Construction Update at University Lofts

Things are moving right along at the University Lofts! With all attention turning to the future of Cleveland State University with it's new president, it's only fitting that our wonderful condo development is rising up before our eyes.



The second floor of the University Lofts has been framed and the University Loft Apartments are almost completed on the fifth floor of the attached buildling at 2020 Euclid Avenue!

Riders exit the RTA Health Line outside of downtown Cleveland's newest condo community, the University Lofts, on Euclid Avenue. The University Lofts are located just footsteps from the beautiful CSU Campus, and a short walk from Playhouse Square, The "Q", and Progressive Field.

University Lofts Breaks Ground!

The shovels have hit the dirt at University Lofts as these exclusive condos begin to take shape in Cleveland's "College Town." Appropriately timed with the neighboring Cleveland State University Basketball team making it back to the NCAA Tournament, the University Lofts have begun to take shape and are ready to rise.

Just before St. Patrick's Day rolled through downtown Cleveland, footers were dug at the site of 2030 Euclid Avenue. Before construction began, brothers David and Jay Kaufman (developers) spent tireless hours promoting the project and earning the three pre-sales that were necessary to get the building built. Five condos are still available including Penthouse level units. ESTIMATED OCCUPANCY FOR FIRST QUARTER 2010!

Call Scott Phillips Jr. today at 216.373.6959 or email scott.phillips@kw.com

Real Estate Market Turns Around in February!

Based on an article from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), nationwide housing trends turned around in February 2009, posting a 22.2% gain on housing starts. On a regional level, the Midwest posted an outstanding 58.5% gain!

Building permits, which tend to be an indicator of future building activity, rose 3% overall and 11% in single-family permits. “Builders did pull a larger volume of single-family permits in February, suggesting a glimmer of hope for the prime home buying season, which is near at hand,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.

Information for this article was derived from www.NAHB.org.

For more information on the new homes at The University Lofts, call Scott Phillips at 216.373.6959 or email ScottPhillips@howardhanna.com.

Pre-Construction Deals! Purchase by December 1, 2008

If you have been waiting around to make your purchase at the University Lofts, you best consider making the purchase NOW. For this limited time only, University Lofts is offering pre-construction incentives and pricing on any condo purchase made by December 1st. These incentives include a one-year subscription to the Playhouse Square Broadway Series, an RTA Health Line Bus Pass, and upgrade incentives to your new condo!

Don't forget the standard inclusions. The University Lofts is always offering a full 15 year tax abatement from the city of Cleveland and mortgage rates at 1.5% below the market rate! With deals this great, you HAVE to check us out. Prices start in the low $200,000s.

To see our information packet and reserve your condo today, contact Scott.Phillips@realliving.com or call 216.986.7716. Call today!

The "Health Line" Opening Weekend - Oct 24-26

Can you believe that the "Health Line" will soon be operational connecting University Circle to Public Square? What an amazing time to be a downtown Cleveland resident! So often in these days of economic difficulty, we forget how our city is rising above the rest and growing its core while other cities struggle to maintain the status quo.

The "Health Line," which is the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's public transportation line down Euclid Avenue, will officially start it's route in late October. This route, operated by enivornmentally friendly busses, will connect our cultural neighborhood of University Circle to the dynamic, thriving downtown Cleveland neighborhoods!

Along the route is a segment for Cleveland State University, one of our wonderful educational campuses in downtown Cleveland, and the new Cleveland condo development for the University Lofts. With prices starting in the mid $200,000s (finished very high-class) these condos are sure to sell fast! A 15-year tax abatement is guaranteed with the purchase of these condos, and mortgage rates are available at 1.5% below market rate through National City Mortgage!

Please contact Scott Phillips Jr, Cleveland Realtor with Real Living Realty One, at 216.986.7716 or via email at Scott.Phillips@realliving.com.

Attention CSU Faculty!

Cleveland State University Faculty were greeted this week with post-cards stating the following information on the University Lofts!

Lofts at Pre-Construction Pricing

Invest in the future of Cleveland as you buy a new condominium along Euclid Avenue’s new Health Line rapid transit connecting Public Square to University Circle. University Lofts is pleased to announce pre-construction pricing for 8 luxury condominiums located right across the street from the heart of the Cleveland State University campus. Construction begins soon.

Keep your car in the garage and walk to work, night-life, Progressive Field, Quicken Loans Arena, Wolstein Center, Playhouse Square and many restaurants. With 15-year tax abatement and below market rate financing, you can save thousands of dollars per year in taxes and interest. Contact Scott Phillips, Jr. Real Living Inc., at (216) 986-7716 or email scott.phillips@realliving.com.

Cleveland's College Town

When developers launch a big project in Cleveland, they usually hire a publicist, call a press conference and do a "rollout" complete with photo-ops with political officials and snazzy artists' renderings of architecturally dramatic buildings. That's not the approach taken by a group of builders who have quietly embarked on an ambitious plan to turn the south side of Euclid Avenue opposite Cleveland State University into a bustling "collegetown."

Cleveland architect Paul Volpe, is leading the master planning for the as-yet unannounced project and designing individual buildings and renovations. He said the goal of what he called the "collegetown" is to create a continuous, half-mile strip of four- to five-story new and renovated apartment buildings from East 18th Street east to the Inner Belt, interspersed around existing structures such as Trinity Cathedral and the university's new administrative center at East 24th Street and Euclid Avenue.

"We're looking at 300 housing units and 100,000 square feet of ground-level retail," Volpe said. "It's almost a million square feet in all."

Development companies including Heartland Developers, the Frangos Group and BPC Redevelopment have already assembled many of the properties they need and are launching the first wave of projects, Volpe said. The team has started by renovating the ground floor of 2020 Euclid Ave. as the home of a new Barnes & Noble bookstore, which opened in the past month. Volpe said the developers will follow up quickly by spending $13 million to renovate the rest of the 2020 building and 2010 Euclid Ave. next door with rental loft apartments.

The initial phase of the project also includes construction of a new glass-and-metal building at 2030 Euclid. Together, all three buildings will contain 38 residential units. The new, for-sale apartments in the project will sell for $200,000 to $400,000, Volpe said. The half-mile stretch of early 20th-century, primarily vacant office and storefront buildings facing the university has long been one of the more lifeless zones in town. But Volpe said the dynamics of the area are changing rapidly. The impending completion of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's bus rapid transit project on Euclid Avenue is unleashing new demand for housing and retail. Extensive construction plans at the university have also excited developers.

The growth of Cleveland State University, which includes the $37 million College of Education, scheduled for completion in 2010, is inspiring developers to think big thoughts about redeveloping the south side of Euclid Avenue. The project described by Volpe is not the first in the area. Somerville Development renovated the eight-story 1900 Euclid Avenue Lofts building in 2002. But so far, nobody has achieved critical mass along the strip opposite the university.
Volpe said his plan calls for renovating a total of 14 existing buildings on the south side of Euclid Avenue, plus building up to five new structures. Parking spaces for 780 cars would be built in garages tucked under and behind the new and existing buildings.

A group of developers considers buildings like these on Euclid Avenue opposite Cleveland State University to be ripe for renovation.Volpe has also proposed cutting new, north-south streets between Euclid and Prospect avenues in several locations to make the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly. He said the developers and officials from Cleveland State University met with city officials earlier this week to discuss whether the city would pay for some of the street work. The discussions are ongoing, he said.

When asked why there had been no official announcement of the project, Volpe said: "This is private developers doing their thing, making sure all their ducks are quacking in a row. There's been no announcement, no fanfare. It's very quiet."

article courtesy of Cleveland.com - author Steven Litt