Planning & Real Estate Dev.The Planning and Real Estate Development Department advances the growth of the Circle by providing the essential amenities of urban living, supporting institutional growth, ensuring the optimal use of shared spaces, and improving access with the goal of creating a premier urban district.PROVIDING ESSTENTIAL AMENITIES OF URBAN LIVING UCI’s goal is to create a premier urban district and neighborhood of choice open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. In 2007, UCI Launched 7 campaigns that will help reach this goal. The Planning and Real Estate Department is responsible for their implementation.  Bring Back Euclid Avenue CampaignUCI launched this $7.12 million revitalization initiative, also called the Euclid Gateway Vision Project, with the generous support of the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust. UCI’s vision is to restore the vitality of Euclid Avenue, returning it to its former vibrancy. The timing is perfect, as the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project is already providing millions of dollars in improvements to the street with a new transit line, and the Uptown development project is poised to create in upwards of 725 housing units and 175,000 square feet of retail at the district’s epicenter. UCI will Euclid Avenue with new way-finding, signage, pedestrian lighting, prominent gateways, and a visitor center. West Gateway The area at Euclid Avenue and East 107th street is a critical gateway into University Circle. UCI purchased a parcel on the south side of Euclid Avenue and seeks to develop two city-owned parcels on the north side of the street. The goal is to create an iconic gateway with mixed-use residential and commercial development. Central Gateway UCI will complement the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project and Uptown development project by making upgrades to the mix-use plaza at Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue and creating a launching point for a new University Circle visitor and residential experience. Lot 45 UCI will develop this lot into a grocery store and parking garage to help support the Uptown development project and new RTA transit stop at Mayfield Road. Visitor and Living in the Circle Center UCI will open the first Visitor and Living and Circle Center in University Circle by renovating a 1,300 square foot commercial space at Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue. Its central location near Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, the upcoming Uptown development project, and University Circle’s cultural attractions makes it the perfect place to welcome visitors. The Living in the Circle Center will also showcase available housing options while assisting potential homebuyers with financing and real estate. Wade Oval Visitor Kiosk A major visitor attraction and picturesque urban park, Wade Oval is surrounded by Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attend these institutions annually and stroll through Wade Oval during UCI’s signature events. UCI will help promote these cultural attractions and events by building a new visitor kiosk on the Oval. It will be staffed throughout the year and serve as an information booth for visitors. East Gateway UCI will create sense of arrival with new signage, lighting, and public art near the eastern gateway of the district. Signage UCI will replace the existing way-finding signage in University Circle with a new system throughout the entire district. This is critical to making the area more navigable and user-friendly. UCI will complement this with interpretive and pedestrian signage in University Circle.  1,000 HOMES CAMPAIGNWhat gets built in the next five years will define the Circle for the next fifty years. UCI’s goal is to help build 1,000 new homes during this time, continuing its aggressive agenda for making University Circle a premier urban district and neighborhood of choice. UCI’s Planning and Real Estate Department is working on several historic, new urban and mixed-use housing projects. Their role includes site planning, market analyses, land acquisitions, and providing overall project development oversight to ensure that all development within the Circle serves the best interests of the entire community. MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM With the support of the Cleveland Foundation, UCI is leveraging a mortgage assistance program to attract the 30,000 existing and 10,000 future Circle employees to live in University Circle. The program will provide between $10,000 to $15,000 in mortgage assistance, with additional incentives for income qualifying households, and low-interest loans for rehab and rental assistance. HOUSING PROJECTS Uptown UCI is working work CWRU to develop land it owns at the corner of Ford Road and Euclid Avenue. Developers, MRN, Ltd. and Zaremba, Inc., plan a $150 million mixed-use urban center with 500 residential condominium units, approximately 175,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, 500 -1,200 new parking spaces, and 225 units of rental housing. Wade Park Townhomes UCI sold land on E. 118th street to pave the way for a housing development by The Doan Brook Company. The five up-scale townhomes represent the first single-family home construction in University Circle in 50 years. Circle 118 Townhomes UCI is working with WXZ Development, Inc. to develop 17 upscale townhomes at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 118th Street. Units will offer modern amenities and “green building” features. Construction is slated to begin in 2008. Hazel Drive Townhomes UCI is working with The Coral Company to develop 14 upscale townhomes and a parking garage on Hazel Drive near The Western Reserve Historical Society and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Circle East UCI is collaborating with Community Housing Solutions to develop more than 100 for-sale homes and 50,000 square feet of commercial/retail along Euclid Avenue and near Lakeview Avenue. This public/private initiative has key support from the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland, the Cleveland Foundation, and Cuyahoga County. The Circle East initiative is positioned to become a model-mixed use development and the first major “next-mile” expansion opportunity for University Circle. University Circle Place UCI will renovate this 12-story apartment building with street level retail. Planned improvements will enhance the retail experience while improving the building’s overall near-term and long-term marketability and operating efficiencies. The building’s strategic location on Euclid Avenue will complement the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project and Uptown development project. Park Lane Villa The Finch Group converted a former residential hotel into 96 luxury apartments with upscale amenities and enclosed and surface parking. Chester 82 Vintage Development, LLC is developing thirty-four new townhomes and lofts on the former Madonna Hall Nursing Home site in Hough, on Chester Avenue between East 82nd and 81st Streets. A project of this scale will be the first of its kind on the north side of Chester. Upper Chester City Architecture, The Finch Group, and Heartland Developers proposed the development of 400 new homes and retail along Chester Avenue and side streets running north to Hough Avenue. Master planning and a demand study for mixed-use options are underway. SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH UCI works with several members to facilitate institutional growth and development. Here is a list of on-going projects UCI helped support in 2006-2007 and continues to provide assistance. CLEVELAND HEARING & SPEECH CENTER Project: Building relocation UCI’s role • Assistance with site relocation selection for their building • Aid in preliminary site planning and building programming • Help with land allocation • Provide graphic support CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART Project: Consolidation of two campuses UCI’s role • Assistance with land allocation for project on Euclid Avenue • Aid in site/traffic analysis and parking needs in the Uptown area • Provide graphic support MOCA CLEVELAND Project: New building construction UCI’s role • Aid in site/traffic analysis and parking needs in the Uptown area UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS CASE MEDICAL CENTER Project: Expansion project UCI’s role • Help with land allocation and development related to their expansion and development of three new buildings • Aid in site/traffic analyses • Provide graphic support • Working to relocate the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, in order to make room for the new Cancer Hospital • Assistance with land transfer on Adelbert Road for the accommodation of a new parking structure and emergency facility CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY Project: New construction UCI’s role • Aid in site/traffic analyses in Uptown area • Cooperation on signage system • Provide graphic support • Working with CWRU on the development of Uptown (UARD) and the West Quad • Executing parking & traffic studies for the Uptown area • Partnering on a purchase agreement for the “Beach” property on the north side of Euclid MT. ZION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Project: Expansion project UCI’s role • Help with growth analysis • Assistance with building/site programming • Help with preliminary site planning • Provide graphic support CLEVELAND CLINIC Project: Expansion project UCI’s role • Worked with The Cleveland Foundation and other stakeholders to develop the residential assistance program (not sure exactly what we’re calling this, but it’s not just mortgage assistance) ENSURING OPTIMAL USE OF SHARED SPACES LINKING PUBLIC SPACES CAMPAIGN UCI will improve the visitor experience with the new Circle Walk project, but will also connect public spaces throughout the district. CIRCLE WALK TRAILHEAD UCI will launch Circle Walk, a series of self-guided tours of University Circle, highlighting cultural treasures and providing historic facts about the neighborhood. The main trailhead for Circle Walk will serve as a launch point for the self-guided tours and include maps of routes and seating. The centerpiece of the park, located at the heavily-traveled gateway of Wade Oval Drive and East Boulevard, will be a large illuminated pylon that displays the Circle Walk map and news about upcoming shows and events. ROCKEFELLER PARK STRATEGIC PLAN UCI is co-managing this planning process to identify catalytic interventions, priority projects, and funding to improve the park’s connection to overall development activities, park usage, and the potential of the park to stimulate development in adjoining neighborhoods. These projects range from physical improvements to programming, management, safety, and maintenance recommendations. The plan will also focus on implementing environmentally sustainable practices so as not to interrupt natural processes within this urban ecosystem. WADE OVAL In July 2006, UCI built a new stage for performances at our annual community events. The environmentally sustainable stage is made of pervious concrete, which allows water to flow directly to Doan Brook after going through a natural underground filtration process. LAKE-TO-LAKE TRAIL This initiative will link Lake Erie and the Shaker Lakes through a system of trails. About 90 percent of the trail already exists and the additional linkages will connect Cleveland’s Harrison Dillard and Lakefront Bikeways with trails in Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights. PARKLANDS TRUST and HOLDEN PARKS TRUST UCI is also working with Parklands Trust and Holden Parks Trust; Looking into day-lighting Doan Brook; and Creating a Tree Replacement Program to ensure that every tree that is displaced for development is replaced. IMPROVING ACCESS  The Ohio Department of Transportation is studying the viability of building a new roadway corridor from I-490 to University Circle, creating a direct connection and easier access for travelers from the west and south side. The new roadway would also open up more than 200 acres of underutilized land for economic development. UCI is advocating for the development of this roadway, and has already raised $45,000 from the Mather Foundation and Cleveland Clinic, and $25,000 from the Greater Cleveland Partnership.  MLK/105TH TRAFFIC CIRCLEUCI’s recently completed MLK Urban Design Study concluded that the MLK-E.105th Street traffic circle is a safety hazard and will fail with increased volume due to nearby development. UCI raised $3.5 million from the state’s Transportation Safety Fund to redesign the intersection to improve circulation within University Circle, provide easier access for motorists, pedestrians, and visitors, and create better links to surrounding neighborhoods. MAYFIELD ROAD STREETSCAPE This project, under NOACA’s Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative, will create a pedestrian-friendly streetscape along Mayfield Road to the city line on the eastern edge of Little Italy with sidewalks and urban amenities. NOACA has provided $75,000 and UCI is raising additional money to complete a design study by summer 2008. CITY RACKS/CITY SEATS 500 bike racks and 150 benches were located throughout the city to increase the bicycle and pedestrian accessibility. In University Circle alone, 15 bike racks and 6 benches were added. CORNELL ROAD BRIDGE Reconstruction of the bridge on Cornell Road will begin at the end of this year, following the model of the design of Adelbert Bridge. Also, thanks to funding provided by UH and Case, the fencing along the bridge will be upgraded from chainlink to decorative. The project will be completed in January 2009. NEW RTA STATIONS E. 120th Street station Meetings have been held with neighborhood and institutional representatives to gain consensus about placement and design. The station, which is recommended to be moved closer to Mayfield Road, is currently in the design stages. This new location will improve visibility, activity, and the bus-to-rail interface. The new stop will be safer and more attractive and will encourage beautification of the streetscape beneath the bridge. Cedar-University station This station, at a main gateway to University Circle, will also be redesigned. RTA and other stakeholders have reviewed responses from consultant teams to RTA’s RFQ. The station is currently in the design stage. ENCOURAGING SMART DEVELOPMENT DESIGN REVIEW DISTRICT The newly formed Design Review District allows a board comprised of architects, graphic designers, and residents to review all new private and institutional development in University Circle and make recommendations to the City Planning Commission. All projects must be reviewed by the board before seeking a permit from the city’s building department. Since the first meeting in May 2007, the board has reviewed X projects. NATIONAL CITY BANK RELOCATION National City Bank is building a new branch on a leased site, owned by UCI. The bank’s relocation to the corner of Deering Avenue and Stokes Boulevard was afforded by selling its former Euclid Avenue site to UCI. An inherit bonus from this multimillion dollar investment and neighborhood retail amenity is a future development opportunity on what is now a larger, consolidated parcel owned by UCI at one of the key gateways to the Circle COZAD-BATES HOUSE In 2007, UCI worked with the Cleveland Restoration Society to stabilize the home, which is the only surviving Pre-Civil War era structure in the neighborhood. Now, UCI is embarking upon an adaptive reuse study during which it will determine the property’s current conditions and most productive alternatives for its reuse within the context of this community. For more information on this project, please click here. LOT 45 Lot 45 is a critical UCI property on Mayfield Road at E. 117th Street. Its location directly adjacent to the UARD project, the new Museum of Contemporary Art, the expansion of the Cleveland Institute of Art, and a future RTA stop creates a unique opportunity for UCI to establish neighborhood and residential amenities that will complement surrounding development. UCI is currently undertaking market and traffic studies to identify possibilities for the site as well as working with Case, University Hospitals, Little Italy, MOCA, CIA, and the developers of the UARD to identify the best use for the site.  Printer Friendly
|
||
