Come home, ClevelandZaremba was featured in the Plain Dealer as part of a story highlighting the growing popularity of mixed-use and urban housing development. You can find the story reprinted in its entirety below.
Come home, Cleveland
Center of the city blossoms with new, for-sale housing
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Henry J. Gomez
Plain Dealer Reporter
Nationwide, developers worried about the volatility of residential real estate are shying away from for-sale housing projects.
But not in downtown Cleveland. There, realty firms can't buy and dig up land fast enough.
In 2006, Nathan Zaremba began construction on his $250 million Avenue District neighborhood on downtown's eastern edge. On Public Square, Matthew Howells undertook the restoration of the Park Building, which will reopen with 27 condominiums.
"If you look at what's happening in other cities of similar size -- St. Louis, Milwaukee, Kansas City -- the downtown for-sale housing markets have been very aggressive," said Zaremba, whose three-phase project includes more than 400 condos and townhomes.
This year promises more activity locally. The Wolstein Group is about to begin demolition on the east bank of the Flats, where a $230 million mixed-use community is planned.
Meanwhile, Doug Price and Bob Corna plan to add more than 1,000 condos and apartments to the Stonebridge neighborhood they have started on the west bank. Closer to Tremont, the Ferchill Group wants to build 88 condos on the Cuyahoga River's Scranton Peninsula.
And 2007 should bring more details about Bob Stark's vision for the Warehouse District, where the Crocker Park developer hopes to replicate his suburban-lifestyle center concept.
These projects and others planned could add at least 1,500 to 2,000 for-sale units to the market and help the city climb toward its goal of 25,000 downtown dwellers. The city's latest estimates peg downtown's population at 10,000 to 12,000.
"It's like the perfect storm coming together in a good way," said Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes downtown and its adjacent neighborhoods.
But is there enough demand to meet such fast growth? When does the slumping real estate market catch up with the civic boosterism in downtown Cleveland?
"These are slow times, and that certainly could be a serious damper," said Tom Bier, a housing expert and urban studies professor at Cleveland State University. "But that will pass somewhat. Is there a demand for this downtown? Sure, there's no question."
Bier theorized that more young professionals and empty-nesters - two demographics that downtown apartment developers already aggressively target - would move downtown if there were more attractive options to buy. "The main unmet demand has been buyers," Bier said.
That's why a well-established builder such as Zaremba can mix with a relative unknown such as Howells, who is pursuing his largest residential project yet with the Park Building.
And that's why would-be rivals, such as Zaremba, Scott Wolstein and Bob Stark, are embracing each other's large-scale visions as healthy competition.
"If downtown Cleveland was only served by one developer, there'd be less demand," Zaremba said. "If these other projects are successful, I would actually have to spend less on marketing. I would be tickled pink if Stark and Wolstein were both successful."
A Meet and Greet TomorrowThe Avenue District representatives and the CAC staff will be available for questions or to provide further information on both organizations. Tours of the Cleveland Athletic Club will also be available.
What: Meet representatives from Zaremba and the Cleveland Athletic Club over hors d’oeuvres
When: Thursday, January 18, 2007
5:30 P.M. -7:30 P.M.
Where: Cleveland Athletic Club
Sterling Room, 7th Floor
1118 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
Who: Friends of The Avenue District and members of the Cleveland Athletic Club
Complimentary valet parking will be provided. All homeowners at The Avenue District receive a one-year membership to the Cleveland Athletic Club.
RSVPs requested to Katie Poelking at katie.poelking@zarembahomes.com or 216-589-8524.
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