8/7/2019 Press Release - First Interstate Exercises Option for Oakwood
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PRESSRELEASE
FORRELEASE:March7,2011
FirstInterstateExercisesOakwoodOption
FirstInterstatePropertiesLtdannouncedtodayithasexerciseditsoptiontoacquiretheCleveland
HeightsportionoftheOakwoodCountryClub.“WeexercisedthisoptiononMarch1,sowenowcontrol
theentireparcel,”saidMitchellC.Schneider,presidentofFirstInterstate,headquarteredinLyndhurst.
“Wedohavesomeflexibilityregardingtheactualdatetotaketitle,butIexpectthatwillhappenwithin
thenextseveralmonths,”saidSchneider.
AsubsidiaryofFirstInterstateacquirednearly63acresofthenow-defunctclublastDecemberandhas
beenworkingwithSouthEuclidtocreatea21-acreparkanda40-acreLEED-certifiedandsustainably-
designedshoppingcenterontheSouthEuclidportionoftheproperty.Theparkwillincludenearlyone
mileofwalkingandbikingtrailsandotheramenitiesforlocalresidents.Theproposedshoppingcenter
willbeapproximately325,000squarefeet.“WearethrilledtoworkwiththecityofSouthEuclidto
supportitsGreenNeighborhoodsInitiativebycreatingpermanentgreenspaceandanewcommercial
projectincorporatinggreendesignconceptsandservingasNortheastOhio’sfirstshowcase
demonstrationprojectforlarge-scalegreendevelopmentpractices,”saidSchneider.Theshopping
centerportionoftheprojectrequiresrezoninginSouthEuclidandiscurrentlyunderconsiderationbyits
planningcommission.
TheoptionFirstInterstateexercisedonMarch1includesthebalanceoftheformer150-acrecountry
club.TheClevelandHeightspropertyconsistsofmorethan90acresandincludestheformerclubhouseandrelatedfacilities.Thelandiscurrentlyzonedforresidentialdevelopment,allowingformorethan
250newhomeswithoutachangeinthezoning.
FirstInterstate’sinitialplan,announcedlastDecember,includedusingabout20acresinCleveland
HeightsasanexpansionoftheOakwoodCommonsretailshoppingcenter,whichismostly
encompassedbySouthEuclid,usinganother25acressurroundingthecurrentclubhouseandotherclub
facilitiesfor“senior-orientedhousing,”andnearly50-acresofgreenspace.“Weareactivelylookingata
widevarietyofnon-retailoptionsfor75acresinClevelandHeights,sowehaven’tsubmittedanyplans
yettothecity,”saidSchneider.“Ourplanistocomeupwitharealistic,economically-feasibleplan
bringingamixofhousing,seniorcarefacilitiesandhighpayingjobstothisparcelofland,whilestill
preservingagreen,campus-likeenvironmentthatcanbeenjoyedbytheentirecommunity.”
FirstInterstateProperties,Ltd.isaLyndhurst-basedfullservicerealestatedevelopmentand
managementcompany.Sinceitsinception,FirstInterstatehasbuiltasoundreputationasa
developmentfirmconcernedaboutandresponsibletowardtheimpactsofcommercialgrowthon
surroundingareas.LocalretailprojectsincludeLegacyVillageinLyndhurst,SteelyardCommonsin
Cleveland,AvonCommonsinAvonandCreeksideCommonsinMentor.Formoreinformation,please
visitourFacebookpageat http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Interstate-
Properties/176798765687837,ourwebsiteathttp://www.first-interstate.com ortheOakwood
Commonswebsiteathttp://www.oakwoodcommons.net/.
