Samsel Supply Co. sells warehouse, waterfront buildings on Flats east bank in Cleveland

On Jan 11, 2022

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Companies affiliated with a Cleveland-based developer has bought four buildings on the east bank of The Flats – three of which are on the waterfront of the Cuyahoga River – though the developer is remaining mum on its plans for the space.

Samsel Supply Co., which for decades owned a slew of property along Old River Road, sold the buildings to companies associated with GBX Group, a developer that specializes in working on historic projects. They include the warehouse at 1285 Old River Road, which has 109,845 square feet, the Upson-Walton Co. Building across the street at 1294-1310 Old River Road and two smaller buildings directly south.

The transactions were first reported Monday by the Cleveland Business Journal, a sister publication of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. They took place on Dec. 7. Cuyahoga County property records do not list the sale prices, and GBX spokesman Phil Winton declined to reveal the price. The properties combined are valued at more than $2.8 million, according to county records.

Winton was coy about the future of the properties. He said in an email that GBX would notify news outlets when plans are finalized, which will be by the end of March.

He said, however, that the buildings will not be razed and will instead find new uses while retaining their historic character. Winton also said the buildings will “complement” how other buildings are used on the east bank. The area in the past couple of decades has transformed into a hub for restaurants and nightlife.

Recently, Samsel has worked to divest and find new uses for its buildings. The maritime, construction and industrial supply business was founded 1958 and acquired the property along Old River Road in subsequent years.

Kathy Petrick, who co-owns Samsel with her brother, Mike Samsel, said in an email that the company “has been right-sizing their business footprint and efficiencies

“With this came the opportunity to partner in the repositioning of their historic buildings along Old River Road for different future uses, adding more vitality to City of Cleveland for generations to come,” her statement said.

Tenants remain in some of the buildings that Samsel sold. The Italianate-style Upson-Walton Co. Building, which dates to the 1800s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It previously operated as a clearance center for Arhaus Furniture, but the company in 2007 moved to a suburban shopping center.

Samsel previously partnered with developer Fred Geis and others to renovate the Hausheer Building, also on Old River Road. That building, once home to The Watermark restaurant, now houses Collision Bend Brewing Co.

Initial plans detailed in The Plain Dealer in 2016 also mention renovating other buildings on the block, including the Upson-Walton Co. Building. Petrick said in an email that work began on that building after the Hausheer project was completed, “and then Covid hit.

“It changed a lot of plans,” she said.

The sales of the property also came during the same month that the Cleveland Metroparks bought a parking lot next to one of the properties that Samsel sold. The Metroparks plan to use the lot, which it bought for a hair under $3 million, to create an access point to the river for the public.

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