MayDay

In Cleveland's case, there's Crown Center in Independence, which I think makes a dramatic statement. I absolutely love driving up I-77 and seeing it there and then as you drive past, it gives way to the skyline in the distance:

As a life-long resident of northeast Ohio (first Youngstown area, now Cleveland) I find this hard to believe. :wtf: 55% General American English 25% Yankee 10% Dixie 0% Midwestern 0% Upper Midwestern And C-Dawg, I agree with montecarloss - this is the Urban Ohio forum where we have a little decorum. Watch your f#cking mouth! :whip: :-D

JDD941, welcome to urbanohio.com! I don't want to knock cleveland.com's forums because they do occasionally offer great advice (the food forum is hands down, one of the best resources in the city). The problem with their forums is that they aren't moderated by local people who are involved, so good threads often get hijacked by trolls. Here at urbanohio.com, we actively moderate the forums to ensure that things don't get out of hand and we ban repeat offenders if need be. Also, the forums at cleveland.com don't allow you to directly post photos and that makes all the difference in the world.

I've always said that for being the home of a great Urban Affairs program, that building is decidely UN-urban! The god-awful DARK reflective glass, the swath of unused greenspace on the corner... yeesh! As for the bike racks, you ought to get in touch with the folks at Cleveland Public Art - they had some nifty concepts with their Rack Attack project: http://www.clevelandpublicart.org/project_details.asp?id=6

One thing about Cleveland neighborhoods (and I'm sure it's not unique to Cleveland) is that like the city itself, there tends to be "nodes" of activity but sometimes those nodes aren't well connected. Also, you have to consider that while some areas in certain neighborhoods have gentrified, others have not. For example - in Tremont you have the $500K townhomes going up in the northeasternmost area near University Road, but you have un-renovated homes that list at $50K in the southeastern portion (south of I-490). In Ohio City near West 25th, you can't touch any of the new condos for less than $250K, but once you get past the West 50s, you start seeing properties that are rather blighted. That said - both areas (and plenty of others) are seeing a spike in new construction AND rehab/renovations. I have to ask when you were last in Cleveland - I'm not disputing that there are areas that need a lot of work, it's just that I've seen a lot change over the past year or two.

"Without Randall the SE side would be underserved and would have to drive 20 minutes to get to the nearest shopping Mall." Oh no, a whole 20 minutes?!? :roll:

Once again, Dan - you need to knock it off with the language. It's pathetic that you can't criticize this project without resorting to profanity strewn tirades. I suggest you either clean up your act, or take a break and cool your jets.

To seriously look into buying a condo (i.e. getting pre-approved to see what I can buy, etc.).

My inner geek is thinking that those would be cool to have for forum meets! We could have our respective city renderings, along with our screen name on the back! :-D

I think it has to do with the quantity of comparable units - the oldest buildings are from the 1920s, but the newest are from the 1950s-60s. Now, if they offered newer buildings with newer amenities, you might see current buildings get renovated/retrofitted and whatnot.

Actually it's not uncommon in Edgewater - granted I have a small one bedroom in an older building but it's pretty easy to find comparable rents in my hood.

It's like someone explained to me once - there used to be over twenty different car companies based in the USA. Now there are three. It's an unfortunate fact of how businesses work :|

I thought this was a really interesting article. From forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/2005/12/22/banking-financial-services-1222markets13.html?partner=yahootix Banking Sector Set For M&A In 2006 Liz Moyer, 12.22.05, 2:23 PM ET Get ready for another year of big bank mergers. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets reckon the mood is set for a rebound in bank and thrift mergers next year. Banks have been consolidating rapidly since the early 1990s, cutting costs and amassing market share in an industry that is still fragmented. But some years have been busier than others. In 2005, there were 233 bank and thrift mergers, for a total of $28.5 billion. Just one year earlier, 258 bank mergers amounted to more than $130 billion, the busiest year since the merger explosion of 1998, according to RBC. For more info, click link

That "damn lot" is some of the most expensive urban real estate between NYC and Chicago. I'd love to see it filled but I think that it will take more than a 15-story building to develop it. Honestly though - even seeing Phase 1 happen will have a tremendous effect by breaking up the swath of parking lots. It'll also trigger interest and that's when I think we could see something big happen there. With apologies to Bialosky and KJP, I've labeled the rendering so we have a better idea of what we're seeing:

I hear you Ewoops and I agree - I think there's definitely a market for the housing, but I question the influx of that much new retail space. Now, if Stark is able to convince national retailers that downtown is a viable market and get them to return, I'll be impressed. Overall though it looks great - perfectly scaled for the site.

Cleveland - 44102 Population (2000): 52,108 Housing units: 22,938 Land area: 5.8 sq. mi. Water area: 0.0 sq. mi. White population: 35,065 Black population: 7,544 American Indian population: 338 Asian population: 1,092 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population: 41 Some other race population: 5,636 Two or more races population: 2,392 Urban population: 52,108 Rural population: 0 Median age: 30.7 Average household size: 2.51 Median household income (1999): $25,321 Nearest zip codes: 44113, 44144, 44109, 441HH, 44111, 44107. Year house built: * 1999 to March 2000: 59 * 1995 to 1998: 246 * 1990 to 1994: 59 * 1980 to 1989: 261 * 1970 to 1979: 1027 * 1960 to 1969: 1559 * 1950 to 1959: 1977 * 1940 to 1949: 2225 * 1939 or earlier: 15541 Bedrooms in owner-occupied houses in Cleveland, OH (44102): * no bedroom: 11 * 1 bedrooms: 289 * 2 bedrooms: 1980 * 3 bedrooms: 3366 * 4 bedrooms: 1768 * 5 or more bedrooms: 683 Bedrooms in renter-occupied apartments and housing units: * no bedroom: 525 * 1 bedrooms: 3811 * 2 bedrooms: 5036 * 3 bedrooms: 2241 * 4 bedrooms: 518 * 5 or more bedrooms: 175 Vehicles available in 44102 zip code in owner-occupied houses: * no vehicle: 888 * 1 vehicle: 3092 * 2 vehicles: 2957 * 3 vehicles: 877 * 4 vehicles: 201 * 5 or more vehicles: 82 Vehicles available in renter-occupied housing units: * no vehicle: 4222 * 1 vehicle: 5854 * 2 vehicles: 1927 * 3 vehicles: 184 * 4 vehicles: 29 * 5 or more vehicles: 90 Estimate of home value of owner-occupied houses in 2000 in zip code 44102: * Less than $10,000: 24 * $10,000 to $14,999: 28 * $15,000 to $19,999: 80 * $20,000 to $24,999: 139 * $25,000 to $29,999: 191 * $30,000 to $34,999: 264 * $35,000 to $39,999: 270 * $40,000 to $49,999: 874 * $50,000 to $59,999: 893 * $60,000 to $69,999: 1155 * $70,000 to $79,999: 700 * $80,000 to $89,999: 454 * $90,000 to $99,999: 181 * $100,000 to $124,999: 294 * $125,000 to $149,999: 157 * $150,000 to $174,999: 49 * $175,000 to $199,999: 52 * $200,000 to $249,999: 45 * $250,000 to $299,999: 53 * $300,000 to $399,999: 64 * $400,000 to $499,999: 29 * $500,000 to $749,999: 14 * $750,000 to $999,999: 14 * $1,000,000 or more: 6 Rent paid by renters in 2000 in zip code 44102: * Less than $100: 205 * $100 to $149: 391 * $150 to $199: 450 * $200 to $249: 566 * $250 to $299: 900 * $300 to $349: 1668 * $350 to $399: 2303 * $400 to $449: 1979 * $450 to $499: 1338 * $500 to $549: 844 * $550 to $599: 409 * $600 to $649: 260 * $650 to $699: 309 * $700 to $749: 77 * $750 to $799: 25 * $800 to $899: 68 * $900 to $999: 41 * $1,000 to $1,249: 43 * $1,250 to $1,499: 63 * $1,500 to $1,999: 8 * No cash rent: 338 Median price asked for vacant for-sale houses in 2000: $57,900 Median house value for: * White Non-Hispanic householders: $61,500 * Black or African American householders: $64,500 * American Indian or Alaska Native householders: $64,800 * Asian householders: $62,300 * Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander householders: $29,700 * Some other race householders: $63,300 * Two or more races householders: $59,700 * Hispanic or Latino householders: $65,100 Travel time to work * Less than 5 minutes: 401 * 5 to 9 minutes: 1524 * 10 to 14 minutes: 3193 * 15 to 19 minutes: 4131 * 20 to 24 minutes: 3458 * 25 to 29 minutes: 1367 * 30 to 34 minutes: 2597 * 35 to 39 minutes: 232 * 40 to 44 minutes: 409 * 45 to 59 minutes: 1044 * 60 to 89 minutes: 612 * 90 or more minutes: 372 First ancestries reported: * Other groups: 17424 * German: 4907 * Irish: 4180 * United States or American: 2905 * Italian: 2887 * Polish: 1550 * English: 1392 * Arab:: 812 * Slovak: 708 * Hungarian: 707 * Romanian: 537 * French (except Basque): 418 * Scotch-Irish: 395 * Subsaharan African:: 380 * African: 349 * Arab/Arabic: 340 * Scottish: 311 * Russian: 275 * Ukrainian: 263 * Croatian: 230 * Dutch: 182 * Czech: 179 * European: 159 * Lebanese: 157 * Slovene: 157 * Palestinian: 136 * Greek: 130 * Lithuanian: 124 * Serbian: 111 * Welsh: 107 * French Canadian: 100 * Austrian: 86 * Czechoslovakian: 83 * Swedish: 80 * Egyptian: 79 * West Indian (excluding Hispanic groups):: 69 * Latvian: 66 * Jamaican: 64 * Yugoslavian: 64 * Finnish: 54 * Jordanian: 52 * British: 44 * Norwegian: 44 * Canadian: 41 * Nigerian: 24 * Moroccan: 24 * Bulgarian: 24 * Alsatian: 20 * Turkish: 20 * Pennsylvania German: 20 * Swiss: 19 * Eastern European: 17 * Brazilian: 16 * Slavic: 16 * Syrian: 15 * Albanian: 14 * Portuguese: 9 * Other Arab: 9 * Iranian: 8 * Kenyan: 7 * Celtic: 7 * Barbadian: 5

Steam heat = included in $478 monthly rent (along with water) Electric (including infrequent use of electric space heater to supplement steam heat) = $15 This is one contest I'm happy to lose :wink:

"Charlotte's skyline is much smaller than Cleveland's. Or have they built a bunch of towers in the best 12 months?" Charlotte currently has the following under construction - as in cranes are in the air as we speak: 210 Trade Street - 53-floor residential, 600+ ft. The Avenue - 36 floors, 396 ft. Trademark - 23 floors, 300 ft. There are quite a few other towers proposed as well. As I've said before - I would rather see the parking lots in Cleveland filled with 10-12ish story residential buildings rather than one supertall tower.

I've been using this - what can I say, I like the classics :-)

(shameless bump, just in time for the holidays) :wink:

I saw him yesterday as well... then again, I was having a Great Lakes sampling so that might have something to do with it :drunk:

From bergenvillagehomes.com: I suppose the design is alright and it doesn't sound as though it will be a true gated community (i.e. completely closed to pedestrians). The designers (ADA Architects of Lakewood http://www.adaarchitects.cc/) are the same firm that have worked on other projects in and around the site.

"Most every bank has some sort of no-fee, no-minimum checking account. If you need a payday loan, it's not that you're poor--it's that you're poor AND living beyond your means. I don't want to sound like a total jerk..." Not a total jerk, but definitely a sanctimonious one :roll: Don't get me wrong - some of the people use these places because they lack self-control and discipline over their finances. But other people have a different story. Perhaps the people who patronize these places (which I agree, are ripoff artists) have had prior financial issues and are trying to rebuild their financial standing. Why can't they walk into any bank and sign up for the minimum/free accounts you mention? It's because their financial history counts against them, particularly if they had an incident which was reported to ChexSystems. That said, you're naive to think that the minimum/free accounts are available and/or accessible to people who are in such situations. As much as I loathe certain aspects of Key, they were the first in the nation to specifically target that demographic. KeyBank Plus was developed as an alternative to check-cashing ripoffs as well as a resource to provide low-income people with basic financial skills. When you have generations of people growing up in poverty, basic financial knowledge is usually lacking. While they do make a small profit off check cashing services, they aren't gouging like the other places. Unlike most banks, they're also willing to work with people who have less-than-desirable credit and more importantly, steer them in the right direction. I strongly urge you to read this press release to get an idea of what's involved here. For example, one in seven households in Cleveland have NO banking relationship (even a simple checking account) at ALL. http://www.snl.com/Interactive/IR/file.asp?IID=100334&FID=1407785&OSID=9

I think it's safe to say that at 35,000 sq. feet, we aren't talking about a massive structure. But you're right, wimwar - it'll be interesting to see how they make it mesh (or purposely clash) with its surroundings.

I don't think it's much over 10K sq. feet - Constantino's is 9K and the market at Reserve Square didn't seem bigger than that. That'll be a tremendous asset, though.