MayDay

"Jackson declined to talk about Mok other than to say that as mayor, he gets to pick the airport director and a search gives him the opportunity to find the best one." Yeah Frank, we get it already. :roll: We know you're the mayor and we know you get to do a lot of things. Hopefully those things won't include making stupid decisions.

Neat idea for a thread - yeah, sometimes it's nice to get out of dodge. My most recent weekender was in Columbus, just for one night. We'll call this adventure "Columbus - Downtown to Death Star";-) For some odd reason everywhere in downtown was booked with the exception of the Doubletree - an all suites hotel, and even that was pretty full. But for about $120ish for a nice sized suite, who's going to complain? My S.O. and I were meeting friends for cocktails and we had planned to go to the Burgundy Room but parking in the Short North was a problem so we paid for valet at the "Cap". $5 per car wasn't too bad considering we split it. Someone suggested grabbing drinks at Hyde Park Grill - being from Cleveland, I associate Hyde Park Grill with dark-green walls, and ol' chap in the corner smoking cigars - not exactly the happenin' place for hipsters. Little did I know - this Hyde Park had a fantastic bar/lounge - very chic, with lots of cushy booths along with couches, etc., so it was easy to accomodate people as they joined our group: They had quite a few wines by the glass, with most being $7 to $9 - not inexpensive but not absurdly priced either. I'd recommend against the cheese plate - you really don't get much at all and that was really the only complaint we had. Next we went to dinner at Due Amici on (where else) East Gay Street. A fantastic space with exposed brick walls, high ceilings and just a really neat vibe. The main dining area was a bit tight, as they squeeze quite a few tables in. Entrees go from $10 to low $20s, but mostly on the lower end - you can order pasta and match it with any sauce. The wine list was comparable to Hyde Park, with plenty of reasonably priced wines by the glass. The highlight was the jerk chicken in cilantro ravioli - my S.O. wants to make a return trip because of it - it was that good. The crowds stayed pretty late and we ended up closing the restaurant. The next day was of course, a trip to the Death Star (Easton). One of the highlights of Easton - a Turkish restaurant - is a hidden treasure tucked into a space near Nordstrom. Just about everything on the menu is good - I recommend the Cankaya, a crisp Turkish white wine. Of course, no Turkish meal is complete without the Turkish coffee. http://www.hydeparkrestaurants.com/maps/hp-cap/index.htm http://www.due-amici.com/ http://www.eastontowncenter.com/tenants/cafeistanbul.cfm

" Is mayday going to come and try to stab me with a knife?" You know me better than that - I'd scratch out your eyes and throw them in the punch bowl :-D

"My freedom of speech is protected by the constitution. Im new here so when I see some thing else that i want to talk about I will" This is the forum at urbanohio.com - and your freedom of speech is subject to the rules of the forum. You do not have any constitutional right to be a member of this forum - you and every other forumer are here because you are bound to the rules of membership. While I don't like the new Louisville building either, I would hope that you have more productive input planned.

Tell you what - if I win the lottery this weekend, you can have the Z6 :-D

Just a little heads up to be watching for some more detailed pics, thanks to the not-soon-enough arrival of my 6MP, 12x optical baby :-)

"I still think the top of it looks very Golden Girls Miami Beach 1985." You got a problem with the Golden Girls? :x :wink:

"Don't you think the abatements are a great selling point for projects such as the Avenue district and battery park, every development in Cleveland that is still on drawing boards?" No, I think they're the worst selling point - why would anyone find them appealing? :roll: Geez, quit being such a male and making it a either-or argument. My point is that yes, they're a fantastic economic incentive. But, they come as a tradeoff for putting revenue directly into the city coffers. That tradeoff has been in place for quite some time, and maybe they need to be tweaked - maybe not. Maybe things have turned around to the point that instead of 15-year 100% abatements, we could go with 12-year 80% abatements? I don't know if that's the case but it wouldn't kill anyone to at least take a look at the possibilities. As far as the current projects, I'm sure that they would be grandfathered in, as the abatements would have to remain on the books as part of their contract. And yeah - what does Triozzi have to do with this?

Trust me, ColDayMan gets a pass on this one - he's taken too many good pics of Cleveland, and has spent most of his life savings at Gillys in Little Italy. So, 23-Skidoo, bub! :-D

I think you might be editorializing just a bit. At no point has he suggested abolishing tax abatements across the board, but it's something that probably should be looked at - maybe reducing the abatements from 15 years to 10, or maybe reducing the amount of abatement. Now, when he comes back from the meeting and suggests wiping out tax abatements arbitrarily, then we have a serious problem. My take on the "project driven" quote is that he's not focusing on fast tracking a new convention center or other "silver bullet" project.

I've seen pics of both of you... put a sock in it, kids. :whip:

^I know, I suppose it's kind of redundant for ME to post a photo of Gay Street :-D

Yeah, I know - our itinerary didn't leave any breathing room. That and I was being wined and dined by attractive lesbians :-)

That's been there for quite some time - most tenants in any of the major office buildings had to learn the basic evac routes.

So I went with the S.O. to Columbus this weekend to meet some of his friends (aka it was my "cotillion") who were in town for a day. The weather was frigid as hell but it made for some decent shots. Btw, could someone slap the sh!t out of the f#cktards who that thought it was a good idea to close several lanes on I-71 northbound on a Sunday evening, especially knowing the extra intra-city traffic would cause our usual 2 hour return trip to become 3.5!!! :whip: Enjoy:

Sure, you don't necessarily have to be involved with the "community at large" to be informed... but how about to raise awareness and visibility? Then again, you live in a city where the community itself is relatively "normalized" into the mainstream and that's a good thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyones' prerogative should be putting on a rainbow flag shirt (I don't), marching in a pride parade (I haven't - though I've attended pride events), etc. However - there are times and causes that should warrant our unified support as a community that needs to take action, don't you think?

Do you REALLY think I'm not aware of that? Do you really think I posted what I did because I didn't get what you were saying? :roll: "Clueless, party of one!"

I knew that bridge looked familiar!

"How can anyone doubt a higher power when stuff like that and FSW both are left unbuilt?" Easily - the Progressive Tower wasn't built because of a decision made by the board of directors at Progressive. "MayDay, do you know when that Masonic Memorial Building was proposed to be built?" The Masonic Temple was finished in 1920 so my guess would be in the 1920s, but like so many proposals, vanished due to the Depression. "Does anyone know if any of the cancelled projects have ever been talked about as being resurected?" About the only project that could happen would be District Park, although it might be reconfigured from the original design.

Definitely a snazzy tower - those corner balconies will be an amazing amenity at that location. Congrats Columbus! "How will that fit in with the surrounding skyline?" As ColDayMan suggested - this will act as the "northern" bookend to the Columbus skyline (whereas Miranova is the southern) if memory serves me correctly.

From cleveland.com: Luxury housing going fast at E. 12th 20 downtown lofts, penthouses reserved Friday, February 17, 2006 Christopher Montgomery Plain Dealer Reporter Twenty people have reserved lofts and penthouses for sale at Nathan Zaremba's $200 million Avenue District development in downtown Cleveland. If that level of interest continues, it should put the developer on track to begin construction of the first building late this summer. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

Next up, Ameritrust! :-D

Yeah guys, didn't you know that once a building is built, it's immediately filled with tenants and all the other buildings in the area are instantly filled with replacement tenants??? Geez do I have to teach you everything!?! :roll:

Pass along my congratulations - Melamed-Riley is a great firm and they've done some top notch work. She'll be moving into the Stonebridge Apartments which is a good choice. I know some of the Stonebridge condo owners have had some concerns, but the apartments seem fine. She'll be in walking distance to work (M-R is on West 9th). As with any urban setting, I would just recommend the usual "street smarts" and common sense.