REjournals’ Cleveland CRE Summit: Looking to a brighter future

As in most Midwest cities, Cleveland’s commercial real estate market is still in recovery mode thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are plenty of reasons for hope in the Cleveland market, hope that was on full display during REjournals’ recent Cleveland Commercial Real Estate Summit.

The event, held in late July, featured a roster of the biggest names in the Cleveland commercial real estate market. These speakers admitted that working through the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge. But they also said that the future in Cleveland looks bright.

Michael Deemer, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, kicked off the summit as the keynote speaker.

And who’s to doubt them? There are plenty of new CRE projects either in the beginning stages of construction of the planning phase that promise to provide a boost to the city and its suburbs. This includes a new proposal by the ownership of the Cleveland Browns to provide a jolt to the lakefront area around the NFL team’s FirstEnergy Stadium. These plans call for enhancing the lakefront area that includes the Browns’ stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Speaking on the Downtown and Suburban Development — Game Changers panel were David Jenkins, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Cleveland Browns; Tracy Green, chief strategy officer with Weston; Jon Pinney, moderator and managing partner with KJK; Anthony Delfre, managing director and partner with Brown Gibbons Lang & Company; and Elie Weis, partner with Midwest Development Partners.

There’s also plenty of hope for the former Ford plant in Brook Park, Ohio, near the Cleveland airport. Weston Inc., DiGeronimo Companies and Scannell Properties earlier this year joined forces to acquire the 210-acre site in a transaction valued at $31.5 million. The buyers have not yet released their final redevelopment plans, but the purchase has generated excitement in the Cleveland area.

Participating in the Market Update panel were moderator Stephen Nowak, associate with Siegel Jennings; Joseph Khouri, first vice president with CBRE; Tim Breckner, senior vice president with Colliers; Rico Pietro, principal with Cushman & Wakefield/CRESCO; and Craig Miller, president of Duffy+Duffy Cost Segregation Services, Inc.

Then there’s the Circle Square project in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood. Construction crews earlier this year began construction on the first pieces of this development, the Library Lofts and The Artisan residential developments and a new branch for the Cleveland Public Library.

The Multifamily panel featured Taylor Hawkins, senior vice president, Bellwether Enterprises; Nick Soeder, president and principal broker, Adams Lynch Associates; Daniel Burkons, senior managing director of investments, Marcus & Millichap; and Svetlana Kertesz, chief operating officer, My Place Group.

The Artisan will be a 23-story, 298-unit luxury high-rise apartment building with retail on its ground floor. The Library Lofts will be another apartment development, with the new branch of the library on its lower level. The Circle Square project will also include a 13-story office building.

So, yes, Cleveland faces plenty of challenges as it slowly recovers from the pandemic. But the speakers at the summit all agreed that the commercial real estate professionals here are poised to overcome these hurdles.

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