OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Council Committee Meeting: Hotel Land Sale, Landmark Designations, and Transportation Improvements – October 14, 2025

City Council MeetingsTuesday, October 14, 2025
BodyCleveland, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, October 14, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:58

Transcript — Verbatim
4:24

Here.

4:31

Here.

4:32

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

4:33

We're going to start with orders number twelve twenty-three dash twenty twenty-five.

4:36

Come on, uh, Commissioner Green.

4:38

Uh, but Council members Harrison and Griffin by departmental requests and emergency orders authorizing the mayor and the commission of purchase and supplies to sell certain city owned property no longer needed.

4:46

For the C's purpose use.

4:47

Public use located on East Street to Orthol School Property L O C or Design for purposes of developing the hotel.

4:55

All right, Mr.

4:56

Green.

5:02

So this one here.

5:08

Okay.

5:09

So ordinance 2023 is a request by the Department of Community Development just to be able to sell uh City of Cleveland owned land to uh the uh developer Ortho Properties LLC.

5:24

Uh the purpose of it is to uh to build a hotel in uh ward seven.

5:31

The uh the parcels that are on the screen, uh there are four of them, all are on East 90th Street.

5:37

Uh the addresses are next to the ones that have addresses, and sometimes when you take in a parcel, the address disappears.

5:44

But these uh parcels are all City of Cleveland parcels, so they have to go through a legislative process which differs from the land bank.

5:51

The uh developer is uh doing uh land acquisition around uh on East 90th Street and East 93rd Street for the hotel development.

6:02

There'll be land bank properties included, and they also have acquired uh additional properties uh around that site.

6:10

So just to orient you to the location.

6:13

Uh the site is on East 90th Street, and the development will also be on East 93rd.

6:19

So we'll take both streets uh to the east and west, and then south to Chester Avenue and north uh to Huff Avenue.

6:31

The four parcels that are being requested are highlighted in red here on the screen.

6:36

Now I I do want to draw your attention to one thing as we were going through the parcels that are being acquired for the project on East 93rd and East 90th.

6:47

Um Mr.

6:48

Bowen, who uh I'm joined with from Morthor Properties LLC.

6:53

Uh we discovered that one of the parcels that previously was thought to be a land bank parcel is also a city of Cleveland parcel.

7:01

So we would like to add that uh parcel to this legislation.

7:07

If I need to come back at a later time and do an amendment, I can do that, but preferably uh I I'd like to uh amend it here if I if possible.

7:15

That parcel is the parcel highlighted in blue.

7:18

So that's 119 uh 09041.

7:25

So at this point, I'm gonna pass this to uh Mr.

7:27

Boeing Bowen who will uh talk a little bit about the project that will take place on those parcels, and then you'll see the the overall uh site plan that will help you understand why we need all the parcels that are being requested.

7:41

Yeah, uh Chairman Harrison, uh to the committee, Mike Bowen.

7:46

I am a uh actually a partner with Ortho School Properties here, but I also know legal counsel here.

7:52

So just to give you a little kind of context and history of how we got here.

7:56

So this has been a labor of love over the last three years.

7:58

We've been doing a lot of site acquisition, we've been trying to acquire a lot of properties, and this is kind of the final phase.

8:05

So there's been kind of three trunk three chunks of property.

8:08

So back maybe I want to say 24 months ago, we got the first four land bank parcels.

8:14

Then there's another, as Commissioner Green said, five City of Cleveland parcels that have to go through the legislative process, and finally, there's another four parcels that are moving kind of concurrently with the land bank as this process is happening.

8:28

And so we initially launched this site to be a multifamily site, but kind of as things have progressed with just the economy and other things, we kind of kind of shifted gears here and have already got a commitment from Marriott.

8:42

So let me talk a little bit about Spring Hill Suites and the location because I think that's important.

8:46

So if you look at the Cleveland Clinic, we're about five, let's say houses down from the clinic, and the Spring Hill suites are for long-term stay.

8:54

So this is not a hey, I come in for a day and I leave out.

8:58

So it's it's geared to long-term stay.

9:00

So if you have, you know, unfortunately, a mother or father who's sick and is in the Cleveland clinic for a long period of time, they can now be five doors down from the clinic and stay for an extended period of time.

9:11

So we thought this would actually be a perfect fit for this area here.

9:15

Um I could go through the project details really quickly here.

9:18

So it's gonna be 127 rooms.

9:20

It's gonna be approximately 21 uh million dollar hotel development.

9:24

I laugh because that that is a moving target, as you guys know.

9:28

Um we're gonna have an F and B package down there to be determined what that is.

9:33

Um, it'll be a full-fledged uh fitness center in there, breakfast area, so it'll look like your standard Spring Hill Suites.

9:40

Um from a job perspective, we're probably gonna bring at least 300 construction jobs, and we're looking at 25 full-time jobs.

9:48

What's interesting about this is we've actually worked with Marriott to try to have some sort of workforce program.

9:54

So if somebody comes in and let's say they're starting uh as a cleaner there, they can work their way up into a management position.

10:01

And so we are working with Director Mitchell.

10:03

I'm trying to get ahead of all the questions you're gonna ask me.

10:06

Uh but we already got we've been talking to Director Mitchell at OEO to kind of start working on our CBA already as the other kind of two processes are going.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation████████████████████20%
Land Use Planning█████████████13%
Economic Development█████████████13%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Public Transportation████████████12%
Civic Symbolism██████████10%
Procedural█████5%
Public Works████4%
Workforce Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Committee Meeting Summary – October 14, 2025

The City Council Committee met on October 14, 2025, to consider four major agenda items: the sale of city-owned land for a hotel development, two landmark designations (the Tamir Rice Butterfly Memorial and the former Fire Station 26), and a transportation improvement package including pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and fleet electrification. Amendments were made to two ordinances, and all items were approved with varying degrees of discussion.

Discussion Items

Ordinance 1223-2025: Sale of City-Owned Property for Hotel Development

  • Commissioner Green presented a request from the Department of Community Development to sell four city-owned parcels on East 90th Street to Ortho School Properties LLC for a SpringHill Suites hotel in Ward 7. The project will include 127 rooms, an estimated $21 million development, 300 construction jobs, and 25 permanent full-time jobs with workforce development opportunities. The developer is in early talks with the Office of Equal Opportunity for a Community Benefits Agreement.
  • During discussion, a fifth parcel (11909041), previously thought to be a land bank parcel, was identified as also city-owned. Commissioner Green requested an amendment to include it. The committee agreed, and the ordinance was amended to add that parcel.
  • Councilwoman House Jones recused herself from the vote, stating her mother lives on East 93rd Street and that she could not be impartial. She also criticized the city’s lack of equitable opportunities for long-term residents to benefit from development.
  • The parcels will be sold at fair market value (appraised by McDaniels and Associates), with the developer paying approximately $7,000 per parcel (total near $500,000 including land bank parcels).
  • The ordinance was approved as amended.

Ordinance 1084-2025: Designation of Tamir Rice Butterfly Memorial as a Cleveland Landmark

  • Dan Musson, Secretary of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission, presented the request. Samira Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, and Nikki Hudson provided testimony. The memorial, located in Cudell Commons Park, was renovated and expanded in 2022 into a butterfly-shaped design. It commemorates Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old shot by Cleveland police in 2014, and his sister Tajay Rice. The site is already part of the Clifton-West Boulevard Historic District but was deemed to rise above its significance.
  • Councilmembers praised the memorial as a sacred space and thanked Ms. Rice for her continued advocacy. Councilwoman Jenny Spencer noted that the city and CMSD are investing in complementary green space improvements around the memorial.
  • The ordinance was approved unanimously.

Ordinance 1083-2025: Designation of Former Fire Engine Company 26 Station House as a Cleveland Landmark

  • Dan Musson presented the history of the station, built in 1898 and renovated in 1939. The building, now leased to the Vanguards of Cleveland as a community resource center and public safety museum, meets multiple criteria for landmark designation. The city owns the property, and consent was obtained from the fire chief.
  • The ordinance was approved without opposition.

Ordinance 1218-2025: High-Comfort Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements and Fleet Electrification

  • Director Mersman and Chief O'Keefe presented a package funded by a CMAC grant (80% federal, 20% local) for constructing ~15 miles of separated bikeways and sidewalk improvements in school zones, as well as electrifying waste management trucks. The total award is $5.45 million federal with a $1.36 million local match (down from an initial $11 million application). Construction funding becomes available in state fiscal year 2030 (summer 2029), but early access is possible.
  • Councilmember Harsh offered three amendments: (1) notify the clerk on any 108B expenditures, (2) add a not-to-exceed amount of $6,815,532, and (3) attach the executive summary as a file attachment. The amendments were seconded and passed.
  • Discussion included concerns about community engagement. The Chair requested that the administration reach out to ward councilmembers before the next committee meeting to ensure awareness of segments in their wards.
  • The ordinance was approved as amended.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 1223-2025 (Hotel land sale): Approved as amended (added parcel 11909041). Councilwoman House Jones recused.
  • Ordinance 1084-2025 (Tamir Rice Butterfly Memorial landmark): Approved.
  • Ordinance 1083-2023 (Fire Station 26 landmark): Approved.
  • Ordinance 1218-2025 (Transportation improvements): Approved as amended (with notification requirements, dollar cap, and attachment of executive summary).

Meeting Transcript

Here. Here. Thank you, Madam Clerk. We're going to start with orders number twelve twenty-three dash twenty twenty-five. Come on, uh, Commissioner Green. Uh, but Council members Harrison and Griffin by departmental requests and emergency orders authorizing the mayor and the commission of purchase and supplies to sell certain city owned property no longer needed. For the C's purpose use. Public use located on East Street to Orthol School Property L O C or Design for purposes of developing the hotel. All right, Mr. Green. So this one here. Okay. So ordinance 2023 is a request by the Department of Community Development just to be able to sell uh City of Cleveland owned land to uh the uh developer Ortho Properties LLC. Uh the purpose of it is to uh to build a hotel in uh ward seven. The uh the parcels that are on the screen, uh there are four of them, all are on East 90th Street. Uh the addresses are next to the ones that have addresses, and sometimes when you take in a parcel, the address disappears. But these uh parcels are all City of Cleveland parcels, so they have to go through a legislative process which differs from the land bank. The uh developer is uh doing uh land acquisition around uh on East 90th Street and East 93rd Street for the hotel development. There'll be land bank properties included, and they also have acquired uh additional properties uh around that site. So just to orient you to the location. Uh the site is on East 90th Street, and the development will also be on East 93rd. So we'll take both streets uh to the east and west, and then south to Chester Avenue and north uh to Huff Avenue. The four parcels that are being requested are highlighted in red here on the screen. Now I I do want to draw your attention to one thing as we were going through the parcels that are being acquired for the project on East 93rd and East 90th. Um Mr. Bowen, who uh I'm joined with from Morthor Properties LLC. Uh we discovered that one of the parcels that previously was thought to be a land bank parcel is also a city of Cleveland parcel. So we would like to add that uh parcel to this legislation. If I need to come back at a later time and do an amendment, I can do that, but preferably uh I I'd like to uh amend it here if I if possible. That parcel is the parcel highlighted in blue. So that's 119 uh 09041. So at this point, I'm gonna pass this to uh Mr. Boeing Bowen who will uh talk a little bit about the project that will take place on those parcels, and then you'll see the the overall uh site plan that will help you understand why we need all the parcels that are being requested. Yeah, uh Chairman Harrison, uh to the committee, Mike Bowen. I am a uh actually a partner with Ortho School Properties here, but I also know legal counsel here. So just to give you a little kind of context and history of how we got here. So this has been a labor of love over the last three years. We've been doing a lot of site acquisition, we've been trying to acquire a lot of properties, and this is kind of the final phase. So there's been kind of three trunk three chunks of property. So back maybe I want to say 24 months ago, we got the first four land bank parcels. Then there's another, as Commissioner Green said, five City of Cleveland parcels that have to go through the legislative process, and finally, there's another four parcels that are moving kind of concurrently with the land bank as this process is happening. And so we initially launched this site to be a multifamily site, but kind of as things have progressed with just the economy and other things, we kind of kind of shifted gears here and have already got a commitment from Marriott. So let me talk a little bit about Spring Hill Suites and the location because I think that's important. So if you look at the Cleveland Clinic, we're about five, let's say houses down from the clinic, and the Spring Hill suites are for long-term stay. So this is not a hey, I come in for a day and I leave out. So it's it's geared to long-term stay. So if you have, you know, unfortunately, a mother or father who's sick and is in the Cleveland clinic for a long period of time, they can now be five doors down from the clinic and stay for an extended period of time. So we thought this would actually be a perfect fit for this area here. Um I could go through the project details really quickly here. So it's gonna be 127 rooms.

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