Brian Schaffran has been riding motorcycles for 15 years, starting with a 1978 Honda CB750 he found on the side of the road in his hometown of Strongsville. He quickly fell in love, not just with the romantic notion of riding itself, but with the restoration and maintenance required to make his baby street-ready.
"There's a gratifying aspect to fixing something with your own hands," says Schaffran, 43.
A mechanical-minded DIY attitude is something Schaffran aims to impart with Skidmark Garage, a 2,800-square foot space for riders to roll in and work on their choppers, crotch rockets, hogs or other hotrodding euphemism of choice.
The garage, located in the Hildebrandt Building on the corner of Clark Avenue and Fulton Road in downtown Cleveland, will rent out tools, lifts and storage bays to motorcycle enthusiasts. If all goes well, the space will also create a community of folks to share advice, spare parts and perhaps a beer or two while they maintain their rides.
"I'm not a mechanic," says Schaffran, a former history and computer teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. "I'm providing a place to hang out and work on your bike."
Although the space is open for business, its owner is preparing for a grand opening celebration scheduled for May 2. Schaffran hopes to draw not just current riders, but people from surrounding city neighborhoods who don't yet own a motorcycle as apartment life leaves them few storage options.
"My average customer will probably be a guy in his 20s who bought some used piece of junk and doesn't have anywhere to put it," says Schaffran.
The bike-loving entrepreneur has been sitting on the idea for a community fix-it clubhouse since he himself was in his 20s. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Schaffran would borrow tools from friendly mechanics and tinker with his vehicles at home.
"Friends would come over and work in my garage, too," he says. "I thought how cool it would be to have a place with a couple of lifts for people to work on their vehicles."
Schaffran has excitedly expanded that picture in his head now that it's becoming closer to reality. "I can see a garage full of 10 or 15 guys helping each other out and fixing their bikes, no matter what time of day, then leaving here feeling like they accomplished something huge," he says.
"There's a gratifying aspect to fixing something with your own hands," says Schaffran, 43.
A mechanical-minded DIY attitude is something Schaffran aims to impart with Skidmark Garage, a 2,800-square foot space for riders to roll in and work on their choppers, crotch rockets, hogs or other hotrodding euphemism of choice.
The garage, located in the Hildebrandt Building on the corner of Clark Avenue and Fulton Road in downtown Cleveland, will rent out tools, lifts and storage bays to motorcycle enthusiasts. If all goes well, the space will also create a community of folks to share advice, spare parts and perhaps a beer or two while they maintain their rides.
"I'm not a mechanic," says Schaffran, a former history and computer teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. "I'm providing a place to hang out and work on your bike."
Although the space is open for business, its owner is preparing for a grand opening celebration scheduled for May 2. Schaffran hopes to draw not just current riders, but people from surrounding city neighborhoods who don't yet own a motorcycle as apartment life leaves them few storage options.
"My average customer will probably be a guy in his 20s who bought some used piece of junk and doesn't have anywhere to put it," says Schaffran.
The bike-loving entrepreneur has been sitting on the idea for a community fix-it clubhouse since he himself was in his 20s. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Schaffran would borrow tools from friendly mechanics and tinker with his vehicles at home.
"Friends would come over and work in my garage, too," he says. "I thought how cool it would be to have a place with a couple of lifts for people to work on their vehicles."
Schaffran has excitedly expanded that picture in his head now that it's becoming closer to reality. "I can see a garage full of 10 or 15 guys helping each other out and fixing their bikes, no matter what time of day, then leaving here feeling like they accomplished something huge," he says.
A deal more than a year in the making has finally come to a close, and as a result, another of Downtown's grand spaces is about to undergo a stunning transformation. The historic Garfield Building, 1965 East 6th Street, is slated to become apartments.
The West Coast-based Westcore Properties, which purchased the building for $8 million in 2008, has sold the 11-story, 160,000-square-foot structure to the Millennia Companies for $6 million. Westcore, however, did not lose money.
"On the surface, you could say we paid $8 million and sold it for $6 million, so we lost $2 million," summarizes Don Ankeny, president and CEO of Westcore Properties. "But along the way, we probably got 15 percent unlevered return on our capital. We enjoyed six years of very attractive cash flow."
Originally built in 1893, the refurbished building will be renamed the Corning Place. Preliminary plans call for 125 one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 540- to 1,325-square-feet with estimated rents from $1.70 to $1.90 per square foot.
The first floor, which includes the breathtaking column-lined lobby, houses between 35,000- and 40,000-square feet of retail opportunity, none of which has been locked into tenants.
Permits for the $40 million project, which received a $5 million historic tax credit, are pending and should be in hand within 30 to 60 days, well ahead of a construction start date in June. Units are expected to be ready for rental 18 to 24 months after that. Sandvick Architects are the designers on the job and the general contractor is American Preservation Builders. Both firms are based in Cleveland.
Westcore's sole tenant for the building was PNC, whose lease expired in December. The Garfield Building was the real estate acquisitions firm's only Cleveland holding.
"We had a good experience in Cleveland," says Ankeny, "and with the right opportunity we would come back."
The West Coast-based Westcore Properties, which purchased the building for $8 million in 2008, has sold the 11-story, 160,000-square-foot structure to the Millennia Companies for $6 million. Westcore, however, did not lose money.
"On the surface, you could say we paid $8 million and sold it for $6 million, so we lost $2 million," summarizes Don Ankeny, president and CEO of Westcore Properties. "But along the way, we probably got 15 percent unlevered return on our capital. We enjoyed six years of very attractive cash flow."
Originally built in 1893, the refurbished building will be renamed the Corning Place. Preliminary plans call for 125 one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 540- to 1,325-square-feet with estimated rents from $1.70 to $1.90 per square foot.
The first floor, which includes the breathtaking column-lined lobby, houses between 35,000- and 40,000-square feet of retail opportunity, none of which has been locked into tenants.
Permits for the $40 million project, which received a $5 million historic tax credit, are pending and should be in hand within 30 to 60 days, well ahead of a construction start date in June. Units are expected to be ready for rental 18 to 24 months after that. Sandvick Architects are the designers on the job and the general contractor is American Preservation Builders. Both firms are based in Cleveland.
Westcore's sole tenant for the building was PNC, whose lease expired in December. The Garfield Building was the real estate acquisitions firm's only Cleveland holding.
"We had a good experience in Cleveland," says Ankeny, "and with the right opportunity we would come back."
Small Box, the innovative shipping container retail cluster in the Warehouse District, has announced its newest tenant: Blue Edge, a collaboration between Edge Hair Studio and Blue Envelope that will offer "eco-conscious and high-end gift and beauty products."
Edge Hair Studio and Blue Envelope are both located in downtown Willoughby. According to the release, "Edge Hair Studio is a full-service, eco-conscious hair and nail salon ... Edge is the only studio on the east side of Cleveland to carry the full line of exclusive Davines products. These products, handmade by a dedicated, passionate family in Parma, Italy, have a cult-following for the luxury they provide in a beauty routine. Every item is handwrapped by an in-house artist."
Blue Envelope is a three-year-old stationery studio. The firm specializes in customized stationery and sells "exclusive and some locally-designed stationery and gift brands" at their current location.
Both tenants have been active in growing the downtown Willoughby business scene. The release notes, "Historic Warehouse District Development Corp. welcomes with excitement Blue Edge as this group of creative and community-minded business owners make their first foray into Downtown Cleveland."
Edge Hair Studio and Blue Envelope are both located in downtown Willoughby. According to the release, "Edge Hair Studio is a full-service, eco-conscious hair and nail salon ... Edge is the only studio on the east side of Cleveland to carry the full line of exclusive Davines products. These products, handmade by a dedicated, passionate family in Parma, Italy, have a cult-following for the luxury they provide in a beauty routine. Every item is handwrapped by an in-house artist."
Blue Envelope is a three-year-old stationery studio. The firm specializes in customized stationery and sells "exclusive and some locally-designed stationery and gift brands" at their current location.
Both tenants have been active in growing the downtown Willoughby business scene. The release notes, "Historic Warehouse District Development Corp. welcomes with excitement Blue Edge as this group of creative and community-minded business owners make their first foray into Downtown Cleveland."