CLEVELAND — An expansion of the Cleveland Browns’ headquarters campus in Berea and dramatic plans to remake Downtown Cleveland’s riverfront are among more than two dozen projects vying for state tax credits for major mixed-use developments.
Developers are seeking almost $250 million in awards from Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program, according to documents obtained by News 5 through a public records request. But the state has just $100 million to give out between now and June.
The competitive program offers tax credits to help finance tricky real estate projects. The Ohio Department of Development runs the program and ranks the applications, but the Ohio Tax Credit Authority ultimately votes on the awards at a public meeting.
The state released copies of all the application forms, with sensitive information blacked out. Only one project in the state – the mammoth Riverfront development led by Bedrock, the real estate arm of billionaire Dan Gilbert’s Rock family of companies – is seeking the maximum possible award of $40 million.
The local applicants stretch from Sandusky to Shaker Heights. Here’s what we’ve learned about them:
District 46 at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus
This $155 million proposal is an extension of the Cleveland Browns’ headquarters and training campus off Lou Groza Boulevard. It will include a 6,500-seat athletic field for kids, high-school students and adults; a hotel; a sports-medicine facility run by University Hospitals; apartments; a parking garage; and about 30,000 square feet of retail.
The tax credit application also mentions a media studio.
The developer is the DiGeronimo Companies, a local group that’s also a part-owner of the land in Brook Park where the Browns hope to build a new, domed NFL stadium.
The hotel will be built through a partnership with Crawford Hoying, a Columbus-area developer.
DiGeronimo is seeking $2 million in tax credits for what the company describes as the largest development in Berea's history. The developer says the tax credits are critical to pay for things that won’t produce much revenue, from basic infrastructure to the athletic field.
The city and the project team have spent the last five years assembling and clearing the land along Front Street, Lou Groza Boulevard, Second Avenue and Pearl Street. In late October, the Browns said the project could open in early 2027.
“Upon completion, the project will transform Berea and spur additional investment in the surrounding area,” the tax credit application says.
The Browns and DiGeronimo are still finalizing negotiations with the city and the local school district over tax incentives, financing and anticipated public benefits.
Cuyahoga Riverfront Development, phase one
Bedrock’s ambitious Riverfront project spans about 35 acres behind Tower City, where renderings show a new Downtown neighborhood rising over the next two decades.
The company’s tax credit application is for the initial phase – about $489 million of the anticipated $3.5 billion project.
Bedrock broke ground last month on the first piece of phase one, a training complex for the Cleveland Cavaliers connected to a Cleveland Clinic sports-medicine building. That project is rising at the eastern end of the site, at Stones Levee and West Third Street.
To the west, Bedrock is planning a 17-story, 560,000-square-foot building described in the application as the “Rock and Roll Land Mixed-Use Development.” It includes a hotel, a live entertainment venue, restaurants, retail and parking.
“The concepts for the design of the Rock and Roll Land Mixed-Use Development are drawn directly from the inspiration, energy and ethos of rock music in Cleveland, Ohio – the Rock ‘n’ Roll capital of the world,” the application says. “The building exteriors and interiors will be dynamic and reflect the iconic musical genre.”
The mixed-use building alone will create more than 400 jobs, according to the application.
The $40 million state tax credit would help Bedrock offset the high costs of complicated site preparations and infrastructure work, like regrading land, shifting and building streets, adding utilities and creating public spaces, including a riverfront park and walking paths.
The state tax credit program earmarks up to $80 million in each round of awards for projects in or near major cities like Cleveland. The rest of the money must go to developments in smaller markets.
Battery Park Sandusky
This $228 million project would remake 33 acres of Sandusky’s lakefront. Marous Development Group of Willoughby has been working on the plan since 2020.
The developer applied for more than $17.9 million in tax credits. The project, on Water Street, will include the existing Battery Park Marina and 1.4 million square feet of new construction, with a hotel, apartments, condos, restaurants and retail.
The developer’s application also mentions an amphitheater, a revamped boardwalk and a public park, plus two parking garages. Marous hopes to start construction in the spring and finish the project in late 2028 – if the state tax credits come through.
Between inflation and higher interest rates, the project has become even harder to pull off, according to the tax credit application. “Heightened cautiousness in the lending market has made even fully evolved projects … more difficult to get across the finish line,” the application says, particularly in smaller markets like Sandusky.
Cain Park Village
WXZ Development of Fairview Park is asking for $5.1 million in tax credits to help move this Cleveland Heights project forward.
Cain Park Village is a mix of preservation and new construction along South Taylor Road near the eastern end of Cain Park.
WXZ is turning the historic Taylor Tudors on the west side of Taylor into apartments, with retail and live-work spaces downstairs. Across the street, the developer plans to raze a 1990s shopping strip and replace it with a new building that will blend offices with retail and restaurants, along with a roughly 460-space parking garage.
The project was dreamed up to create a new gateway to Cain Park, where plans call for a new stairway-ramp system – called a stramp – to make navigating the hillside much easier for people using wheelchairs or walkers or pushing strollers.
The total price tag for Cain Park Village is more than $105 million, according to the tax-credit application. The developer has been working closely with the city of Cleveland Heights, which plucked the Taylor Tudor buildings out of foreclosure and sold them to WXZ.
Jefferson Medina Redevelopment
This $46 million project would revive a 150-acre superfund site – an environmentally contaminated property – at the Medina Township and Medina border.
The long-vacant Bohaty Drum site is located at 4271 Pearl Road and is flanked by development, including residential neighborhoods and a Meijer store across the street.
The developer listed on the application is Medina-based Pride One Construction. The company is seeking $2.5 million in tax credits for a project comprised of 40 condo-style rental homes – a type of housing known as build-to-rent – along with retail and restaurants.
“This project should enhance options for residents who are looking to downsize as they retire, find their first place to live with their kids or just find a quality place to live in Medina that is more affordable than other options,” the application says.
Construction could start in early 2026 and wrap up in late 2027.
NASA Park
Ceres Development of Westlake and LaPine Development of Shaker Heights hope to build two hotels and a few restaurants right next to NASA Glenn Research Center.
The developers bought most of the property – a 450-space parking lot – from the city of Cleveland in 2019. Now, city council is considering legislation to sell them the balance of the site, about 2.9 acres.
City records show Ceres and LaPine plan to develop a 124-room WaterWalk by Wyndham Hotel and a 130-room extended-stay Marriott hotel on the site. The project will also include two fast-casual restaurants, according to a document provided to city council.
The developers applied for more than $4.7 million in state tax credits.
The new hotels and dining would be part of a larger, $119 million project that Ceres and LaPine launched in 2013. They bought two former NASA buildings and renovated them as the Centaur apartments and the Orbit Hotel, another Wyndham property.
The new wave of development will include adding an event space and data center to the Centaur and building a pavilion connected to the Orbit, along with a path offering views of the Rocky River, the tax-credit application says.
The Van Aken District
The developers of this Shaker Heights project are pursuing $1 million in tax credits to help finish off Raye, a high-rise apartment complex on Farnsleigh Road.
RMS Investment Corp., the Max Collaborative and Uplands Real Estate Partners broke ground for the $140 million project in late summer of 2022. It’s the second phase of the mixed-use Van Aken District, which already includes offices, a food hall, restaurants, shops and a smaller apartment building.
Raye's website says the 18-story complex is open and leasing.
But the developers say they’re facing a financial gap because of “unexpected cost increases,” according to the tax-credit application. They cited challenges around the cost and availability of debt, along with supply-chain disruptions and price jumps on materials and shipping.
Future phases of the Van Aken District could include more housing and businesses. The total project is a potential investment of $500 million.
