CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The Taylor Tudor Plaza project got another big boost last week when the Port of Cleveland agreed to issue up to $15 million in taxable lease revenue bonds for financing.
On Oct. 10, the port authority’s board of directors approved the application from the City of Cleveland Heights and its selected developer, WXZ, based in Fairview Park.
The bonds will provide further funding for the $25 million first phase of the larger mixed-use development that could eventually stretch from the historic Tudor-style buildings across the street to the Taylor Commons shopping plaza.
In all, officials are looking at a potential $150 million neighborhood revitalization project that takes in the Stadium Square Historic District.
Work on the project is expected to start by the end of this year, with completion planned by the second quarter of 2026.
“The Taylor Tudor project is the cornerstone of the Cain Park Village revitalization project,” a Cleveland Port Authority announcement stated, referring to the city-owned vacant historic buildings secured through the Cuyahoga County Land Bank for $200 in 2021.
The buildings will be redeveloped into 44 apartments, including eight “live-work units,” amenities including fitness and office space, along with 11,000 square feet of street-level commercial suites.
Built between 1927 and 1929, the Taylor Tudors received a $6 million Ohio Historic Preservation tax credit granted by the state last year.
Then in March, both City Council and the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board approved tax increment financing (TIFs) for the first phase of the project.
The TIF, based on a projected $6 million valuation for the properties once construction is completed, will generate $265,000 annually.
That revenue will be split three ways, with 24% going to the CH-UH school district, 6% to the city, and the remaining 70% to service the developer’s debt on the project.
Cleveland Port officials still planned to respond to a request for more explanation on how the taxable lease-revenue bonds would work, with an issuance date yet to be announced.
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