The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
PORT SEEKS OPTIONS
Developer interested in Broadway Building, deal in works, director says
A Cleveland-based development company has set its sights on rejuvenating the Broadway Building in downtown Lorain.
The Lorain Port Authority on Dec. 11 will consider a plan to work with Ariel Ventures LLC to renovate the former hotel at 301 Broadway.
“We’re going to put together a plan and redevelop this building,” said Port Executive Director Tom Brown.
The meeting agenda includes a donation agreement and a lease agreement for “Ariel on Broadway.”
The name is a reference to Cleveland-based development company Ariel Ventures LLC.
According to its website, the company was formed in 2001 to provide finance, tax,
“We’re going to put together a plan and redevelop this building.” — Tom Brown, Lorain Port Authority executive director
information technology and business advisory services.
The company emphasizes real estate and economic development projects that include public-private partnerships, tax credits and other incentives.
Ariel Ventures also has redeveloped three historic buildings in northeast Ohio.
Company founder Radhika Reddy is co-host of the Ohio Asian American Economic Summit.
“I think the Port Authority is super excited to have somebody of Radhika Reddy’s stature and Ariel Ventures interested in Lorain,” Brown said.
Due to tax reform and financing options, Brown cautioned there are “a lot of
moving parts” to pin down before any deal is final.
However, the Port is moving a step closer to finding a new developer for the Broadway Building, Brown said.
The Broadway Building has been “basically a living brownfield” for the last few years, he said.
“We’re confident with Ariel Ventures and they’re confident in Lorain,” Brown said. “I think it says a lot that they want to come here and tackle this project.”
In the plan, the Port Authority would take the building as a donation from building owner Spitzer Great Lakes Ltd. Co., then lease it to Ariel Ventures for two years, Brown said. Owner Spitzer Great Lakes is an affiliate company of Lorain County auto dealer and businessman Alan Spitzer.
The building could be renovated, with the top floor becoming a 250-seat event center.
A new elevator would take guests to a new patio on the roof.
The second and third floors would remain as 54 hotel rooms.
The building would have two kitchen spaces and commercial space on the first floor.
Lorain would not be the business’ first venture into real estate development.
The partners of Ariel Ventures co-developed the historic 50,000-square-foot Baker Electric Building as an office and research laboratory space along Euclid Avenue in the Cleveland Health Tech Corridor.
The company also operates the Ariel International Center, a historic 68,000-square-foot building
on three acres with a view of Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline.
It is designed “to serve as a catalytic one-stop center for international business development and international events in northeast Ohio, celebrating the region’s global diversity and contributing to the economic development of the region,” according to Ariel Ventures.
The company operates the Ariel Pearl Center, which is an event center at the renovated 1923 bank building on Pearl Road in Cleveland.
“We’re excited to have them coming into town and finalize the best package we can for Ariel Ventures,” Brown said. “And make Lorain proud.
“We’re really happy with this proposal and we can’t wait to get it done.”