Do you remember the Cowell & Hubbard jewelry store at 13th and Euclid? Crain’s Cleveland reports (and Stan Bullard writes) The Playhouse Square Foundation has purchased the building. (The Realtor® in me saw the sale price: $1 mil for 43,000 square feet and said hmmm, prime location Downtown and it sold for a million dollars….puts other asking prices in perspective for me).
One of the things this building might be used for is to further the idea of a Design District along that route. I blogged about that CSU Forum here. Art Falco is PlayHouse Square Foundation’s President:
“….Mr. Falco noted the city of Cleveland’s Civic Vision 2000 master plan identifies the corner as a potential housing site. He said the storefront also gives the building a possible showroom for a consumer products or industrial design firm, which would be in keeping with a use envisioned by promoters of a Design District on Euclid.
Ned Hill, vice president for economic development at Cleveland State University who is involved in the Design District effort, confirmed that the Cowell & Hubbard building would be of interest to his group as a location for design talent or a showroom….”
There were other bidders on the building…..the buzz seems to be that the Silver Line route, the planned streetscaping, and the general master plan for the area created the energy for the purchase. Peace out – 3C
4 responses so far ↓
1 Jean // Aug 1, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I was googling for info on Cowell and Hubbard’s on Euclid. My great-grandmother’s brother was Addison Hubbard of that firm. My mother has fond memories of visiting the Hubbard family as a child. Uncle Add would send over a limousine to pick them up, when they visited their grandmother in Cleveland in the early twentieth century, c. 1918, perhaps. What’s being done with the store now? I like the look of the plans. Were they able to pull it off? Thanks, Jean, Urbana IL
2 Carole Cohen // Aug 1, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Hi Jean, very nice to meet a Cowell and Hubbard family member! I know that Playhouse Square did purchase the building, I know that it is still supposed to part of the planned Design District, and that the gorgeous building would be one of the places a Design District tenant would lease. They needed a certain number of people to commit to going there (five? six? around that number) and then they can move into the next phase. At least that was the plan last time I investigated, which admittedly has been over a year ago…but after this post was written.
I’ll see what I can find out by talking to a few people. If in fact all these plans do move forward, there would be another creative, artistic use for the building, which would be nice. I remember pressing my nose to the Cowell and Hubbard storefront window as a young person, thinking the most beautiful jewelery in the world was inside that store! I’ll definitely do some investigating and see what I can ferret out by the end of the week.
I don’t know how quickly things move in Urbana, but most plans here have 100 phases and take years to come to fruition. Okay, I overstate a bit, but you get my meaning. I’m visualizing the limousine, turn of the century style, what a great story!
3 Carole Cohen // Aug 7, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Jean, imagine this, I’ve left two phone messages and so far no call backs! I am determined, however, to find out more about the plans for your family’s building.
I must have been under a rock, however, because I had no idea the original motivation was to give our Amish country furniture builders a better marketplace for their goods. When they had the initial ‘festival’ this Summer, I thought, how quaint. I had no idea ! The designs are going to have to be a bit more 21st Century to make it zing, at least that’s my opinion.
As soon as I get an answer (regardless of the answer) about the C and Hubbard building, I will blog about it.
4 cm.com // Jan 31, 2012 at 9:24 pm
I run across you in the strangest places. Just googled Zach bruell’s new placeyear and there youwere were!
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