Monday, January 9, 2012
Something's Up at Sears Crosstown
Posted by John Branston on Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 2:01 PM
I'm hearing that Yates Construction may have the job, and that the working drawings include partial demolition, an arts center, apartments, food courts, a boutique hotel, health care offices, and half a dozen major investors in lieu of one anchor tenant. The ballpark price I heard was well over $100 million, but numbers are pretty meaningless at this point. Sears Crosstown has been vacant for 29 years. It is both impossibly large — ten stories of "tail" west of a 17-story tower — and badly blighted, with broken windows on the outside and god-knows-what-all on the inside.
Flyer readers may know the property as the site of the 2011 "Best Of" party held on the roof of the parking garage. Crosstown Arts put on a nice light show on the main building and is one of the proponents of renovation.
Disclosure: I live in the Evergreen Historic District a few blocks from Sears. As a neighbor, I would like to see something good happen on Cleveland, our neighborhood's main commercial street along with Poplar Avenue. I have no idea what it would cost, but demolition seems like an idea worth considering given that no one would construct such a building from scratch these days. Cleveland and Poplar have some good ethnic restaurants and markets, a few auto-parts stores, other small businesses, a flea market, and a Jehovah's Witnesses assembly hall. The Evergreen District includes several houses that are nearly 100 years old and some new ones built primarily in the 1990s in the aborted Interstate 40 corridor. The corridor west of Cleveland is empty.
It sounds like an ambitious project and I will post more as I learn more about it. If this is a real deal, that makes four Midtown deals by my count, counting Sears, Overton Park Conservancy, Overton Square revival by Loeb Properties, and the Kroc Center at the fairgrounds.
Comments (21)
Showing 1-21 of 21
No disprespect indtended, but this project was announced a couple years ago. This is not news. That said, it's good know that it's (still) moving forward.
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Also, that building had not been vacant for 29 years. I worked at Crosstown when I was 18, I'm only 42.
My mother retired from there in 1986. I am horrified that she was working in a vacant building the last four years. I wonder who was paying her.
Show me the money! I will believe it when I see it, there is an awful lot of talk expended on midtown projects... dare I mention "We really really ARE getting a Target off Cleveland where he projects are closed and demolished....oops" from a couple f yeas ago? Sorry to be an Eeyore, perhaps I will be proved (proven?) wrong.
@John - have you verified this with Yates or Crosstown Arts?
Also, the tower is 14 stories, not 17, and the building has been vacant 19 years, not 29.
kerryhayes: the top of the tower, the 14th floor if you will, is about three stories tall. The building has not been a retail store in any sense for 29 years. If there was a distribution operation of some sort in a small part of it after that, then I stand corrected. The more relevant question, it seems to me, is why is the city not forcing the hand of the various owners for the last 29 years and insisting that the building be maintained as it was in its nostalgic past? Have you seen it lately? Do you think Crosstown Arts is the owner and decision maker about the future of Sears Crosstown? If so, why don't the mayor's office and/or the anti-neglect department tell them to fix it, starting with the broken windows? The building has been a huge eyesore for decades that would not be tolerated in many neighborhoods and cities. Hopefully, that will end one day, either with development or demolition, the sooner the better.
If they can put something in there like they have in Minneapolis, that would incredilble.
Also speaking as a neighbor, I don't like to hear the word demolition used. What you consider an eyesore, I consider an interesting/unusual building waiting to be repurposed. I love gazing at it from my backyard. Besides, it's no more of a huge eyesore than the rest of cleveland!
John: the ownership of the tower has passed thru more than a few hands in the last 2 decades, many of them out-of-towners. The tower has been the subject of many developer's plans, but has never been able to 'pencil out' to a profit. The city cannot just 'force' the owner to clean up such a large site, besides, owners of such large properties have a lot of influence. Some at city hall know that this could become a great tax revenue and are willing to fore-go the immediate blight in favor of a great revenue stream and revitalization tool. The current team, which has kept a low profile, is talented and smart. I live in Evergreen too. If this happens, watch the value of your property...it'll go nowhere but up.
There have been a few articles on the other cities with the same building and what they've done with them. Philadelphia, LA, and I can't remember. Will try to find the articles.
Well- For ANYone considering inhabiting the building-as well as the nearby residents- it should be MANDATORY that FULL Remediation be done for what is sure to be IMMENSE TOXIC MOLD DAMAGE.
Demolition worth considering? Sure, I would love to see another auto parts store on Cleveland. I think were up to four now. Maybe another strip mall with a check cashing place. Tear it down and put up a state of the art modern office complex with shopping centers... you don't see enough of those do you? There are miles of them in every city. Who is John Branston???
I love this building. I live about 200 yards from the entrance. I do believe that most people see the building's potential. Those who see the potential can see pass the broken windows. We see the structure refurbished. I also enjoy it the way it is. We see a beautiful structure and understand it's allure. The crosstown location is prime for the always developing downtown area with the biomedical community, attractions and growing residential areas of young professionals. Also, midtown has remained strong through tough economic times. We now have a Greenline and bike lanes. The greenline starts at Sears Tower and can be continued further towards downtown.
Restore it and see what happens. If they do, I actually have a few concerns with traffic in our neighborhood. This is something that can be resolved and saving this building is priceless.
By the way, the outlet store was open for business in the early nineties.
John, if you would like to indulge any journalistic instincts on "god-knows-what-all on the inside" for yourself contact Crosstown Arts, they'll be happy to give you a tour and let you know more about the site. Maybe that will affect your opinion before throwing the word "demolition" around.
I also live in the n'hood and love the architectural detail of this building. I'd want it refurbished rather than demolished. But it's location is problematic, given that the Glenmary at Evergreen condos on N.Pkway recently changed hands b/c they couldn't sell enough units. That project was funded by out-of-state investors, it was an attractive refurbishment, and yet I wondered whether they'd find the buyers. Sadly, they didn't and now it's being pitched as apts. for the elderly (which it was before). While I totally want old buildings rehabbed when possible, I think you've got to approach such projects w/an eye towards sustainability.
I'd love to see it turned into something like the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis. They had a building almost identical in size and design, in a really blighted part of town, and managed to turn it into a hub of ethnic groceries, eateries, and clothing stores, with mixed income apartments on the upper floors. The main floor space also hosts art and cultural events/conventions as well as a farmers market. They tied in in with their bicycle/pedestrian greenway.
http://midtowncommunityworks.org/exchange/…
I am not sure how true it is , but I have heard that the building cannot be demolished because of the asbestos insulation used in the building. I have heard that the cost to remove the asbestos prior to any demolition is quite cost prohibitive. I also live within site of the building and really hope someone can convert it back into usable spaces.
I've already got drawings for zombie proofing the place. Space is limited, get on the list now.
I've been holding out for a City Museum kind of renovation (St. Louis, downtown, similar building) The plan, as laid out several years ago, was like that. As for the inaccuracy in the original article (closing date, demolition, mold) I defer to the learned comments of my neighbors and encourage you to CHECK YOUR FACTS. I'm pretty sure that's the first rule of journalism, but maybe I should check.
What this thread needs is about 50 more people making the same correction. 19 years John! 19! Dagnabit! 19!!
Somebody mentioned Sears LA being rehabbed.. not yet but we're still trying. A couple of years ago Oscar DeLa Hoya was going to buy it and rehab it (he grew up in the hood) but he backed out. It is very similar to the Memphis property and has similar problems, including asbestos and lead paint, which are extremely costly to remediate. I grew up in Memphis and went to Sears when I was a kid on the Madison streetcar, then a bus or walk to Sears. I hope it can be redeveloped. I think it's a beautiful building and it would be terrible to demo it. Here's an article on our Sears: http://la.curbed.com/tags/sears
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