Cuyahoga County real estate deals attract 31 bidders, from well-known developers to churches

The list of suitors ranges from well-known local players, including Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc., to out-of-state-property owners, including Optima Ventures, the Miami-based owner of several downtown Cleveland high-rises, including the former Huntington Building at 925 Euclid Ave.

Then there are some surprises. Two churches -- one based in Euclid Square Mall -- entered bids, most likely on buildings to house their congregations. Several bidding companies are tied to California developer Stuart Lichter and local broker Chris Semarjian, who typically seek out deals on large industrial properties and divvy up the buildings between multiple tenants.

And the Olmsted Township Board of Trustees made an offer, possibly on county-owned land near the new Fitch Road overpass.

Cuyahoga County released the names of bidders Saturday, in response to a request from The Plain Dealer. The list includes no details about the bids, which were due by 11 a.m. Friday and will be evaluated by the county and real estate consultants including the CBRE Group Inc. brokerage. But the identities of bidders reveal some information about the potential players in the region's biggest real estate deal in years.

By year's end, county leaders hope to have deals in progress, if not complete, for 225,000 square feet of downtown Cleveland offices, 200,000 square feet of storage facilities and the sale of 13 buildings -- eight of them in or near the central business district.

The bidders are:

• Agnew Limited Partners LLC: Christopher Agnew previously floated the idea of buying the Ameritrust complex, a group of buildings at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, and turning it into a high-end hotel and apartment complex that would include a plastic-surgery center. In mid-2010, county officials expressed skepticism about Agnew's proposal.


• Cleveland Commerce One LLC: Owner of a large industrial and distribution property at 18901 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland. Real estate records link this company to Semarjian, a real estate investor who handles industrial deals for the NAI Daus brokerage.


• A company tied to Sovereign Partners, the New York-based investment group that owns the vacant East Ohio Building at 1717 East Ninth St. in downtown Cleveland. The K&D Group, a local apartment developer and manager, has been working on a plan to convert the 21-story office tower into apartments.


• East 55th Cleveland LLC, which shares a business address with other companies tied to Industrial Realty Group, the California company led by Stuart Lichter.


• Erieview Tower & Parking LLC: Werner Minshall of the Tower at Erieview has been open about his plans to pursue the county's offices. The 40-story building, at East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue, is 40 percent vacant.


• Everlasting Baptist Church, located at 579 Eddy Road in Cleveland.


• Faith Baptist Church, located in the Euclid Square Mall.


• The Foran Group, a Cleveland developer based in the Ohio City neighborhood. The county's portfolio of buildings for sale includes the County Archives, a pair of historic mansions in Ohio City.
View full sizeThe Plain DealerA Plain Dealer graphic from July outlined the list of buildings Cuyahoga County hopes to sell.


• Forest City Commercial Group, a division of publicly traded Forest City Enterprises Inc. Real estate brokers have speculated that Forest City could throw its Halle Building, at 1228 Euclid Ave., into the mix as a site for the county's offices.


• Graystone Properties, which owns the Tyler Village complex at 3615 Superior Ave. The rambling former elevator factory is now office space.


• The Geis Cos. of Streetsboro. Longtime suburban developers, brothers Fred and Greg Geis have built a significant presence in Cleveland during the past few years. They recently secured a contract to buy the Lakeside Place office building, at 323 W. Lakeside Ave., and put a satellite office there. And the brothers are pursuing a deal to lease 20 acres of waterfront property, near Burke Lakefront Airport, from the city of Cleveland for an office project.


• The George Group of Lakewood, led by real estate investor and restaurant-owner Tony George.


• Herrick Hudson LLC, the same company involved in long-running litigation with the county over a ground-lease under part of the Ameritrust complex. Cleveland parking-lot owner Lou Frangos, who represents Herrick Hudson, attended the county's potential bidders conference in August and has previously expressed an interest in the Ameritrust property. The lawsuit, over the terms and renewal of a lease on land under the P and H office buildings on East Ninth Street, has stalled on its way to arbitration.


• Industrial Realty Group, Lichter's company.


• Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., which owns the 45 Erieview Plaza office building, sometimes called the AT&T Building, in downtown Cleveland.


• The King Group of Beachwood, which owns office buildings scattered across the suburbs.


• KM Commerce Ltd., which owns a 325,000-square-foot industrial building at 8001 Krueger Ave. in Cleveland.


• Landmark RE Management, led by real estate investors John Carney and Robert Rains. The developers, who turned Warehouse District buildings into apartments, have been eyeing the Swetland Building, at 1010 Euclid Ave., for another rental project. That building and the adjacent historic rotunda, part of the Ameritrust complex, carry valuable state historic preservation tax credits set to expire this year. The state could extend the tax credits if a developer comes up with a viable plan for the buildings.


• Liberty Development Co. of Westlake.


• Millenia Housing Management Ltd., a Valley View company focused on subsidized and low-income housing.


• The Olmsted Township Board of Trustees. The county's list of properties to unload includes two Olmsted Township properties: A 2.5-acre development site at 8544 Usher Road and a 5-acre maintenance facility and yard at 7924 Fitch Road.


• Ontario Cleveland LLC, another company tied to Industrial Realty Group.


• Optima Ventures, the Florida-based company that owns four downtown Cleveland office buildings and a hotel. Optima submitted two bids, indicating that the company is a potential buyer of county real estate and a would-be landlord for the county's headquarters. The other bid was submitted by Optima 925 LLC, the company that owns the former Huntington building -- long considered a contender for the county's offices.


• Schirmer Construction LLC of North Olmsted.


• First Interstate Properties entered a bid related to the Shoreway Commerce Park, the redeveloped former White Motors manufacturing facility off East 79th Street in Cleveland.


• Superior Fence and Builders of Cleveland.


• Victory Properties, Inc., a company tied to the Shaia parking-lot empire in downtown Cleveland.


• Weinreb Management of New York.


• Welcome House, a Westlake group that works with mentally or developmentally disabled people.


• Weston Inc., a real estate developer and investor based in Warrensville Heights. Weston's holdings include several Warehouse District parking lots, which could support a new office building or mixed-use project. The company also owns suburban industrial and distribution buildings.

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