Severance deal is good but not yet great

After years of inaction, there now is a deal to re-develop Severance Town Center.

Mayor Seren is entitled to take a victory lap. He and his staff managed, against long odds, to get owner Namdar Realty Group to come to the table. And MPACT Collective, the New York development group that signed a “master development agreement” with Namdar, does have a respectable track record. It all looks good.

Good, but not yet great. The proverbial devil always is in the details.

The problem with economic development in Cleveland Heights always has been the expectation of civic activists that people with money will spend it in ways the activists want it spent. Developers often have become frustrated with agendas of the activists. And frustration can kill projects.

A good example was a proposal to build a storage facility where the Medusa Building is located. The owner had money and a good civic track record. But there was substantial opposition at public hearings. Activists wanted only certain types of projects in which the owner was not interested. Their efforts caused permissions to be denied. The owner’s proposal failed, and the Medusa Building remains vacant.

Activists will have discussions with Namdar and MPACT. They will advocate a “vision statement” adopted by the city’s Board of Control. They will stress the “visioning” of a Severance Action Group that grew out of a FutureHeights [subcommittee]. Those values they champion are optimist and idealistic. Who can complain with their desire for development that is “transformational and not incremental”? But their proposed plans may or may not be economically realistic.

For instance, they advocate “walkability, bikeability, and transit access.” But these factors may not always make commercial sense.

I wish MPACT well. They will find the process of getting cooperation and approvals to be long and hard. Much is at stake. If its effort to revive Severance Town Center fails, it may be a very long time before any other development group takes its chances in Cleveland Heights.

I hope an acceptable plan is negotiated that satisfies the developer, the owner, and the activists. And I hope the activists will be realistic and understand that good solutions must not be rejected just because they are not perfect ones.