H&LA President David Sangree spoke to The Cleveland Plain Dealer about a proposed hotel that would be developed near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. The firm prepared a feasibility study for the proposed project.

By Michelle Jarboe McFee, The Plain Dealer 
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Add a hotel to the list of potential projects being plotted for downtown Cleveland’s lakefront, where developers are studying prospects for new construction.

Dick Pace of Cumberland Development said this week that he and the Trammell Crow Co. are “very serious about a hotel.” That’s a new wrinkle for the joint-venture team, which won a shot this year at remaking city-owned land near Lake Erie with a plan that proffered more than 1,000 apartments, plus offices, waterfront recreation, restaurants and a downtown school.

In March, city officials announced their intention to hammer out a lakefront land-lease deal with Cumberland, of Cleveland, and Dallas-based Trammell Crow. It didn’t take long for stakeholders, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to start asking about a hotel at North Coast Harbor.

Pace was skeptical at first. After all, the center city is looking at a net gain of more than 1,000 hotel rooms, between recent openings, ongoing construction and planned developments. That includes Cuyahoga County’s 600-room convention center Hilton, scheduled to open in time for the Republican National Convention in mid-2016, and a handful of private projects involving historic buildings.
 
But the lakefront developers commissioned a hospitality study. And their consultant, Hotel & Leisure Advisors of Lakewood, found that a small hotel – 175 or so rooms – might make sense.

“There are a number of hotels, of course, coming,” said David Sangree, president of Hotel & Leisure Advisors. “But this site would be a pretty good site for one. … Our recommendation was a boutique, rock-and-roll-themed hotel, but that’s assuming a connection to the Rock Hall.”

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