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Committee backs moving Beacon Project loan amendment to full council after developer and staff outline revised repayment
Summary
Committee reviewed a material modification to the county's $2 million loan for the Beacon Project (515 Euclid Ave). Staff said the borrower will prepay roughly half, the county would finance about $858,000 at an 8.5% market rate amortized over three years with a personal guarantee; the amendment was moved to full council for further readings.
Cuyahoga County's Economic Development Committee reviewed a request to amend the county's place-based mixed-use loan for the Beacon Project at 515 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland and voted to forward the item to the full council for the required readings.
Anthony Stella of the Department of Development described the Beacon as a 2017 transit-oriented project that delivered 187 residential units and sits on the RTA HealthLine corridor. The county originally closed a $2 million loan on the project; Stella said the May 2 principal balance was just over $1.7 million. Under the developer's proposal, the borrower would prepay approximately half of that balance, and the county would refinance an estimated remaining balance of about $858,000, reset to a market rate (Stella said the county would seek about 8.5%) and amortize the remaining amount over three years. The change would eliminate a balloon payment at county maturity and make the county loan coterminous with the senior lender's maturity.
Stella said the County's CCIC committee reviewed the amendment and unanimously recommended approval. He also described the collateral analysis and said county underwriting ratios would remain within established parameters, with the county maintaining a second lien position and a continuing personal guarantee from Robert Stark.
Council members asked for more details on the loan's repayment history and on job-creation commitments tied to the original loan. The chair noted the original loan appeared to commit up to 92 jobs over seven years but that the department's records show 18 jobs created to date; Stella said he would review historic documents to reconcile the figures and report back to the committee. Brian Miluk of Stark Enterprises (COO) said occupancy is about 93——94% and that the developer has invested more than $1 million in added amenities and secured a first-floor tenant for retail space, which he said would generate additional jobs.
After discussion, the committee voted to forward Resolution 20250213 (Beacon Project loan amendment) to full council for a second reading. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; no additional county funds were requested in the amendment.
What happens next: The item will proceed to the full council for the formal readings required under county procedures. Committee members requested that staff provide a detailed repayment history, a reconciliation of original job-creation commitments and an entity-level list of loans on the county's portfolio for the committee record.
