Feasibility Analysis for Town Center Development

This project was a collaboration with a local community development corporation (CDC) seeking to better understand the constraints and opportunities of a 5.5 acre logistics site owned by the regional transit agency. The consulting team explored possible development programs, financing structures, and operating pro forma. The property owner and several community stakeholders and community leaders were convened during the process to discuss the possibilities of the site’s transfer and its potential redevelopment, including confidential dialogue with possible tenants, developers, and local business owners. The deliverables helped the CDC effectively advocate their preferred disposition strategy with the owner and prospective development partners. Should the project have proceeded, a public engagement process was assumed.

The proposal suggests a $30Mn subtractive transformation that realizes a town center campus that promotes walkable urbanism and sustainable living. By eliminating a contemporary addition to the historic streetcar barn, a central courtyard was achieved. The barn could have been restored to its original character and programmed as a flexible market and event space with coworking space. The redeveloped site embraces the fabric of its surrounding neighborhood by providing visually-appealing terminations for the side streets as well as physical connections to the courtyard. The parking configuration is a circular driving lane with multiple opportunities for traffic calming and complete closure, in the case of community festivals. To reinforce the site’s new role, frontages were celebrated with low-rise landscaping walls, new construction, and a plaza that flanks the barn (extending its internal programming) and serves as a dynamic and comfortable outdoor bazaar and transit waiting area.

Report and market study can be seen HERE
Project advanced with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress