CLEVELAND, Ohio – Tax incentives to aid two development projects in the Ohio City neighborhood on the West Side cleared a key hurdle Tuesday and moved toward a final approval from Cleveland City Council.

One of the projects, Market Square, involves a mixed-use development by Chicago-area developer Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors on property across Lorain Avenue from the West Side Market.

It would include 300 market-rate apartments and about 40,000 square feet of retail space.

The second project, Tinnerman Lofts, would redevelop the former home of stove manufacturer Tinnerman Steel Range Co. on Fulton Road into market-rate apartments.

City Council’s Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee approved incentives for both projects on Tuesday.

The proposed incentives for Market Square include tax abatement on the $135-million project for 15 years and non-school, tax-increment financing that will divert about $1.4 million from new taxes to help pay for the project.

The committee also approved $2 million in a deferred loan to the developers. The company is financing the project through the Port of Cleveland.

The council committee also approved non-school, tax-increment financing for about $265,000 in new taxes the $10-million Tinnerman Lofts project is expected to generate. The developer previously secured $1.7 million in state historic preservation tax credits for the project.

Those incentives could be considered by the Finance Committee and sent to a vote of the full council for approval as soon as next Monday.

The Harbor Bay project would involve razing the Market Plaza shopping center at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue to make way for what is billed as the largest mass timber structure in the country – an eight-story building with apartments and commercial space. The project would have underground parking that would also benefit the West Side Market and a park.

Councilman Kerry McCormack, who represents Ohio City, was enthusiastic about the project because it will also take advantage of its access to mass transit. The site is “just feet away” from RTA’s West 25-Ohio City bus/rapid station.

“As we talk about building transit, we also walk the walk,” McCormack said. “This is probably one of the most prominent corners in Cleveland.”

The company plans a second phase, which would involve a smaller adjacent building that would connect directly to the RTA station.

Demolition and construction could begin as soon as March, the company has said.

The Tinnerman Lofts project by the Dalad Group of Independence, would convert a vacant manufacturing site at 2048 Fulton Road into about 50 market-rate apartments and a few commercial spaces.

The site was once home to stove manufacturer Tinnerman Steel Range Co.

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