Fairmount Properties Out On Top Of The Hill Project

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The much talked about Top of the Hill project in Cleveland Heights has hit a major roadblock. Negotiations between the city of Cleveland Heights and developer Fairmount Properties have been "mutually discontinued", according to a statement from the two organizations.

The Top of the Hill project has been a priority for the city for a little more than a year. The project refers to the four or so acres of city-owned property at the corner of Cedar Road and Euclid Heights Boulevard, at the top of Cedar Hill. The city has publicly stated multiple times that developing that acreage into a mixed-use shopping, residential, and office site has been a long-time goal.

The Top of the Hill development started gaining steam in April 2016 when the city issued a Request for Proposals. In October 2016, Fairmount Properties was selected as the developer for the project. The company proposed a $75 million development. Less than a year later, the partnership between the city and Fairmount has fallen apart.

In a joint statement, the city and the developer said they were unable to come to terms on key portions of a memoradum of understanding that would have led to the development of the site. The leadership of Fairmount issued a lengthy statement saying their departure from the project is not a reflection on the city.

"We found City Council, the City Manager and staff, to be exceptionally professional and supportive of our efforts," said Randy Ruttenberg, principal at Fairmount Properties, in the statement. "Our inability to come to agreement is not at all a reflection of the partnership we've built with Cleveland Heights. It was a true collaboration and we would welcome working with them again in the future. More importantly, this decision doesn't mean that this project won't be a huge success for a future partner that undertakes this exciting initiative. We found there to be a real supply deficit for the exact type of tenants and use groups including a hotel, for sale residential and high end apartments the city of Cleveland Heights is hoping to recruit to this highly coveted site. We wish the city great success as they move forward."

Cleveland Heights City Council said they are still intent on moving forward with the Top of the Hill development. Next steps following this setback are expected to be made at next week's council meeting.

It should be noted that during the developer selection process, the two finalists were Fairmount and Flaherty & Collins.

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