Twenty-year development veteran Chris Matan is buying into Cleveland in more ways than one.

Not only did he leave the Windy City -- his hometown -- to marry wife Ivana three and a half years ago, he closed just last month on a 25,000-square-foot building at 2104 Superior Avenue.

Matan sees nothing but possibilities in the long-vacant space.

"It's raw, open, undeveloped loft space," says Matan, "basically gutted out to the brick." The building features four floors with 12- to 14-foot ceilings and a basement. Only the first floor has lighting, although the entire building is outfitted with sprinklers.

Matan believes the building dates to the early 1900's. It previously housed a chrome plating company and other tenants. He paid $185,000 for the property, which is his first foray into commercial development.

Matan envisions residential space for the upper floors and a new food concept that would "bridge the gap between food trucks and traditional brick and mortar restaurants," on the first floor.

"I want to be able to give the food entrepreneur the opportunity to get into a food space for themselves at a relatively low cost entry," says Matan. "I don't think it is being done right now."

He stresses that the plans are highly tentative. "There are no commitments or anything like that. We're just putting feelers out there," he says. "We're not swinging a hammer tomorrow."

Matan joins a growing list of non-Clevelanders coming to the 216 and finding a city in renaissance instead of a crumbling industrial ruin.

"You're starting to see foreigners (for lack of a better word) come in and look at some of this real estate and start snapping it up," he says. "When you've got eyes coming from other cities, be it New York City or Chicago, it's a positive for the area."

His recollection of coming to Cleveland and discovering the grid of streets that make up the Campus District stands in contrast to that of many natives.

"When I first moved here, I'd drive around the area and it shocked me -- the product that was here, the warehouse buildings so close to downtown. Nothing was happening," he says. "I kind of saw the future in some of these buildings."

So did his neighbors at Lake Affect Studios and 2044 Euclid Avenue, which are all part of the collective rebirth of the burgeoning campus area and Cleveland at large.

"I've seen over the last three years what's going on in the Campus District, on the West Side, Downtown, the development that's happening," muses Matan.

"People in Cleveland should take notice: this is happening before their eyes."