27 Coltman Townhouses
Photo © Jason Meyer/Feinknopf

Cleveland-based Dimit Architects' 27 townhouses in Little Italy, near University Circle, hit the market in early 2009'not the most auspicious time for real estate. Perhaps because of their flexible floor plans, industrial aesthetic (the property was a former brownfield), and proximity to the city's largest employers, all of them sold in two and a half years. The three-story houses, clad in cement board and phenolic panels, contain 1,600- to 3,400-square-foot loftlike units with roof terraces. The architects are working on another townhouse project for the same developer in Cleveland's Rocky River suburb.