disbelief- we are going to get NEW residential, along with keeping the tower?  This is great!!

 

To make sure this never happens again, voters, PLEASE get Hagen and Dimora out of office!!

[KJP]

I'm not wild about K&D being the owner/operator of the residential component. They seem to be pretty cheap on maintenance at their existing apartments around the metro area. That being said, I'd rather have one bid than none.

 

Also, as to the residential market, I'm continually astonished about how many inquiries Urban Ohio's relocation thread is getting from out-of-towners coming to Cleveland for jobs in its growing markets (health care, bio-med, alternative energy, arts, legal, etc.). There is something going on with the relocations and I don't think we (local demographers) have a full grasp yet on the statistics of it. Developers do have some insights, like the statistic that Nathan Zaremba conveyed about an average of 100 people starting jobs at Cleveland Clinic's main campus every Monday.

 

With fuel prices going up, and likely to rise further, high-density mixed-use developments within walking, biking and transit distance from each other may see further demand and may possibly siphon residents from some of the real estate markets in car-dependent exurban areas. That's especially true of young professionals. I was helping a woman from Orlando get settled at the Bingham in the Warehouse District. Every neighbor we encountered was in the 20-40 years old range who want to be close to lots of social stuff (bars, restaurants, shopping, general excitement, etc) in close proximity and a sense of belonging to something bigger than them. They can't get that in the suburbs.

 

The Ameritrust redevelopment (plus the others nearby) and the Euclid Corridor may create some amazing synergies based on all of the above.

[oengus1963]

.

[smackem81]

I'm glad that K&D/someone other than the "traditional players" got ahold of the tower. It was all bad from the begining. Too many dollars to be spent on what amounts to being just the rotunda and clean land and a bland structure. There are litteraly dozens of empty lots and much cheaper to demolish insigificant buildings that this could have been done in the first place.

 

Now to focus on what K&D is doing. Yeah those 2 lowrise buildings need to go on huron. Hopefuly that inverted glass box is nowhere near whats going to be there. How would a hotel work? oengus1963 has a point about the valet thing, I don't think that they will be allowed to get a curb cut on our brand new euclid ave, E 9th could work?

[oengus1963]

.

[oengus1963]

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[clvlndr]

I think I've underestimated you, Ned. I don't know why it took me so long. You've started using your incompetence as a weapon.

 

-- Peter Lowenstein (Ted Danson), “Body Heat”

 

 

And so it goes in Cleveland…We take a iconic/historic bank rotunda and attached high-rise of some historical note; both sitting vacant and crumbling in the heart of the financial district.  Then along comes the wayward county, bungling, boisterous with some vague, poorly conceived ‘plan’ of moving their workers into these buildings.  Then they foolishly talk of tearing down the tower to replace it with a squat structure covering more valuable land.  Then they draw ire from the architecture preservationist community but, more than anything, they waste 2+ years millions of $... Yet, in the end, we somehow net a swanky hotel/condo in those very same buildings which, I guarantee you, wouldn’t have happened without the publicity and dead-end option posed by the county causing K & D to bail them out – thank God for K & D!  I shudder to think of where the Flats would be without them.  Not a bad deal.

 

… Now if we could get those squabbling, loudmouth, non-visionary commissioners (who, to their credit, have handled the Medical Mart/convention center situation quite masterfully), to get off their asses and finally use their 2,000+ worker bases as a tool to build a multi-use structure to really help downtown – as they’d originally pledged, then we’d really be ahead of the game… but right now, I’ll just celebrate the “new” Cleveland Trust tower/rotunda which sounds similar to what (Cleveland’s) John Ferchill is doing with Detroit’s old vacant Book Cadillac Hotel building in Detroit.  As for a new County building?… I won’t hold my breath.

 

[MyTwoSense]

My spider sense it telling me that the county will end up in Starks development. 

 

Now what hotel will this be?  Please NO MORE low budget joints!

 

and my biggest gripe - why more parking!!!  ugh!

[StapHanger]

He was Hungarian by birth, lived in France, the media had it correct. 

 

I don't pretend to be his biographer, but I have never, ever heard Marcel Breuer described as "French."  He certainly didn't spend much of his life there, unless it was a big chunk of elementary school or something.  The guy actually lived in the US longer than he did in all of Europe (Hungary, Germany, London, and France combined).

 

Anyhoo, after letting the info sink in overnight, I'm still thrilled, but have tempered my excitement: there is still a whole lot of work to be done before we can be sure any of K&D's big plans will materialize.  At the very least, the tower is off the hot seat for a while.  As for hotel entrance- wouldn't the E9th street frontage of the Rotunda offer space for a car drop-off?  This is a pretty small hotel, I don't think they're gonna need a circular drive or anything-the Ritz seems to do fine without one.

 

MTS, interesting thought about ending up in Stark's project.  I wouldn't be upset if the county ended up using its leverage as a big tenant to help get one of these transformative projects off the ground- provided it doesn't get gouged on the rent.

[MayDay]

"It could be an interesting theme for a hotel, a 70s theme just not too queer though."

 

And what the f#ck is that supposed to mean? Care to elaborate?

[MyTwoSense]

I think the hotel entrance on Prospect or Huron would be better.

 

I also thought about the county ending up on the lake in the Waterfront Line loop.

 

This could be billed as a "win-win" situation for all parties.

 

But for christsakes... PLEASE STOP BUILDING F*UCKING PARKING GARAGES....thanks and have a good day.