Two new developments approved by the Cleveland Planning Commission at its April 21 meeting will bring major changes to the east and west sides of the city. A team of developers plan to build 107 apartments and 21 townhouses on one of the largest vacant parcels of land on the city’s near west side, while Marous Development Group has designs on building 131 new apartments on Chester at E. 82nd St. in the Hough community.
Both projects have been reviewed by the planning commission before, and they’ve also been through rounds of community meetings and design review. The projects were reported on in The Land here and here.
The development team behind the Lincoln Heights project in Tremont, which is located at 1850 Brevier Ave. on a parcel of land previously owned by the Animal Protective League, have committed to creating a 1.15 acre park with a walking and biking pathway, native plant landscaping, and some outdoor seating. An enhanced landscape plan, which the developers hope to pay for through outside fundraising, perhaps through a nonprofit or community entity, would include more seating, a playground, and other amenities.
The Lincoln Heights project will have 107 parking spaces, 31 of which will be covered and 76 of which will be located on an exterior lot. The apartment buildings will also have a roof terrace and some amenity space or common rooms. The townhomes feature 2-3 bedrooms and either 2.5 or 3.5 baths. They will have two-car garages and roof decks, and either a first-floor office space or spare bedroom with a full bath. Representatives of Tremont West Development Corp. previously told the planning commission the proposed development fits in with the Lincoln Heights Master Plan.
In the case of Chester 82 in Hough, Marous Development Group has reduced the size of the building’s fifth floor based on community feedback, added a heavy landscaping buffer between the building and an adjacent homeowner, and swapped out a second floor amenity deck for an outdoor space in the front of the building. Additionally, they moved the bike parking for Chester 82 to the rear of the property.
The number of apartments at Chester 82 was also reduced from 161 to 131. There are 138 parking spaces planned, meeting the city’s requirement for a 1:1 parking ratio. “We reduced the heights of the building and took part of the fifth floor off in two locations, so those units went away,” explained Arne Goldman of Marous Development Group during the presentation.
Most of the apartments are one-bedroom units, but there are some two-bedroom units mixed in. An exact count was not provided in the plans. This mix is consistent with other apartment developments in the area, which typically cater to students, professionals, young couples without children, and empty nesters.
When it previously reviewed the project, the planning commission advocated for a more active use on the first floor of the building. Marous added the outdoor amenity space or patio on the first floor facing Chester Ave. as a response to that as well as a way to mitigate noise concerns of adjacent neighbors. Originally the project was touted as offering “affordable market-rate” apartments, but no mention of that was made in the planning meeting, so pricing is unclear at this point.
Back in December, Ward 7 council member Stephanie Howse told The Land that the developers had done their due diligence as far as working with the community, but the details weren’t settled yet. “They have gone through a process and actually engaged with community members,” she told The Land then, noting that some residents were initially upset about the size of the building. “It’s a work in progress.” Since then, several more community meetings were held and the scale and number of units in the building were reduced in order to mitigate the concerns of neighbors, Goldman said.
Together, the projects would add substantially to the number of new, market-rate apartments that are under construction or in the planning stages in the city of Cleveland, though the Tremont project does include some for-sale townhomes. If the developers get going on their projects this year, they will also qualify for the city’s current 15-year, 100% tax abatement before policy changes are set to kick in later this year.
Now that both projects have received final approval, the developers can commence with final architectural and site work and apply for permits to begin construction. It’s not yet clear when the developers intend to break ground.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Chester 82 is being developed by Marous Brothers. The name of the developer is Marous Development Group.
Learn more about the Cleveland Planning Commission, how to participate, and how to submit comments here: Cleveland City Planning Commission (clevelandohio.gov). Watch the April 21 meeting here.
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