MayDay

Yep, Osborn is the architect and their offices are in the building.

Here's a larger rendering of the project - you can see it in the lobby of the Penton Media Building:

The Jimmy Johns will be in the W.T. Grant Lofts building on Euclid, west of the House of Blues. It really isn't THAT far of a walk from places like the Warehouse District or the E. 9th/Huron residential cluster:

Although I'm not a resident of Lakewood proper, I do live about a quarter-mile from Lakewood's eastern border. For the most part, the only part of the "population decreasing, crime increasing, infrastructure and housing deteriorating" assessment that fits is the population issue. If you look at Lakewood, it's primarily a series of major east-west routes (Edgewater, Lake, Clifton, Detroit, Franklin, Madison) - the socio-economic demographics as well as land uses follow that strata from north to south. Everything north of Detroit is generally residential, with the lakefront being the upper-crust (for lack of a better term). According to the most recent Cleveland Magazine poll of 250 most expensive homes, two were on Lake Avenue - the top being $1.8 million. Detroit Avenue itself is the primary commercial route (main street) which is seeing a lot of new development near the Cleveland border to the east. The only areas where you see anything resembling blight (and we're talking pockets of vacant storefronts or lesser-kept-up homes, not boarded up) would be along parts of Madison Avenue. The thing about Lakewood as you mentioned is that they have few areas to build - but they're doing a good job of rebuilding on sites that have been vacated. The Rockport Square development by Rysar is on Detroit near West 117th and seems to be selling well - it's on the site of a former car dealership. In a nutshell, I'd say Lakewood is doing a good job when it comes to having foresight of the challenges they face.

"And I said all this without even mentioning that the Councilperson from Ward 7 (north of Chester) is a developer's worst nightmare...ooops! I said it!" Bah! Kiss my Fannie! :lol:

Great set of pics of some architectural gems. One thing I couldn't understand about True (the gay bar) - it's absolutely beautiful on the inside, but when I went there (twice, both on weekend nights) it was dead with just a handful of people and even they left around 11:30pm. If Cleveland had something that posh in the way of a martini bar, it would be swamped.

"I also appreciate Smackem's mixed-bag of approaches, especially the "not just for millionaire's" angle!"] The thing is, Rockefeller was the world's first billionaire so that wouldn't exactly be accurate. :lol:

One good thing about this - 1100 Superior (aka the Diamond Building) has had one of downtown's highest vacancy rates, and I imagine that won't be the case once First American moves in.

Here are two pics of the building - it's such a cool building, hopefully they get going on its restoration:

No link for article.

Nice pics, and great captions as always. I'll hail Key in my own personal way, thanks :whip: Taylor Hall (the building behind your S.O. in the last pic) is the first place where I worked as a graphic designer and got paid for it. Such memories...

St. Johns College building at 1100 Rockwell: "it's not really close to the warehouse district" I suppose so, but that's only because of the gap created by the parking lots. It's really easy to cut through Tower City to the Renaissance lobby during inclement weather but most people probably don't think that way.

"where younger or "normal" gay people who dont even identify with the community anymore?" If we lived in a truly tolerant world where I wouldn't have to worry about getting a power of attorney just to visit my S.O. in the hospital, or if there wasn't a law on the books in dozens of states oppressing legitimate relationships, I could understand why people wouldn't need to "identify with the community". However that isn't reality, and if those people enjoy a more tolerant society, it sure as hell isn't because of their stance. When they get faced with the kind of bigotry that the rest of the community have endured, where will they get support? Who can identify with the struggle they're going through? They certainly enjoy the privileges of a more tolerant society, but they aren't the ones lobbying for the cause. What's worse is that by distancing themselves from the community, they also distance themselves from current information about things that affect all of us - from legislative policy to HIV/AIDS. It's just like back in the days of Stonewall when the mainstream gays sure enjoyed their freedom, but they weren't the ones risking their lives and safety by throwing bricks and rioting against cops shaking down their clubs - it was the flaming queens, drag or otherwise. In many ways, we're just like everyone else - but in just as many ways, we aren't and I think those people need to remember that.

I should clarify that when I say Edgewater, I think of everything from Clifton Boulevard north to the lake, and from West Boulevard to West 117th.

"I have never done this before and I feel kind of awkward about it; any guys out there ever have a body wax? Are there any good places for this service where I wouldn't feel awkward?" I haven't had it but you'll want to probably find a place that 1. bills itself as a spa and 2. caters to a gay clientele. The spa environment will no doubt be staffed by people who have seen all shapes/sizes/types of people and they'll probably be better at making an awkward experience a little more tolerable. The gay clientele will ensure that they've likely had substantial experience in waxing. As pope mentioned, if you're aware of any allergies you'll want to ask what type of wax they use and if it contains any allergens (i.e. lanolin, etc.). I've heard good things about most spa/salons that use Aveda products - however, do NOT go to an Aveda "training" salon for this - make sure it's a registered Aveda concept salon. I would encourage you to invest in a pair of "scrubby gloves" - gloves made of a mesh/loofah material. When the hair regrows, you'll want to exfoliate and keep the follicles clear so you don't get ingrowns. "I love the term "technosexual"! What exactly does that mean?" My guess is you need an iPod Nano, a RAZR phone, and a few other gadgets for starters.

You want to consider what field you're in - if you're in healthcare, Cleveland would likely offer you plenty of opportunities. If you work in the legal field, that's another area where Cleveland excels. It's like I heard someone say - "it's not the first job that you get in a new city that you worry about; it's the second and third". You also want to consider whether you plan to have children because as we all know, the schools in Ohio generally need a lot of work - some more than others. I've heard people rail on that "there aren't any jobs in Cleveland" and in a few cases they may be right, but for the most part they're biased because they recently lost their job *or* they're unhappy where they are, but are too picky to leave their current situation. Speaking as someone in the creative field (graphic design), I can honestly say that I've not had much problem (knock on wood) finding work in Cleveland - a city not exactly known for design jobs. Of course, I've heard people say there aren't design jobs in Cleveland - the jobs were there, they just weren't the super-funky ultra-creative jobs that in reality are held by .000000000001% of designers. You also want to do some homework about potential neighborhoods that you find desireable to visit, but you need to find out if you can actually live there. For example, where I live in Edgewater - you can rent a 1-bedroom in a decent older building for $500 a month. But, when it comes to buying, most of the homes start around $300K and 2,500 square feet. There are a few condo options, fortunately - otherwise there's no way I'd be able to stay in the neighborhood.

I'm moving this to the Urbanbar, as the Business and Economy section is really more for direct news articles - just keeping things tidy :-)

Nah, it's just whimsical! :lol:

Here's my version with a few adjustments:

KJP came up with a great idea for a promotional brochure for living in Cleveland in the "Building Pesht" thread in the Projects and Construction section. This thread is for discussion and suggestions for said brochure. Maybe we can come up with interesting prizes and whatnot, and at the very least it's all in good fun. Here is KJP's original proposal (sorry about the text, it distorted a little when I resized it):

Sounds good - let's put this thread back on track. I'll make a new thread in the Urbanbar for our poster competiton :-)

May I make an offer to spiffy up our mock-up? :-)

I think in many ways it's a comparison of apples and oranges... Cleveland rose to prominence in the industrial age and was once in the top ten in the nation population-wise. Columbus is still on its way up for the most part but their economy is far more service-oriented. I'll address your comments: 1. It's on the lake so you have that whole water thing going for you. I didn't grow up in Cleveland and I honestly don't utilize the lakefront all that much (i.e. swimming, boating, etc.) but having lived one block from the lake for several years, I've come to appreciate Lake Erie. You really develop a sense of "no matter where you are, you ALWAYS know which direction you are from the lake). The micro-climate along the lakeshore is a god-send in the hottest days of summer (it's slightly cooler in summer because the warm air picks up the cool temps from the lake). As I live west of downtown and close to the lake, lake-effect snow almost never becomes an issue. 2. It at least appears that you have something resembling a useful light rail system. True to some extent - it could be better, but I'm glad we have it nonetheless. 3. Overall larger stock of nice older houses than Columbus. Real estate seems awfully reasonable compared to even Columbus, not to mention nationally. Again, Cleveland being the older and larger city, that's not surprising. However, some of that housing stock has deteriorated and some has been gentrified out of affordability in certain neighborhoods. Affordability isn't as big of a problem in other cities but again, you may find that gem of a house waiting to be rehabbed but the neighborhood could be quite dicey. 4. Three professional sports teams as opposed to OSU football. On the map it looks like your rail system gets pretty close to all three of those teams. I'm not a sports fan in the least but I do appreciate the impact they have on our economy. Yes, you can walk from the Gateway area (Indians and Cavs) to Browns Stadium in about 15-20 minutes. Browns Stadium has a station on the Waterfront Line, and Gateway is accessible from the Tower City rapid station. 5. What certainly appears to be at least twice the entertainment. Columbus may get some of the stadium rock acts now and then but if you pick up a Scene or Free Times as compared to the Other Paper or Alive it is immediately apparent where the majority of traveling musicians are stopping in Ohio. I think maybe they all just stop there as a pilgrimage for the "Hello Cleveland!" line from Spinal Tap. That's likely due to the metro size - Cleveland is roughly 2.9 million if you include Akron, whereas Columbus is at 1.6 million (I believe). Event promoters need to make the biggest impact with the least overlap and demographics prove that people don't mind a 2 hour drive to go to a concert. 6. Judging strictly by media outlets I would have to say that Cleveland appears to be vastly more politically progressive than Columbus but that may be an illusion. Not necessarily. Sure, the area is a Democratic stronghold but that doesn't always imply "progressive". 7. Well, it sure looks like a real downtown anyways. Yes, it's a real downtown - with positives and negatives. 8. West Side Market is a real market. The North Market, while containing many delicious things, is more like a gourmet food court. West Side market has a train stop. North Market has pay parking. The West Side Market caters to a combination of people, from the 90-year old babushka-wearing grandmother to the gay trendinista couple living in Ohio City to the charter bus tours to residents of CMHA. Columbus doesn't have the ethnic neighborhoods like Cleveland and thus the North Market will cater to their immediate demographic. For all the things Cleveland has - I have to say it would be great to have a university along the lines of Ohio State. 50,000 young people concentrated in one area like that brings a certain appeal that few other institutions can bring. It would be nice for Cleveland to have a Miranova (aka a residential tower that really has a nice impact on the skyline). It would be nice for Cleveland's corporations to invest in the city like Nationwide has. It would be nice if our gay scene was as appealing for the under-25 crowd as it is for the 25+ crowd. Hope that all made sense - if we organize a forum meet in Cleveland this year, I'd encourage you to attend to get a feel for the city.

Ryan, welcome to the forum! Everything sounds great, especially the selection of those four neighborhoods - keep up the great work! Gotta ask - is your online application working? I sent my info over a week ago and haven't heard anything, though I know these things take time :-)

Without a doubt, one of the best would be the Building Ohio series by Jane Ware: http://www.orangefrazer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=OFPI&Product_Code=1882203747 http://www.orangefrazer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=OFPI&Product_Code=1882203828 And though not terribly current, the American Institute of Architects Guide to Cleveland is a must-read: http://www.aiacleveland.com/News/Guide.htm