CLEVELAND — Take a drive through Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood, and it's the building that surely stands out.
$50 million went into the Welleon, a 7-story 127-unit apartment, restaurant, and wellness complex, where the first tenants have recently moved in.
Bond Street Group developer Justin Strizzi told News 5 that the first few floors have been completed, while higher floor units won’t be ready for a couple of months.
"It’s not a view you can get anywhere, but you could have it here from the pool," Strizzi said during a rooftop conversation. "You get high-end residential condo-like finishes and lifestyle."
A quick glance at Welleon's website and the price of these units also stand out, with a studio apartment starting at $1,300/month and some penthouse units listed at more than $5,000/month.
However, Strizzi told News 5 the value comes in the details and lessons learned from the pandemic.
"I think what we’ve seen is a wide-ranging trend is people are investing in their homes, their lifestyle and the places they spend most of their time," Stizzi explained. "With flexible work, people are looking for an additional space. They're going to want to have entertaining space and living space in their apartment with indoor/outdoor living."
On the ground floor, there’s space for a restaurant and what developers Danielle Mink, Jamie Fiore and Ilya Palatnik are cooking up.
"There’s not going to be anything around as extravagant as what we’re going to be offering," Fiore explained.
They’re investing around $3 million into converting their piece of the ground floor into an ultra high-end MedSpa called Soul Space, a wellness center called NuIQ Wellness Lounge, PureFYX Café and an event space.
"We’re going to be blending in a wellness cafe with a MedSpa with a holistic approach to make people feel great," Fiore added.
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The Welleon development replaces what was once Club Azteca, one of Cleveland's first and most prominent Hispanic organizations, whose former building had become tax delinquent and structurally deficient.
To honor the past, Strizzi said the Welleon will help fund ongoing missions for the Club Azteca Coalition and put up a historical marker as well.
"A bilingual historical marker is what we’re working on," Strizzi said. "From what we understand, it will be one of the few in Cleveland."
Strizzi told News 5 that the goal is to have all the apartment units ready and done by November. As for the ground floor spa, wellness lounge and cafe, developers said they're working toward opening as early as spring of next year.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
