Coral Co. ramps up residential construction next to Crocker Park

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- The Coral Co. is dusting off its plans and building homes again next to the Crocker Park shopping center in Westlake.

The developer, based in University Heights, has started construction of 11 homes and just received city approval of plans to build 11 lofts along the western edge of a parking garage.

Despite the sluggish real estate market, Coral and several other Northeast Ohio homebuilders saw sales pick up in 2010 - and they are hopeful about this year.

"We think that 2011 is a stabilizing year," said Peter Rubin, Coral's president and chief executive officer.

New home construction in Northeast Ohio slid from 8,023 housing starts in 2006 to 2,625 in 2009, according to data for nine counties tracked by Atwell, a real estate services company. Atwell research specialist Trista McClelland expects last year's housing starts to be in the 2,700-range.

After several slow years, Coral sold off the last of its 24 completed homes at Westhampton in 2010. The project eventually could comprise 125 homes, and buyers already have committed to five of the 11 that Coral recently started building to the south of Dick's Sporting Goods. Construction could start on the second group of 11 homes in June.

Coral's buyers generally are empty nesters and young professionals. Many residents at Westhampton have lived outside Northeast Ohio and are familiar with more urban-style home designs, such as a garage on the first floor, a living room and kitchen on the second, bedrooms on the third and a rooftop patio. Prices at Westhampton range from $309,000 for a two-bedroom loft to $495,000 for a four-bedroom manor home.
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Crocker Park, which is inking deals with retailers including Anthropologie, according to public records, is a huge draw. Steve Rubin, the chief operating officer for Crocker Park developer Stark Enterprises, would not identify any potential tenants at the shopping center but said almost all the space is spoken for or is the subject of negotiations with retailers.

Westlake isn't the only community where residential builders are pushing ahead. On Cleveland's west side, Vintage Development Group closed a dozen sales last year and is building eight more townhouses and two freestanding homes at Battery Park.

In Cleveland Heights, developer Ken Lurie plans to break ground for 16 townhouses at the Bluestone community, after averting a foreclosure on the project's condominium building last year and slashing prices.

WXZ Development is building another cluster of homes at East 118th Street and Euclid Avenue in University Circle, and sales have been steady at 27 Coltman, a high-end townhouse development in Little Italy.

Westhampton is about 18 months behind schedule because of the recession and the real estate crisis, Coral's Rubin said. But the privately held company, which also owns and manages apartment buildings and shopping centers, has the money to move forward and the patience to see the project through.

"It's going to be another challenging year," he said, "but the trajectory is getting better."

(Courtesy of Cleveland.com)

Money secured, work to start next week on Flats aquarium

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A whole lot of fish from around the world are expected on Cleveland's shores in the fall.

Jacobs Entertainment announced Friday that it had secured the $33 million needed for the first phase of a long-discussed aquarium in the Powerhouse on the Flats' west bank. Officials hope to start construction next week and expect the attraction to open later this year.

They're also designing an eventual second phase estimated at more than $40 million.

Mayor Frank Jackson said in a news release, "The Greater Cleveland Aquarium is one of the many new projects that will help reinforce downtown Cleveland as a destination for residents, visitors and businesses."

Patrick J. McKinley, executive vice president of Jacobs Entertainment, said, "We expect this to serve as a catalyst for additional development for years to come."

Officials hope for synergy among the aquarium and other downtown attractions, including the planned casino and the Flats East Bank project that recently broke ground.

The aquarium will be a U.S. first for Marinescape NZ Ltd., which has developed 21 aquariums in Europe, Asia, Australia and its home country of New Zealand. The Flats aquarium will occupy more than 70,000 square feet in the historic Powerhouse at Jacobs' Nautica Entertainment Complex, which opened in the late 1980s.

The aquarium will include a "SeaTube" of clear acrylic for a walk-through view of marine depths. It will also offer environmental education, with classrooms, full-time teachers and research projects. Officials hope for more than 400,000 visitors annually. The average ticket price is set at under $14.

Last November, the City Council let Jacobs reduce the number of guaranteed full-time jobs from 40 to 20 in return for a $2 million city loan for Phase 1. But Jacobs officials still predict 40 full-time jobs, which would have $1.6 million in wages per year.

Phase 1's financiers include FirstEnergy Corp. and AMPCO, which operates Nautica's parking lot. Officials are still exploring Phase 2's financing, timetable and more. They foresee a new building with glass atriums along the river.

Phase 1 will occupy much of the Powerhouse. The building will still house Lolly the Trolley's headquarters and Windows on the World, a recently expanded banquet facility. It will add an aquarium-themed restaurant.

The Cleveland Improv comedy club will move this month from the Powerhouse to bigger, renovated space in Nautica's old Sugar Warehouse, which also is the site of Shooters on the Water. Nautica Charity Poker Festivals will move next to McCarthy's Ale House in a historic Nautica building across the street. Officials hope to move the Powerhouse Pub and the adjoining Howl at the Moon bar elsewhere in the complex.

The complex also includes the Nautica Queen dock, the Nautica Pavilion amphitheater and the Apartments at Nautica. It does not include the somewhat intermingled Christie's Cabaret and Harbor Inn.

The previous Cleveland Aquarium closed at Gordon Park in 1986, and its fish were moved to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Several local groups have talked about opening other aquariums.

(Article courtesy of Cleveland.com)

Flats East Bank project closes financing, to start construction

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Construction will start this week on the long-delayed Flats East Bank project, now that developers have finally locked in the money to build offices, a hotel, retail and a park at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties closed on their financing Tuesday - making a $272 million development real after years of dreaming and planning. Set to open in spring 2013, the project will extend downtown Cleveland to the waterfront and include the central business district's first new multi-tenant office building in more than a decade.

The project is a rare private, urban development to move forward, in the wake of a recession and a financial crisis that roiled the real estate industry. And it is one of three potential game-changers for downtown Cleveland, where a new convention center-medical mart project is scheduled to break ground soon and a casino is in the works.

"We have major headquarters that are here in Cleveland that will remain in Cleveland as a result of this," Mayor Frank Jackson said. "I believe it will eventually attract other people to that part of the city and, in some fashion, may even move what we consider the center of town as people begin to consider the water's edge as a place where they want to live and work."

Loans and grants from the city are among 35 sources of funding for the project. To pay for the 18-story office building, a 150-room Aloft hotel, a parking garage, retail and public spaces, the developers lined up everyone from major banks to foreign investors who hope to gain U.S. residency in exchange for putting money into the Flats.

Stakeholders described the project as the most complicated financial transaction in Northeast Ohio's history.

"Every professional involved would tell you this was the most complex undertaking and closing that they've ever been part of," said Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties.

The $272 million first phase will house accounting firm Ernst & Young, law firm Tucker Ellis & West and the CB Richard Ellis real estate brokerage -- all downtown tenants itching for a new location. The Flats East Bank also will include a riverfront boardwalk and 14 acres of parkland. The green space eventually could be the site of residential development, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, once the economy improves and more financing becomes available.

"Today is finally the beginning of implementing my husband's vision for the Flats," said Iris Wolstein, whose husband, Bert Wolstein, hoped to turn the former nightlife mecca into a riverfront district. He died in 2004.

"While it has been a very long and treacherous road to get to today, this family collaboration will benefit our hometown and give the city a vibrant showcase for all of us and future generations of Clevelanders to enjoy," she said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

Iris Wolstein and Scott Wolstein, her son and the executive chairman of Developers Diversified Realty Corp., unveiled their plans for the Flats East Bank in 2005. When financial markets collapsed in 2008, money for real estate disappeared and the development was put on hold. The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties struggled for two years, split the construction into phases and sought additional public and private funding sources to revive the project.

Wells Fargo Bank funded $53 million in bonds to support the office building. The Ohio Carpenters' Pension Fund and the Cleveland International Fund, a group of foreign investors, also stepped in on the first-mortgage bonds. FirstMerit Bank provided a loan. The federal government, the state and Cuyahoga County kicked in loans and grants.

Cleveland contributed nearly $53 million, $37.2 million of that in loans, worked with the developer on a deal to divert anticipated increases in property taxes from the project to pay for construction, and took advantage of a federal economic stimulus program to lower the cost of bonds for the project.

"These deals don't work with straight private financing anymore, particularly in cities like Cleveland or Pittsburgh where the market is not booming," said Tom Murphy, a senior resident fellow with the Urban Land Institute and a former Pittsburgh mayor. "This is an investment for the future that will create momentum in Cleveland."

(Article courtesy of Michelle Jarboe and Cleveland.com)

Feds award $32 million loan for office building at Cleveland's Flats East Bank project

Another key piece of financing for the $275 million Flats East Bank Neighborhood project is falling into place.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to award a $32 million loan for the office tower component of the project. A news release from Sen. Brown's office said he repeatedly had urged HUD to approve the loan.

“This news will keep over a thousand good-paying jobs in Cleveland and create hundreds more construction jobs,” Sen Brown said.

The project includes a new office tower that will house the Ernst & Young accounting firm and the Tucker Ellis & West law firm, as well as a hotel, retail space and a parking garage.

(Article courtesy of CrainsCleveland.com)

Keller Williams to Open Downtown Office

Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland plans to open a downtown Cleveland office next month, staffed by at least 17 agents who want to market and sell property in the city.

Keller Williams agents Mark Lastition, Jake Lohser and Scott Phillips have signed a letter of intent to lease 2,100 square feet in the Cloak Factory building at 635 W. Lakeside Ave. in the Warehouse District.

"We see downtown Cleveland as one of the few areas in the entire region that is constantly growing," said Phillips, who joined Keller Williams in early 2009. "But there aren't a lot of real estate offices in the area. The pool is very small."

Keller Williams Realty International is based in Austin, Texas, and has grown rapidly through franchising, allowing local owners to open real estate offices under the Keller Williams brand. The company is the third-largest real estate franchise operation in the country, but is a relatively small player in Greater Cleveland.

To read more from Michelle Jarboe's Plain Dealer article, click here...

$8000 Tax Credit Available to First Time Home-Buyers!

That’s right! First time home-buyers are eligible to receive the Federal Government’s $8000 tax credit! In order to receive this wonderful incentive you need to officially own your home by December 1, 2009. Don’t forget, it can take some time for us to find your dream home, so contact Scott Phillips Jr. at (216) 373-6959 or ScottPhillips@howardhanna.com today!

Who is eligible?

Eligible people must not have had ownership interest in a home in the past three years. They must take ownership in their new home by December 1, 2009. Finally, the adjusted gross income must be less than $95,000 for an individual or $170,000 for those filing jointly.

How does it work?

You receive a tax credit when you file your 2009 tax returns of 10% of the sales price of your home (maximum tax credit of $8,000). Tax credit does not have to be repaid as long as you own the home for at least 3 years. Earn your tax savings during your first year of home ownership!

Want to Live in Cleveland's Coolest Lakefront Neighborhood?

This video montage was put together with segments from the Detroit Shoreway Streetscape Groundbreaking Ceremony. The Detroit Shoreway along with the Gordon Square Arts District has become the fastest growing neighborhood in Cleveland! With housing developments such as Battery Park, The Belvedere, Lake Pointe, King's Terrace, the Villas at Waters Edge, and Saint Peter's on the Lake, it's easy to find places to live. Located just a couple minutes from downtown Cleveland and footsteps from Lake Erie, you'll find few places in Cleveland that can compare.



Don't forget to contact Scott Phillips with Real Living Realty One, to find your Cleveland Lakefront home. With tax abatements and discount financing features, many of his clients are paying less per month for their mortgages than they were for rent downtown! Call Scott today: 216.986.7716 or email scott.phillips@realliving.com.

Where Do You Grocery Shop?

It's almost comical that the first question people ask downtown dwellars is "Where do you grocery shop?" Seriously people, how many suburbanites WALK to the grocery store? For that matter, how many even have an OPTION of walking to a grocery store? This question is perhaps the most comical question I ever get asked when I'm introducing people to the concept of downtown Cleveland living.

That being said, we DO have grocery stores to walk to. Constantino's Market is perhaps the most popular along West 9th St. and the Avenue Supermarket at Reserve Square is the mainstay of the eastern downtown dwellars. Throw in the West Side Market and you've got a bountiful number of options for the 10,000 residents of the "walkable" downtown area.

We DO have some options that, dare I say, are suburban-style in Cleveland. What many people don't realize is that downtown residents still have cars. So, in a fashion almost identical to that of the millions of suburban residents, these urban hepcats jump in the car and head to the myriad of grocery stores within the city limits.

In previous posts we've discussed the amazing Walmart Super Center at Steelyard Commons and Dave's Supermarket in Ohio City & Asia Town. These stores are all within five minutes of downtown Cleveland. For the sake of this article, however, I'd like to focus in on the HUGE investment made in CLEVELAND for the new Giant Eagle on West 117th.

The new Giant Eagle, located at the West 117th exit of I-90 is the largest and nicest grocery store Cleveland has seen in quite a while. It replaces the two Giant Eagle locations that were much smaller and less than a mile away in the Clifton and Lorain Avenue neighborhoods. This Giant Eagle, located on the same lot as a 6-month old Target and the signature GetGo gas station, includes an enormous fresh produce section, multiple prepared food displays, a state liquor agency, and even has freezers in the pet isle for frozen dog treats! This 24-hour location is another testament to the trend of people moving back into the city. Enjoy it Clevelanders!

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity! Now Hiring.

There's still time to become a Founding Member of the new Cleveland office of Real Living Realty One, Inc.

Have you dreamed of starting your own real estate office? Do you wish your company offered you a vibrant, exciting environment that made the work day fun and entertaining? Are you an entrepreneur looking for a career that offers the opportunity and education for long-term success and wealth? You've found it. Welcome to the Cleveland Office of Real Living Realty One, Inc.

Real Living Realty One, Inc. has been a part of Cleveland since it's founding as "Hilltop Realty" in 1953 by Vincent Aveni. For the past 55 years, our company has lived by three principles: FAMILY, INNOVATION, & RESULTS. These principles are the foundation that has grown us into a company of more than 4000 sales associates and 160 offices! Your opportunity with the Downtown Cleveland Center begins with these same principles.

FAMILY- Our company works as a family. As a founding member of our Cleveland Office, you will have the unique opportunity to share in developing the vision. As a family, we will create the policies, procedures, and standards that will last through the next generations of our industry.

INNOVATION- Real Living Realty One, Inc. already leads the way with real estate technology. Programs such as MyRealLiving 2.0 are innovative internet tools that help us retain buyers and communicate with sellers the way most people do in today's market- electronically. No other company can offer our present innovative foundation to you as an agent. We will not rest on our laurels, however. We continue to strive daily to increase our presence in today's cyber markets.

RESULTS- No company could succeed in any industry for 55 years unless it has a proven history of results. Real Living Realty One, Inc. has done more real estate transactions than any other company in Ohio since 1980 and looks to continue that trend as we continue to make advancements into the new age of real estate.

As a member of the RL-R1 family, you will receive unparalleled support stretching far above industry standards including:

• Location- Over 140,000 people work in the walkable neighborhood of Downtown Cleveland. WE are the only residential real estate firm headquartered within this perimeter. Our new Cleveland Office fills up the top floor of the 800 West St. Clair Building above the Cleveland Chop House Restaurant in the Historic Warehouse District.
• Our Website- Our website consistently raises the bar as the most user friendly and feature-rich page in the nation. It constantly rises to the top of search engine pages as well.
• Your Personal Website- At RL-R1, we offer you a personal website, customizable with dozens of templates making your clients and prospects see the true professional in you. We help you ensure your website puts your best foot forward.
• Listing Enhancements- Virtual Tours, Blogs, Community Tours, and room for dozens of hi-res photos ensures that your seller's needs will be reached through effective, thorough marketing.
• E-Newsletters- Our agents love sending E-Newsletters, E-Cards, and E-Notifications for their newest listings, sales, and career milestones. As a member of our family you will be able to send frequent communications via email to your clients for free through the Real Living online agent center.
• Traditional Marketing- We offer you our brand, which is recognizable on yard signs to your future buyers. We offer you discounts in the Plain Dealer and other print mediums that other companies can't rival. We also founded the free "Hotline" program allowing buyers to call a toll-free number and listen to a recording about the home they're standing in front of that you're trying to sell! We even offer discounts training on how to perform an "open house" properly. Our commitment to technology has not disregarded the traditional tools of the past century.
• Real Living Magazine- A full color, monthly magazine distributed at grocery stores, drug stores, and various other locations across the region. Homes are sorted by city in alphabetical order, then by price (unlike other publications which sort by selling office.) Our magazine is convenient for your buyers and widely read.
• Official Sponsor of the Cleveland Cavs- Ever been to a Cavs game and looked at the Jumbo-tron at center court? The Real Living Realty One brand and website float virtually during all Cavs home games exposing us to over 20,000 people per event!
• Mobile Real Estate -Work from home- At RL-R1, we understand that you can't always make prospecting calls from the office, or work the standard 8-5 schedule. We've created an expansive internet portal (the Agent Business Center) that allows our agents to work from home without losing the capabilities they'd have in the office. Online forms, client database storage, and marketing statistics are constantly available to you 24/7 from any computer.
• No Monthly Fees- If we commit to hiring you, we are taking responsibility for providing you the tools necessary to succeed. Commission splits cover the various expenses we incur on your behalf.
• EDUCATION- Although our industry has been around for 200 years, real estate is constantly evolving. To help you stay ahead of the curve, we offer free year-round education to every member of our RL-R1 family. What's better? The central education center for our company is located IN OUR OFFICE- Real Living University (Real U.)

WOW!

An industry that's been around for 200 years. The opportunity to earn an income far exceeding a standard salary job. A company that's been supporting successful agents in Ohio for over 50 years. The opportunity to add: "Founded a successful real estate office in Downtown Cleveland" to my resume'. This truly is a once in a lifetime 0pportunity!

Let's face it, there's only so much you can learn from an internet article. So here's what we'll propose: email us and come on in for a cup of coffee to tour our headquarters and ask some questions. You just may find that this is exactly what you've been waiting for.

Call us at 216.986.7716 or email our expansion team today!

Real Living Realty One, Inc. is not responsible for the contents of this article. All articles on this page are always fully developed by Cleveland City Living.