SpringHill Suites project faces hurdles in Cleveland

A proposal to build a $21 million SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel on East 90^th Street between Hough and Chester Avenues faces a few hurdles before it can move forward.

First, the city would have to rezone or grant zoning variances for the site, which is just northwest of Cleveland Clinic’s main campus on Euclid Avenue, according to city of Cleveland spokesman Tyler Sinclair. Currently, the land is zoned for multifamily uses like apartment buildings.

Second, the developers – Ortho School Properties LLC and Riley Hotel Group in Medina – need to obtain four land-banked parcels held by the Cleveland Land Reutilization Program. The developers have applied for the parcels but have not yet received them, Sinclair said.

Finally, Ortho and Riley must go through the city’s approval process, which includes appearances before the Cleveland City Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals.

“From a design perspective, we have not even begun touching this project,” Michael W. Bowen, an attorney and partner with Ortho School Properties, told council’s Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee on Oct. 20.

Later on Oct. 20, council voted 16-0 to sell five city-owned lots, together measuring just less than a half-acre, to Ortho as part of the hotel project for a total of $65,000, which was the appraised value. All five parcels are on East 90^th. 

Several questions about the SpringHill Suites project remain unanswered. For example, it’s uncertain whether Ortho has acquired all the land it needs for the hotel, even if it later secures the land-banked parcels.

It’s also unknown when Ortho and Riley will unveil its site plan to the planning commission and BZA, or when the developers hope to start construction. 

Sinclair was unable to answer those questions. Bowen, the attorney for Ortho, didn’t provide information about the project to The Land. 

Joe Moffa, president of Riley Hotel Group, didn’t return calls. 

Council President Blaine Griffin told The Land that he knew little about the hotel project because he won’t represent the East 90^th area, due to recent ward redistricting, until the start of next year.

Anthony Hairston, chairman of council’s Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and Jasmin Santana, committee vice chair, didn’t return calls. 

James Greene, the city’s commissioner of community development, couldn’t be reached. Greene and Bowen together discussed the hotel project with two council committees in October. 

‘Labor of love’ 

Bowen, a partner with the Cleveland law firm Calfee Halter & Griswold LLP, presented a preliminary plan for the hotel to council’s Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee on Oct. 14.

Under that plan, the SpringHill Suites would measure about 99,000 square feet and contain 127 rooms, a fitness center, a breakfast area, a meeting room and a “food and beverage component.” 

The hotel site plan would also include parcels on East 93^rd Street, which runs parallel to East 90^th. 

“This has been a labor of love,” Bowen told the development, planning and sustainability committee in October.

Bowen told the committee that Ortho over the past three years has acquired several parcels for the hotel. He said the developer obtained the first chunk of land, consisting of four land-bank lots, about 24 months ago, although he didn’t disclose the locations and sizes of those lots.

The four Cleveland Land Reutilization Program parcels that Ortho still needs are between the five lots that the city sold to the developer on Oct. 20. Those land-banked parcels measure a total of slightly more than a half-acre, according to the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office website.

Bowen said Ortho originally envisioned a multifamily development for the hotel site but “the economy and other factors” caused the developer to “shift gears.”

Bowen said the hotel would stand about five parcels away from the main Cleveland Clinic campus on Euclid and will be ideal for long-term stays by patients and their families.

“We thought this would actually be a perfect fit for this area here,” Bowen said.

The hotel will bring a projected $1 million in payroll to the city, Bowen said. Further, Marriott agreed to include a workforce program that will allow workers to advance into management.

“That’s going to be a unique component to this because it’s not just going to be construction jobs,” Bowen said. “We’re actually going to have workforce permanent jobs that people can hopefully increase and work their way up.”

Council concerns 

Kris Harsh, a member of the Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee, pointed out that two East 90^th parcels the city was selling to Ortho contained homes. He asked about the condition of the homes and if anyone was living there.

Bowen said one of the houses is vacant. The other is occupied by the owner with whom Ortho was unable to agree on a selling price, so the project had to proceed without that parcel.

Santana, the committee vice chair, asked how the remaining homeowner felt about their property being surrounded by two hotel parking lots. She said she would like to hear from that resident.

Greene, the city’s commissioner of community development, said the planning commission will make sure the hotel parking lot is screened from the resident. He added that the commission might push for a hotel with a residential-type design.

Committee member Stephanie Howse-Jones recused herself from voting on the city’s selling of land to Ortho. She said her mother lives on East 93^rd and she had spoken to the city administration about its practice of holding land and denying long-time residents a chance to acquire it.