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The many ways to enjoy Christmas in Cleveland
The jewel in Ohio’s crown has a huge amount of festive fun to offer this December. From lights and shows to music and skating, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this holiday season in Cleveland. Here are our top picks for the 6 best things to do this Christmas in Cleveland. GLOW at Cleveland Botanical Gardens The Cleveland Botanical Gardens are one of Cleveland’s highlights no matter the time of year, but at Christmas the gardens really shine – literally. GLOW is a stunning holiday lights festival which features gingerbread houses, decorated trees, crafts and more. Wild Winter Lights at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo After a several-year absence, the winter lights display is back at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo this year. This exciting wonderland includes several interactive zones like Snow Safari, A-Roar-A Borealis and a light show Waterfowl Lake. A Christmas Carol at Great Lakes Theater Christmas wouldn’t be complete without taking in a festive show, and there are plenty of fantastic options in Cleveland. Dickens’s classic Christmas ghost story is being shown at the Great Lakes Theater, but you can also catch A Christmas Story at Cleveland Play House, The Nutcracker at Hanna Theater and White Christmas at KeyBank State Theater. The Festival of Trees The Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square hosts its Festival of Trees annually, and this year is no exception. Once again, the impressive lobby will be filled with more than 25 Christmas trees sponsored by various local organisations and elaborately decorated by local artists. Christmas Concert by the Cleveland Orchestra What’s Christmas without a little music? The incredibly talented Cleveland Orchestra are performing their iconic Christmas Concert at Severance Hall this month. Running right through to 22nd December, the Orchestra will be led by conductor, Richard Kaufman, and joined by a number of guest choruses – including the Blossom Festival Chorus and Cleveland State University Chorale. Cleveland Foundation Skating Rink At this time of year, there are plenty of great outdoor ice rinks in and around the city, but the largest rink each year is the Cleveland Foundation Skating Rink located in Public Square. This is a great place for families to gather and indulge in a day of fun over the Christmas period. With so much to see and do in Cleveland over the festive season, it’s no surprise that the city is becoming an increasingly popular place to live and work. With a rental market going from strength to strength, now could be the perfect time for you to invest. Get in touch today to find out about the incredible investment opportunities currently available in and around the city.
GLOBAL INVESTMENTS AT THE AMAZON DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
This week Shemika gives you a tour of the Amazon facility and the famous Jack’s Casino.
A BIG 2020 IN STORE FOR DETROIT
Detroit as a city has seen huge developments over the last 6 years. Downtown has been transformed, international hotels and stores have opened, a new rail system, a new stadium, a new shopping mall, the list goes on and on. So is the development now finished and is Detroit back to its former glory? There’s no denying that Detroit is on the up and still pushing ahead. In fact, we can expect many more developments over the coming years as it stakes its claim as the beacon city of the Mid West America. At least $3.4 billion in construction projects are currently underway in downtown alone, while another $877 million is being spent in Midtown; $389 million in the New Center; and $353 million in the central business district. That’s $5.1 billion altogether. According to the latest reports, this capital investment will generate 6,000 new apartment units, 1,200 hotel units, and 2.1 million square feet of new office space. Many young professionals are opting to live downtown over the suburbs, as the population in Greater Downtown (including Midtown, Corktown) continues to grow. CNN recently ran an article that aptly summarises the city’s recovery: “Six years after Detroit filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history, the Motor City is roaring back to life, Detroit’s rebound is one of the most underrated stories in the nation.” The revitalisation of Detroit was spearheaded by Quicken Loans’ billionaire founder Dan Gilbert. He has transformed the downtown core, Gilbert’s network of companies employs 17,000 people in Detroit. Since 2009, Gilbert has pumped $5.6 billion into downtown Detroit – his own and borrowed money –and now owns more than 100 buildings in the 7.2-square-mile center. There are so many new developments taking place in Detroit it is hard to choose just a few to mention! But here are some examples of what we can expect in the coming years: Fitzgerald Revitalization Project – This is the most ambitious neighborhood project the City has undertaken. Fitzgerald is near the University of Detroit Mercy and is surrounded by some of the best school and universities in the whole of Detroit. This neighborhood has hundreds of beautiful brick properties and a boatload of character but is in need of rejuvenation. There are big plans for new parks, landscaped pathways, new street lighting, new roads and other developments to get this area back to its former glory. 2. Gordie Howe International Bridge – This is a new bridge that will connect the USA with Canada. It is named after Canadian-born, Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe and will be 1.6 miles long, costing an estimated $5.7 billion. 3. Michigan Central Station – In the next three-to-four years, Ford Motor Company will build a campus for mobility in Corktown at an estimated cost of $740 million. The campus will include the old DPS Book Depository, renovated into offices, retail, and residential, and the renovation of the long-vacant Michigan Central Station. 4. The Mid – The Mid will be the biggest development in Detroit north of Mack Avenue since the 1920s. Initial plans call for a 25-story, 228-room hotel with luxury condos making up the top nine floors; a 30-story mixed-use, multi-family development with 250 apartments and first-floor retail; and a 12-story building with “co-living” spaces. 5. Hudson’s site – The new Hudson’s will total approximately 1,000,000 square feet (not including underground parking for 700 cars), with 330 residential units and 240,000 square feet of office space at a cost of over $900 million. 6 . The Monroe Blocks – Covering the area between Campus Martius and Randolph along Monroe, the project as initially announced would add a 35-story office tower plus residential at a cost of $830 million. 7. Fiat Chrysler Plants – At the Connor Creek Industrial Center, the automobile company will spend $1.6 billion converting its Mack Avenue Engine Complex to produce next generation Jeeps, and $900 million to retool the Jefferson North Assembly Plant. It estimates that these upgrades will bring 5,000 new jobs to Detroit. 8. East Riverfront – The Riverfront is already a popular destination in Detroit, but numerous projects will make it more accessible and attractive to visitors. Expect redevelopment of vacant warehouses and land, increased residential and retail, streetscaping along Jefferson Avenue, a new greenway, an urban beach, and the Riverwalk extending to Belle Isle. These are just a snippet of some of the new developments taking place in the every changing city of Detroit, so much progress has been made. All of these changes have had a positive impact on the housing market, as we have seen that property prices have risen in the last six years.The Detroit metro area has experienced year-on-year increases in employment every month since June 2010 so this has pushed up the rental market. When Realtor.com released their list of the US hottest property markets, Detroit came among the top 20 and, according to Zillow, whilst house prices have continued to grow since 2011 they are still a huge way of their historic norms. This suggests that there is still significant space for growth and the possibility for property appreciation to continue for some time. If you would like to see our latest Detroit inventory please email [email protected]
Ford to invest $1 billion in Avon Lake, Cleveland Plants
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ford Motor Co. has committed to investing $1 billion in two Greater Cleveland manufacturing plants. It is to invest $900 million in a new product line and other improvements at the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake. A further $125 million will also be spent on continuing upgrades at Ford’s Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park as part of a contract tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers. The auto giant’s plans are set to add 1,500 jobs at the Ford Ohio Assembly Plant, according to Avon Lake Mayor Greg Zilka. “We are pleased that Ford, the State of Ohio, Team NEO, the UAW and the City of Avon Lake have built such a positive working relationship,” Zilka said in a prepared statement. Under the new UAW agreement, the plant will add another vehicle to its manufacturing roster by 2023, which the new workers will help build. Right now, the assembly plant makes F-650/750 Medium Duty Trucks, F-350/450/550 Super Duty Chassis Cabs, E-Series Cutaways and stripped chassis. About 1,740 employees work at the plant, and roughly 1,600 are hourly employees. Ford also plans to add $150 million in upgrades to its Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park. “One thing people don’t realize is that we are going to benefit from the trades union people building the facility well before it is open,” Zilka said. “That is a shot in the arm for our City of Avon Lake, as well. Our understanding is that they will either add on to the very large facility they have now or possibly it could be a stand-alone building on the campus. We don’t have that information yet.” But one thing is known: the city will economically benefit from the expansion. He said that while the plant includes parts of Sheffield Lake and Sheffield Village, “the vast majority” of it is in Avon Lake. The mayor said the school district, which receives 80% of local real estate taxes, would benefit from the investment. Zilka said the earliest these taxes would be collected is 2024, but that it is too early to tell the amount. The 1,500 jobs also will generate income tax for Avon Lake. Economic Development Director Ted Esborn said it’s not currently known what that amount will be. However, he said the current 1,700 jobs at the plant contribute much to the city’s coffers. Esborn said the city annually collects $7.5 to $8.5 million in income tax from businesses. “Ford accounts for about 25% of all income tax that Avon Lake receives from businesses, and that’s a roster of over 300 businesses including other large manufacturing employers like PolyOne, Lubrizol, and Thogus,” Esborn wrote in an email. Impact on real estate Unlike other areas of public and private investment, the economic benefits to infrastructure are clear. But not only does investment infrastructure lead to job creation and GDP growth; it also acts as a catalyst, having significant knock-on impact to the surrounding real-estate. City transportation projects, in particular, tend to signal where the next property hot-spot will be. Historically this has been road or rail projects. “The Opportunity Corridor”, which began in 2015, is a boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio, partially open to traffic and partially under construction. The $306 million city investment will connect Interstate 77 and Interstate 490 to the University Circle neighbourhood (the fastest-growing job centre in the region). With these combined investments from Ford and the city of Cleveland (just two recent examples) the short and long term results are sure to be an increase in Economic growth within the city. Economic growth is one of the major factors in Real Estate capital appreciation. Demand for housing is dependent upon income. With higher economic growth and rising incomes, people will be able to spend more on houses, this will increase demand and push up prices. What factors help Ford in this large financial investment decision? The Cleveland area may see its low cost of living finally become a magnet for college graduating techies from its University Circle, alongside other members of what some people call the “creative class.” A new report revealed regions that have or can attract young workers in fields such as engineering, software development and the arts will have the best opportunities to grow their economies. The Cleveland metropolitan area is among a group of large metros with the fastest growth in creative-class workers between 2005 and 2018. Analysis shows Cleveland in fifth place with a 17.3% growth in creative-class workers. Ford understands Cleveland has the correct ingredients in place to attract the workers needed for their expansion. With affordable quality homes and an improving road network and public transport infrastructure, Cleveland’s advantages are now less of a “secret” to young professionals seeking an affordable place to start a career. The announcement of Ford’s $1 Billion dollar investment will be very positive news for people that have already invested in Cleveland Real Estate. For those looking to get involved while the prices and ROI are still one of the best in the whole of the USA, call or email Global Investments today.
Milwaukee Most Famous
It has now become quite traditional that when Global Investments introduce a new US city for fantastic buy to let investment properties, for a little bit of trivia fun we compile the top 10 most famous people that were either born or grew up in that City. Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States, home of Harley Davidson, Miller beer and many other great US companies. Milwaukee is following in the footsteps of other categorised rust belt cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Cleveland to name a few. These cities have seen large-scale investment, rising house prices and high rental demand and Milwaukee is no exception to this. Global Investments have now started selling in Milwaukee, for more information visit: Milwaukee Investment Property This time around rather than just pick 10 people that most people have heard of I have decided to mix it up a little. Below is the final top 10! Some obviously most people would recognise immediately however some nearly everyone would have never heard of. These others have incredibly interesting stories and they all were either born or grew up in Milwaukee. If you do manage to read til the end then you will have definitely not wasted 5 minutes of your life and will be safe in the knowledge that Global Investments have enriched your brain with completely useless trivia facts that you can without doubt bore someone with one day 😉 So let’s begin…. 10. Eric Benet Eric Benét Jordan (born October 15, 1966), known professionally as Eric Benét, is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter and actor, who has received a total of four Grammy nominations to date for his musical work. Benét was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School. Benét signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1994 and released his first studio album, True to Myself, in 1996. His second album, A Day in the Life, was released in 1999 and featured his smash hit “Spend My Life With You (featuring Tamia)”. The song rose to #1 on the US Billboard R&B charts (for 3 weeks), was certified gold, and nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group”. Impressive enough you would think to reach number 10 on my list however what clinched it was the fact that Eric married actress Halle Berry in January 2001 and anyone that can pull that off deserves my upmost respect and jealousy. Actually I should take him off the list as they divorced in 2005, what was he thinking ?? 9. Mildred Harnack Mildred Elizabeth Fish Harnack. Born in Milwaukee 16th of September 1902 and died on 16th February 1943. Mildred is the first of our list of most famous that most people would have never heard of, however her story and connection to Milwaukee deserves telling and definitely deserves our number 9. Mildred attended West Division High School (now Milwaukee High School of the Arts), In 1926, she was studying and working as a lecturer on German literature at the Milwaukee State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee). Alarmed by the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime, Mildred and her husband joined a small resistance group. Their group published an underground newsletter, and fed economic information to the U.S. and Soviet embassies in Berlin. After Germany invaded Russia, the group transmitted military intelligence to Moscow via radio “concerts,” prompting the Gestapo to call them the “Red Orchestra.” The group was discovered and arrested in September of 1942. Mildred Fish-Harnack was initially given six years in prison, but Hitler refused to endorse the sentence and ordered a new trial, which ended with a sentence of death on 16 January 1943. She was beheaded on 16 February 1943. Her last words were purported to have been: “Ich habe Deutschland auch so geliebt” (“I loved Germany so much as well”). She was the only American woman executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler. 8. Golda Meir Golda Meir (born Golda Mabovitch) May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was an Israeli teacher, stateswoman, politician. Meir was elected prime minister of Israel on March 17, 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. The world’s fourth and Israel’s first and only woman to hold the office, she has been described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics, the term was later applied to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In 1905, In her early years Moshe moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in search of higher-paying work, and found employment in the workshops of the local railroad yard. Golda’s mother Blume Mabovitch ran a grocery store on Milwaukee’s north side. Golda attended the Fourth Street Grade School (now Golda Meir School) from 1906 to 1912. At 14, she studied at North Division High School and worked part-time. Her employers included Schuster’s department store and the Milwaukee Public Library. In 1948, Israel declared its independence and Golda Meir was one of the signers of Israel’s declaration. In 1974, Meir was awarded the honor of World Mother by American Mothers. 7. Jerry Zucker Jerry G. Zucker (born March 11, 1950) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an American film producer, director, and writer known for his role in directing comedy spoof films such as Airplane! and Top Secret!, and the Best Picture-nominated supernatural drama film Ghost. Zucker’s early career work started with Jim Abrahams and brother David Zucker. The trio performed in Madison, Wisconsin as a sketch and comedy troupe called “Kentucky Fried Theater”. From there the three went on and together co-directed Airplane! in 1980 and then went on to do Top Secret! in 1984, and Ruthless People in 1986. In 1990, he lent his directorial skills to the dramatic genre with Ghost, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. The Airplane movies were hilarious so definitely earns our number 7 spot. 6. Phil Katz Phillip Walter Katz (November
Construction and development in downtown Cleveland drives the rental market up.
If you drive through downtown Cleveland today you will see cranes dotted across the skyline . Warehouses, derelict buildings and even car lots are being turned into urban chic apartments which are attracting a hefty price tag. ABC News ran an article in August this year covering this topic, they called the article “Vibrant downtown Cleveland neighbourhoods draw new development and rising rents, pricing many people out” The article highlighted the fact the worst-kept secret in Cleveland is that downtown Cleveland is back with a bang. New restaurants , boutique hotels and designer shops have made downtown Cleveland a very attractive place to live but now a very expensive one. Even with new apartment projects popping up all over downtown Cleveland, many of them are being advertised as “luxury living,” but they come with luxury prices. The article also looked at rent comparables for the last seven years, if we look at a one bed/one bath in Downtown Cleveland in 2011 the rent was $820 a month, if we look at the rental market today we can see that this has risen on average to $1,252 per month (this is more than a fifty per cent increase in a number of years) The situation is no better for two bedroom apartments, in 2011 a two bedroom apartment would have rented $1,252 per month but now they are renting for $1,890 per month. The rent levels in Cleveland are starting to come on par like other large US cities like Washington and Seattle. Apart from the all of the new developments taking place another distinguishing factor is the occupancy levels in downtown Cleveland, it is currently running at over 95%. Even with all of these new apartments even when an apartment does become vacant it is snapped up within a number of days. Another interesting point in the article is how Cleveland has marketed itself in the last few years, it has become a beacon of the Mid West for developers and investment by continually pushing its location, people and local enterprises. Large scale developers have used promotional material to sell a lifestyle not just a property, one they believe Cleveland can deliver. But all of this development is great for a nice night out or a busy shopping day but it is not so nice for some people who can not afford the high rent levels anymore. The Downtown Cleveland Residents Association have stated this very fact, they said all of the development is great for the city but no so great if some people can not afford to live there anymore, we don’t want it to be an enclave just for the wealthy. The rising rents in downtown are having a rippling effect in other areas in close proximity to the city, many people who would have lived in the city are now looking further a field to find more reasonable rent levels. Areas like Hough, St Clair Superior, Fairfax, Ashbury Towers, North Broadway are now on the investors radar as these are all a short distance to downtown Cleveland, these areas are seeing increased rental demands and increased rents. Global Investments have exclusive agreements with many US Brokers and Agents with properties in these areas, if you would like to find out more please contact: [email protected]
“NEXT STOP MILWAUKEE – THE NEW INVESTORS DREAM”
Milwaukee is a city that has not been on the investor’s radar for the last few years. But this fascinating city located North of Chicago in Wisconsin State is suddenly getting a lot of attention. Milwaukee is often written off as a rust belt city in decline; a city with a falling population; a city that needs investment. So why would you invest there you may ask? Milwaukee is following in the footsteps of other categorised rust belt cities like Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Cleveland to name a few. These cities have seen large-scale investment, rising house prices and high rental demand and Milwaukee is no exception to this. CNBC ran an article at the end of last year called, “Why millennials are flocking to Rust Belt real estate.” The article centred around why States like Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin are seeing an influx of younger buyers in search of more affordable living. To quote the article it stated: “In recent years, the revitalized Rust Belt economy has brought in younger workers, and made the area’s real estate an attractive investment opportunity. Redfin, one of the largest Real Estate websites in the US, has identified the start of bidding wars in Rust Belt cities – a trend that can already be seen to have taken effect in in Cleveland, Ohio. Looking at Milwaukee itself, we can see that this property market is already showing signs of revitalisation, prices are starting to rise and rental demand is on the up and up. According to Zillow, the median home value in Milwaukee is now $123,300. Milwaukee home values have gone up 7.6% over the past year and Zillow’s Milwaukee real estate market prediction is that the prices will rise 3.3% within the next year. Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States. It is located on Lake Michigan’s western shore. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic centre of the Milwaukee metropolitan area, which has a population of over two million people as of 2018. Downtown Milwaukee is thriving as the economic, cultural, and social hub of South Eastern Wisconsin. Since 2005, over $4.1 billion worth of private and public projects have been completed, and more than $3.4 billion is currently being invested in ongoing or planned construction projects. Milwaukee is known for many great things. There are nine Fortune 500 companies located there. It was once know as “Brew City “ due to the large number of breweries: including the Miller Brewing Company, Pabst Brewing Company, Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company to name just a few. In fact, the city has been heralded as the beer capital of the world. Milwaukee is also home to Harley-Davidson, which was founded in 1903 and has growing into one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brands worldwide. Milwaukee has an exceptional school system and one of the highest college students-per-capita ratios in the United States. Located downtown is Marquette University, to the East is the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), and just north of the city is the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Milwaukee is also a popular venue for Lake Michigan sailing, windsurfing, kite-surfing, ethnic dining, and cultural festivals. Also sometimes referred to as the “City of Festivals”, Milwaukee has various cultural events that take place throughout the summer. If you walk through Downtown Milwaukee today you will witness a new glistening skyline: new glass buildings, new bridges, new restaurants and new shops, showing that this city is leading the way in Midwest Urban architecture and design. Global Investments are incredibly excited about this city and we feel it offers our investors the right mix of well-priced properties and high rental demand. Coupled with higher than average rental payments, this gives you the perfect investment opportunity. Our new Milwaukee properties will be listed within the next two weeks, so please keep an eye out on our website and contact any of the team at Global for a sneak preview [email protected]
Global Investments in Downtown Cleveland
This week Shemika gives you a tour of Downtown Cleveland including the Stadium and the Marina, we also get to see some other great attractions Cleveland has to offer.