Cuyahoga County to rebid sale of East Cleveland property with ‘stronger economic and community development lens’

Published on July 20th, 2022.

Amid community protest over plans to sell the former East Cleveland Adult Activity Center to a company with ties to a liquor store, Cuyahoga County officials stopped the process Tuesday and will rebid the contract.

County Council President Pernel Jones, Jr., said he asked Executive Armond Budish to withdraw legislation selling the 13231 Euclid Ave., property to a company that won the first bid process to allow the county to issue a new request for proposal that “considers the proposed uses of this facility through a stronger economic and community development lens.”

Budish, who did not respond to questions about the change, previously recommended selling the now-vacant center to D.P.1, Inc., for $535,000. The for-profit corporation’s owner Malek Abboud told council at a June meeting that he planned to turn it into a 12,000 square foot market, a credit union, a police substation, and free community meeting space, and that he had the “full support” of East Cleveland officials and the police department.

“Our plan is focused on bringing jobs and needed retail to the city,” Abboud argued to council at the time. “We can assure you that our project is the best one for the community and we have a track record in success.”

But the proposed sale was highly contested by the other organizations who competed for the bid, including Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH), a grassroots nonprofit focused on revitalizing East Cleveland.

NOAH’s Executive Director Trevelle Harp accused Abboud’s family, which also owns Nemo’s Beverage liquor store less than half a mile down the street, of being a “destabilizing entity” that doesn’t reinvest in the community. The group staged protests in front of the property and came to council meetings to contest the sale.

Harp called Tuesday’s announcement a “tremendous victory for the organizing that we’ve done” and said NOAH plans to apply to buy the property again.

“But ultimately what we want to do is just set the precedent for responsible economic development and to let the powers that be know the community is watching,” he said.

NOAH previously offered a higher sale price than D.P.1, Harp said, and he believes they had a better vision for it, too. He proposes using it to create a satellite site for Cuyahoga Community College to make building and trades training more accessible to East Cleveland residents, and wants to add a US Bank, police station and daycare center or café.

That plan has the support of East Cleveland councilmembers Patricia Blochowiak and Korean Stevenson, who also protested against Abboud’s ownership and what they considered a lack of transparency and community involvement in the sale.

“The land is walking away from us,” Stevenson said at a June protest.

East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King supports D.P.1′s proposal, telling council Abboud has “been a great business partner of the city for over 30 years.”

It’s likely that NOAH won’t be the only entity vying for the space the second time around.

Cleveland Heights attorney Jennifer Wintner also previously asked council to reconsider the bid on behalf of her client, Genesis Global Holding. She said the company wants to convert the property to a supermarket and childcare center and proposed constructing two nearly apartment buildings with up to 250 units for residents with mid-range incomes.

“My client’s project would be transformational to East Cleveland,” Wintner said at the time.

Another nonprofit economic development organization, the East Cleveland Growth Association, wants to use the building as a business incubator, virtual meeting space, pop-up retail center, and Amazon hub, among other things. It is also working to be able to provide long-term loans to businesses looking to move to the city.

“These new and developing businesses will bring jobs to the community and new income tax revenue to the city,” ECGA’s founder and CEO Sean Ward said in an email to cleveland.com.

Original Post