Shortly after the announcement of a new 200-unit residential project near the W. 25th Street rapid station, the PD reported that a father-son development team plans to revise their plan for condos on Detroit and W. 32nd and build a four-story complex of high-end apartments.
Extremely high-end, as it turns out. The complex will be called “Mariner’s Watch” — to honor the property’s heritage of maritime supply? — and the starting rent for the 33 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom units will reportedly be $975 and $1,239, respectively.
According to market studies by developer Brian Koch, that’s $100 more than any other rental property in the area. Sounds ludicrous, but you’ll get what you pay for, I guess. Koch intends to have a deluxe rooftop gym, a home theater, and “demonstration kitchens” in some units for “tastings and events.”
Jesus Christ. Isn’t this is supposed to be ragtag Ohio City? On our Facebook page, some commenters suggested that we should refrain from the snarky editorializing and try to be psyched about development in Cleveland’s Near West Side no matter what form it takes. That’s a tall order, far as I’m concerned.
“Studies” have shown that Ohio City could sustain close to 1,000 more residential units, and it looks like rabid developers, enamored of the Esquire crowd at Town Hall or something, are pouncing at the opportunity. Take a look at this shit, from the PD’s report:
Between some small for-sale projects, well-publicized rental deals and recent land transfers in the neighborhood, it’s clear several hundred townhouses and apartments could crop up in Ohio City during the next few years.
Rick Foran and Chris Smythe are close to starting construction on 70 apartments and commercial space in a cluster of historic buildings on West 25th. Bluewater Capital Partners, a local investor group, won state tax credits last year to turn the former West Side Community House on Bridge Avenue into apartments and a cafe.
Tom Gillespie could start work this year on another small apartment project, the Jay Hotel on Jay Avenue. At Detroit and West 29th Street, Graham Veysey is gutting and rehabbing a dilapidated apartment building for new residents and retailers.
Bar-and-restaurant owner Sam McNulty recently bought property on Abbey Avenue for a small townhouse development, where he plans to live. Construction could start this summer.
Is it just me, or is your excitement looking more and more like apprehension these days?
Above all, we’d be wise to remember that Ohio City should be regarded foremost as a neighborhood, not a “district.”
This article appears in Jun 12-18, 2013.
iT’S SMALL TOWN ATTITUDES LIKE YOURS THAT HOLD CLEVELAND BACK. rEMEMBER.. IF YOU BUILD IT.. THEY WILL COME.. WHY NOT TAKE A CHANCE AND TRY TO MAKE THIS CITY JUST AS GOOD AS CHICAGO.. A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO MOVE TO.. INSTEAD OF MAKE FUN OF
Chicago sucks and I mock it on a regular basis. The reason why I live in Cleveland and not Sh**cago is because I don’t enjoy paying $45 for a two block cab ride, only to get mugged as soon as I step out of the cab.
I live a few feet from where this is happening. For forty some years, people have worked hard to create a network of relationships, a deep-rooted sense of community and a commitment to working, loving, creating, building and growing together to make this a WONDERFUL place to live. I hope that we will somehow be able to not only continue to live this way, but also to have those kinds of relationships with the people who come to live in this place. I fully intend to work toward that, because that’s what life on Church Avenue is REALLY about, no matter what your income level, life history, resume or, well, anything ELSE says about you.
I can’t possibly understand how anything negative can come from simple economic growth and trying to add and improve to our city. How can any adult be this ignorant and irrational??? C’mon people. Seriously.