Another nice article about Zaremba and his impact on Downtown Cleveland development:
Housing puts downtown closer to a turnaround
By Ken Prendergast
Staff Writer
Jan. 4, 2007
Second of two parts: a greater role for the Avenue District
According to a 2005 Brookings Institution report, "Turning Around Downtown: 12 Steps to Revitalization," downtown Cleveland has only two or three more steps to go to be a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban place.
The Brookings' report says:
• Capture the vision of what downtown should be.
• Develop a strategic plan.
• Forge a healthy public/private partnership.
• Have zoning and planning controls in place to foster walkable land-use patterns.
• Establish business improvement districts.
• Create a development organization to provide incentives to private developers.
• Create an urban entertainment district.
• Develop a rental housing market.
• Pioneer an affordability strategy.
• Seek for-sale housing.
• Develop a retail strategy to serve local needs.
• Re-create a strong office market.
"A 24-hour population is what brings downtowns back," said Nathan Zaremba, developer of the Avenue District in downtown Cleveland. "There's no reason why it can't happen here."
Small fish makes big waves
Zaremba modestly considers himself a small fish among development whales. Larger, more vocal real estate developers have their own plans for downtown, like Scott Wolstein and his Flats East Bank project or Bob Stark's Warehouse District/lakefront plans. They've gotten more media attention than Zaremba's, even though his $250 million development has broken ground. The others haven't yet.
"I'm a big cheerleader of Stark and Wolstein," Zaremba said. "It's easier for me to attract more tenants if there are others beating the drum for downtown."
And the Brookings' report says having "more" downtown is better. It creates its own momentum, plus more pedestrian traffic, vibrancy and safety. Having more car-dependent development in the suburbs creates car traffic and pollution and, ultimately, stifles development, causing people and jobs to sprawl farther and farther away, the report said.
Turning dirt
Zaremba's contribution to downtown Cleveland represents Step 10 in Brookings' 12-step process. The Avenue District will have 426 housing units, all for-sale, and be located among several blocks between East 12th and 13th streets, and Superior and St. Clair avenues.
Ground was broken in September for the first phase of the Avenue District. Utility relocation work is under way, with foundation work approved by the city to start in February. The block between Superior and Rockwell east of East 13th will have two- and three-story townhouses, plus 3½-story lofts. The first townhouses will be ready for occupancy in August.
North of St. Clair, between East 12th and 13th, will have loft condominium buildings as tall as 10 stories, with commercial spaces on their ground floors and a parking deck behind. The first building will open in August 2008. Sale prices range from the mid-$100,000s to $3 million penthouses.
Zaremba said one block of townhouses has sold out. Loft condo pre-sales are above his targets.
Downtown rules
"Building in a city is 100 times more complex than building on farmland," he said. "You have to relate to the surroundings, provide a pleasant street experience and work with a lot of people."
Zaremba says Cleveland has professional city planners with whom working is a pleasure.
"The city couldn't have been more helpful," he said. "But you can't do things in a vacuum and spring it on the city. You need to meet with stakeholders from day one and get input from people."
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Where the Avenue may take Zaremba
Zaremba Homes Inc. is joining with MRN Ltd. to build the high-density College Town at Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road. MRN is the lead developer in the $76 million revitalization of lower Euclid-East Fourth Street that includes a mix of rental and for-sale housing.
Downtown Cleveland has surpassed 10,000 residents, but less than 5 percent are living in for-sale housing. Zaremba estimated that, as the number of downtown homeowners increases to more than 8,000, change will become more evident. That could include 30-story condo towers.
"If we can establish the for-sale market downtown, and I'm confident there is one, we can do that (tower)," he said. "A big issue is keeping downtown affordable. You have to keep the supply up. We'll need bigger buildings because land will get more expensive."
Also, he told a story about a man from the suburbs who bought an Avenue District townhouse. The buyer also is bringing his company and its 40 jobs downtown. Although the man didn't want to be identified for the article, Zaremba said that, if the same situations happens 10 times each year, it could result in new downtown office buildings every few years.
"Then, (downtown) retail is no longer forced and the office market is then rejuvenated," he said. "It's important for our region to have a healthy downtown. The public sector has done its job with the stadiums and the Euclid Corridor. Now, it's time for developers to do theirs."
www.avenuedistrict.com
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