(Note: The renderings are currently offline but were saved by a Reddit user. The original rendering can be found at the bottom of the post.)
The renderings track with some news developments last year.
The first: The decision by CMSD that it would not consider a unique Tax Increment Financing proposal that would have delivered CMSD a one-time $18 million payment in lieu of 30 years of property tax collections, estimated at about $120 million. CSMD CEO Eric Gordon told the Plain Dealer that due to “changing circumstances” the deal was simply not compelling. “There’s the very real issue of why would we be giving tax relief to this builder or any builder … when taxes are going up,” he said.
The second: A proposed bill, for which Stark had lobbied, that would have created a 10-percent rebate on “transformational mixed-use development” projects that were 20 stories or taller, stalled in the Ohio legislature. While the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) told the Plain Dealer at the time that it would likely see progress and pass in 2019, a new version of the bill would see projects of 15 stories or taller qualify.
Stark VP Steve Coven had in March appeared before a statehouse committee and championed the grand vision.
“Can you imagine if the Terminal Tower Complex was never built, what the Cleveland skyline would look like?” he said. “You can’t, because it is forever associated with our skyline. It is our goal that our great-grandchildren will be saying the same things about the nuCLEus project 100-plus years from now.”
The company late last year, following the TIF and bill developments, acknowledged the original $500 million, 54-story plans had been scaled back.
“Revised plans are more modest,” the PD reported, “with shorter buildings, fewer apartments, more office space, no hotel — and a smaller budget. Stark also has broken the development into phases, spreading out the investment over time.”
Of course, should it ever be built, it would still qualify as a massive construction project and addition to downtown’s skyline, but the designs certainly don’t inspire this sort of reaction. If and when also remain key words. In a story about Shake Shack, which had been slated to find a downtown Cleveland home in nuCLEus but which announced it would instead open in the Garfield Building, Ezra Stark told the PD, “We’re still working with the city and the county, finalizing the private-public partnership.”
Stark recently sold its headquarters, a five-story building on Superior Ave. which had been on the market for years.
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2019.
Original design was spectacular. This looks like it could be in any suburb in America. Forgettable. What a shame the original couldn’t be built. Maybe something good will be built West of Public Square.
Short, massive for height and unremarkable. Fire the architect.
The original design was better but bizzare and too trendy to not be regrettable in 10 years.
Anything would be better than vacant lots I suppose, but that new rendering is not good design. We will all regret it.
CMSD did this city a disservice, stopping this project when it had some momentum. The future of schools is not in the backward CMSD plan. Its in private schools, home schools, on-line schools. The day of the massive school district, run by greedy and backward bureaucrats, is quickly drawing to a close. Stop holding back progress to prolong your bureaucratic stranglehold on this city.
CMSD Thief and charlatan Eric Gordon needs to be shown the door now!!!! The ONLY thing hes capable of doing is swindling the sheeple voters of Cleveland for another, ma$$ive property tax levy to fund his huge salary and perks for himself and his numerous, way overpaid administrators!!!!
Gordon, along with Taxin Jackson, and Budish have ALL got to go now!!!! Isnt the tax paying public tired of being robbed again and again by these crooks yet???
The whole idea, from start to finish, was just dumb.
No people moving here. Everyone here old and getting older as youth with skills can move away.
Stark has done the region no favors with his cheap construction and sprawl supporting behavior.
Yes, it’s a dumb idea…and yes, Clevelnd is the Incredible Shrinking City.
So can someone explain to me why we even need this boondoggle at all?
The usual gang of idiots and greedheads get richer from it…Joe and Jane Sixpack pay for it.
Business as usual …I don’t know why I even bothered to read this POS story. SSDD.
We needed this tower built big and tall. Now we got stop the people who don’t want new buildings and taller buildings. Who is with me? Like if you agree.