For over a century, the West Side Market has dominated the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, so it would probably have been easy to overlook the strip shopping center across the street. The retail space will no longer be ignored.
Market Plaza is a late 80s mixture of retail and service storefronts with out front parking, but soon it could be transformed into a neighborhood within this growing Ohio City neighborhood.
The developer behind a proposed project for the 3.17-acre site presented their concept to the City Landmarks Commission Thursday morning.
Harbor Bay Real Estate out of Illinois is proposing two buildings for the site, a ten-story residential structure with 265 units along with an 11-story office building with 138,000 square feet of leasable space.
"We sit next to one of the most historic buildings in town if not the most," said Dan Whalen of Harbor Bay. "We're excited about making something happen here."
Both buildings would feature ground floor retail and come with covered parking according to the planned presentation, 560 spots in all. The complex would also feature 31,000 square feet of green space along Lorain Avenue directly across the street from the market.
Development plans for the site had long been discussed given its location next to the market and the RTA's Red Line Rapid station which is located adjacent to the property.
"I would say we're in the second inning of nine," said Whalen of the timetable. "We're into design but we're not quite there in terms of schematics."
"Right now it's determining the massing if the building's the right size if it approaches the street correctly and really fits within the context of the neighborhood."
"This time next year I'd like to be mobilizing to start some work so a little bit of leg work ahead of us and I think we're making good progress," he said.
