Eastern Columbia Building is considered one of the best expressions of Art Deco architecture in the country. Originally designed as office space in 1930 by famed architect Claud Beelman, the building was recently converted into luxury lofts. Since we do a lot of historic adaptive reuse, we can certainly appreciate the redevelopment challenges. You have to protect the historical character, bring the asset up to code, and sell it in today’s marketplace. It’s not for the faint of heart, but we’re a firm believer in historic preservation because otherwise buildings like the Eastern Columbia would be lost forever.
—Eric Louttit, vice president of finance, Forest City Finance Corp., Cleveland
