Monday, August 30, 2004
Developers hope to double the number of condos.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The city hopes a growing downtown housing market will move from the rental phase to more condominium ownership.
Tom Bier, a Cleveland State University urban affairs researcher, believes affluent homeowners in the suburbs will head downtown for the right kind of housing.
"There's a population of folks who are 50 and older, who no longer have children, who don't want to live out in the middle of Geauga County," Bier said.
Buyers have a tax incentive, too: The city offers a 15-year abatement on property taxes.
Downtown housing has focused on the Warehouse District, which is dotted with apartments in renovated factory lofts and upscale restaurants. The area has little more than 100 for-sale units, compared with about 1,100 apartments.
Developers believe the number of condos could nearly double by year's end, and quadruple in three to four years.
The Warehouse District "inspired a whole revolution in downtown living" with loft-style redevelopment of commercial buildings that continues to lure artists and young professionals, said City Planning Director Chris Ronayne.
The uptick in for-sale development in the Warehouse District and other downtown neighborhoods will bring wealth from the suburbs, said Lee Hill, president of the Downtown Cleveland Partnership.