Great news, and more great news, on University Square!
At the March 18 City Council meeting, Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan delivered a positive update on University Square. Below is a text of his remarks:
I have great news to report on University Square. We have two significant developments today that move this project forward that I may now report on publicly…
Over the weekend, Macy’s came to final terms on the agreement that will allow the University Square Redevelopment project to move forward. This agreement was filed yesterday, Sunday, March 17, 2024.
With the Macy’s agreement in place, this morning the Bankruptcy Court approved and confirmed the sale of the University Square shopping center to KL Holdings. KL Holdings is the developer the City has been working with since 2019 to redevelop University Square. The sale was initially held up due to COVID-19, and due to obstacles with the other stakeholders.
In December 2022, the City negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the several stakeholders of University Square. After extensive negotiations per the framework set forth per that MOU, including those last-minute negotiations filed over the weekend, the parties have come to terms that allow the sale to proceed.
Closing is to occur 90 days from today’s court order. After that, we can begin the work of redevelopment, including the peel back of the garage, the conversion of the Cedar tower into apartments, and a new family active entertainment venue in the former Tops grocery store.
And that’s not all.
This afternoon, I presented at the Cuyahoga County Community Development Committee Meeting on the $500,000 in county ARPA funding needed per the MOU for the University Square Redevelopment project. These funds will go towards the parking garage repairs and improvements, of which Target has advance $2.6m since the pandemic began.
I am delighted to report that the committee approved the application submitted by City Administration and sponsored by County Councilwoman Cheryl Stephens. I can report further that the project was met with such enthusiasm, that additional county councilmembers joined the application and added their names to the project TODAY, including Councilmembers Sunny Simon, Yvonne Conwell, Dale Miller, and County Council President Pernel Jones Jr. All of this support on county council should ensure formal passage.
There is an old saying that success has many parents, and tonight, we have many parents, many people to thank.
I thank our team here at City Hall:
I thank first our City Law Director Luke McConville, whose tireless hours these last few weeks on the sunset of his time here as our law director is the capstone of nearly 10 years of strong work for our city.
I thank the rest of the team in administration, Economic Development Director Susan Drucker, Finance Director Dennis Kennedy, Communications and Civic Engagement Director Mike Cook, Executive Assistant to the Mayor on Special Projects Deanna Bremer Fisher, together with past team members, former City Engineer Joe Ciuni, and former Community Development Director Patrick Grogan-Myers.
I thank our outside legal counsel throughout this project, Bankruptcy Counsel Mike Debbeler and counsel on the Development Agreement Price Finley, both of Bricker and Graydon.
A special mention and thank you to the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board, including current members Jodi Sourini, Dan Heintz, Malia Lewis, and past members Jim Posch and Beverly Wright, for working with us on the TIF issues.
Once again, I thank county council member Cheryl Stephens. This project was frustrated by the pandemic, and using ARPA funds to ameliorate the pandemic effects that stalled out this redevelopment project is exactly what President Joe Biden had in mind when creating ARPA and all the other infrastructure programs to move our country forward out of the COVID economy.
I want to thank our city council, current members and past, for joining me in the effort to move our city forward on University Square…
Though it has been adversarial at times, I have to thank the other stakeholders, the representatives at Target and Macy’s, Joe Landen and the bondholders, Irina Palchuk and before her Lorna Gleason at UMB Bank.
I also have to thank our friends at the Cuyahoga County Land Bank. And two county executives looking out for University Heights on this, both Chris Ronayne and Armond Budish before him, who both took an active interest in the redevelopment project. And with them, our County Prosecutor, Mike O’Malley, who together with Adam Jutte, looked out for the city’s interests, and helped ensure that the county’s interests and the city’s interests remained aligned.
Of course, I must thank Brad Kowit and Gregg Levy, the developers who will create the new University Square, and breathe new life into this development. I know how much you believe in the project, or you wouldn’t have stuck it out as you have.
I look forward to working together for years to come.
As I said back in my 2023 State of the City address, thank you for helping move University Heights Forward.
Most of all I want to thank the residents for always believing in what we were doing and giving me the chance back in 2017 to lead this effort as your mayor to redevelop University Square. Of all the reasons why I ran for this office, it is the one that has been the most elusive, most difficult to achieve. And the one that may now be the sweetest.
Today we did it, because of perseverance, being creative, and most of all, never ever ever ever giving up. It is why I am here, it is why you put me here, and it is why I will continue to work hard moving University Heights forward!
To read media coverage of the meeting, please click here (subscriber article).
