Apartments Coming to Ohio City Neighborhood

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Apartments are coming to one of the oldest neighborhoods in Cleveland. Two recently announced projects are expected to deliver more than 250 apartments to Ohio City, a place where apartments are greatly needed.

A new, transit-oriented development will change the corner of West 25th and Lorain, where the Market Plaza shopping center is currently located. WKYC reported the new mixed-use building will be centered around the Greater Regional Transit Authority (RTA) train station on the corner of Gehring and Lorain. It will bring 200 apartments to the area and will have retail on the first floor. The Market Plaza shopping center will be razed to make way for the new construction.

The city of Cleveland has already approved the plans for the new apartment and retail complex. The RTA has committed funding to help the project along. A groundbreaking date has not yet been set but will be announced in the coming months.

Shortly after the announcement of the 200-unit, transit-oriented development, The Plain Dealer reported that a father-son team also has its sights set on Ohio City. Brian Koch, a local real estate investor, and his father, Charles “Bud” Koch, the former Charter One chairman & chief executive officer, plan to build a four-story, 62-unit apartment building on a longtime maritime-supply site along Detroit Avenue, just east of West 32nd Street.

Called Mariner’s Watch, the project will deliver 33 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom apartments, with rents starting at $975 and $1,239, respectively. Plans also call for a rooftop gym, home theater, 62 indoor parking spaces and a small visitor lot.

The total cost of the project was not disclosed, but Brian Koch told The Plain Dealer it will be “in excess of $5 million.” Also, the developers won’t ask for any public funding other than the tax abatement for new residential projects in the city. Work on the project could start in the next few weeks, with construction expected to be finished in mid-2014.

Marcus & Millichap reports that apartment vacancy in Cleveland have dropped to 3.7 percent in the second quarter. Average effective rents ticked up 0.6 percent to $781 per month.

Photo credit: Cleveland City Planning Commission