CLEVELAND, OHIO – July 19, 2024 Verdynt Bio’s operations partner SKYLIIT Labs plans to invest over $12 million into the facility to create a state-of-the-art laboratory and office co-working space.
On Wednesday, July 10, Cuyahoga Land Bank celebrated the completion of the $3.5 million renovation of the Mickey’s building in East Cleveland, Ohio, and the concurrent sale of the space to Verdynt Bio, a Boston-based science facility developer with strong ties to Ohio.
Renovating the historic Mickey’s building was a critical step in the redevelopment of the Circle East District, a neighborhood just east of University Circle and the hub of Northeast Ohio’s educational, medical and arts scenes. This 25,000-square foot commercial space, a former Buick dealership, provides an attractive, inviting anchor to the new Circle East District, and creates more job and tax income opportunities for the City of East Cleveland.
The sale of the building happening simultaneously with the completion of renovations offers so much to celebrate! More than 100 new jobs, which means new tax income, will catalyze growth, energy and interest in this historically disinvested neighborhood. “The company’s mission to reinvent standard labs by developing adaptable tenant focused research spaces in emerging urban markets fits perfectly with our goal of maximizing the building’s close proximity to one of the world’s top hospital systems,” said Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank.
Verdynt Bio focuses on building science facilities in underserved markets, ensuring that local talent can stay local. Doug Medvetz & Khadijah Hindi, Verdynt Bio principals and Cleveland natives, are returning home to spearhead the project, transforming the Mickey’s building into a science innovation hub for future generations.
Verdynt Bio’s operations partner, SKYLIIT Labs plans to invest over $12 million into the facility to create a state-of-the-art laboratory and office co-working space. They will manage the facility, placing special attention on amplifying the symbiotic relationship between the project and the people of East Cleveland.
Renovations, led by Cleveland-based RDL Architects and Millstone Management Group, totaled $3.5 million. Grants from the City of East Cleveland, JobsOhio, the Port Authority, Cuyahoga County, and Bank of America were critical to the completion of this project. The project included several examples of innovative re-use of materials. Architect Chris Maurer of redhouse studio architecture created a public art piece for the front of the building called “Flight of the Council of Interplanetary Cooperation,” where the base materials are bio-cycled — recycled and remediated mushrooms (fungal mycelium). In the building parking lot, the Land Bank re-used sandstone from an apartment building that had previously been demolished in East Cleveland.
“Through strong partnerships, and the leveraging of creative expertise and resources, we are transforming a vision into reality,” said Dennis Roberts, Director of Real Estate Development at the Land Bank. “The creation of over 100 high paying jobs by Verdynt Bio is the spark needed to jumpstart investment that will fuel the beginning of the revitalization of this historic city,” said Roberts.
Next up in the Circle East District is the construction of a combination of 22 highly energy efficient single-family homes and townhouses. Groundbreaking is scheduled to begin in September.
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The Cuyahoga Land Bank is a private, non-profit, government-purposed entity formed following passage of Ohio Senate Bill 353 in 2009, which granted county land banks the special community development powers needed to improve neighborhoods. The mission of the Cuyahoga Land Bank is to strategically acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight, increase property values, support community goals, and improve the quality of life for county residents. Now in its 15th year, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has many programs and opportunities to support Northeast Ohio, including Land Bank Homes, Land Bank Charities, Realty Reimagined and the Cleveland Site Readiness Fund.