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FEATURE ARTICLE, JUNE 2005
RECREATING A HISTORIC HUB
East 4th Street historic entertainment project invigorates downtown Cleveland.
Susan Fishman
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Lighting features set the district apart from other areas of downtown.
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A proponent of revitalization in downtown Cleveland, MRN LTD has embarked on something a bit different of late. The commercial real estate development and management firm, which specializes in office and residential space in the Cleveland area, is in the midst of a mixed-use redevelopment with entertainment, retail and residential components at East 4th Street. Atlanta-based TerreMark Partners LLC is handling marketing and leasing for the project.
“The street itself is so unique that it has a sense of place that is unlike anything that TerreMark had been involved in,” says Craig Kaser, president of TerreMark Partners. “We felt that the street along with an expanded trade area, which reaches as far north as Toledo and as far south as Canton, allowed for wonderful success both in terms of food and beverage presentation and lease up.”
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Inside the Pickwick & Frolic venue.
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Lease up, indeed, has been quite successful for TerreMark, who’s also involved in a redevelopment of the former Pabst Brewery, including seven city blocks in downtown Milwaukee, into an entertainment district. The company is bringing a lot of the same tenants in Pabst City — some of the best names in the business, says Kaser — to the East 4th Street project. TerreMark will also target both national and locally recognized restaurants, as well as urban niche retail, including galleries, gift shops and fashion. It is adding Lola, a local restaurant owned and operated by nationally acclaimed chef Michael Symon. Another anchor to the project is the House of Blues Cleveland, a 48,000-square-foot branch entertainment and dining venue, which opened in November 2004.
Located in the heart of Cleveland near Jacobs Field, Gund Arena and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the East 4th Street development is in the heart of the historic Gateway District, one of the most famous shopping corridors in the country back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was also home to some of the area’s wealthiest families, including the Rockefellers.
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Outside the House of Blues in Cleveland.
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“It’s in the center of the city, and the city is on the brink of coming back,” notes Ari Maron, partner with Cleveland Heights, Ohio-based MRN Ltd. “We saw that opportunity and decided to capitalize on it with this development.”
MRN began purchasing the real estate on 4th Street years ago with the development goal to create an entertainment corridor that was mixed-use in nature and would hook Euclid Avenue up directly to the arenas, using the historical buildings.
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A rendering of the district at night.
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The Gateway District neighborhood is surrounded by 17 million square feet of office space, 1,500 hotel rooms and more than 5,000 housing units with more housing proposed. Famed Theater and Warehouse Districts are adjacent. Within two blocks of exits to Interstates 77, 71, 90 and State Route 2, the project is on the main corridor in downtown Cleveland, on the public square and a main transit stop. TerreMark projects that development on East 4th Street alone will provide an estimated 1,000 jobs. The company saw that there was a large niche available for food and beverage operation in downtown Cleveland that plays to all the museums and arenas as well as the downtown daytime population, which is about 160,000.
The project will ultimately involve more than 410,000 square feet of prime downtown space and utilize approximately 17 existing buildings, some of which date from the early 1900s. That space will include roughly 300 historical loft units on 4th Street, situated above the first-floor retail space, which will be devoted to food and beverage, nightclubs and some retail. Along with the House of Blues Cleveland location, a 27,000-square-foot Pickwick & Frolic, an entertainment facility that includes one of the best comedy venues in the country, is also open.
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The Pickwick & Frolic entertainment facility.
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Designed by City Architecture and Sandvick Architects out of Cleveland and Cooper Carry, Inc. of Atlanta, the East 4th Street project will maintain a historic look, capitalizing on the great architectural block that’s been used for numerous movie sets, such as “Antwone Fisher” and “Against the Ropes.” The streets have been newly designed with pavers and architectural elements that will help invigorate the street. Pedestrian-friendly amenities include original artwork and clear winter sidewalks. Two landmark sculptures, one at either end of East 4th Street, are being created in a “rising Phoenix” form. Light fixtures, designed by Atlanta-based City Design Group, lining the street will create an animated multi-colored light show in the evenings. A snowmelt system, which is the first combined street and sidewalk heater in Ohio, will keep both street and pedestrian walkways clear of snow and ice during winter. With an average 63 inches of snowfall between October and April, the melting system is expected to make a significant contribution to traffic and sales.
With residential in the final stages of completion and ongoing retail lease up, the Euclid & East Fourth Street project will begin to open in two phases at the end of this year, and is scheduled to be completed in 2005.
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