MayDay

No, Lola will be on East 4th, just south of the HOB restaurant, and north of Flannerys Pub. I personally think the 'phoenix' sculptres are good in theory but could have been executed much better. I also like the light poles - they add the festive touch that the street will need when the tenant mix fills in.

Trust me, when Lola opens (scheduled for the fall I believe), the rest of East 4th will pick up the pace.

If they add a coffee spot in there, I can see myself going there instead of the 'Tower of Sauron' at 127 Public Square :lol:

^That may be the case but this rendering looks sharp, imho! I think the designers who created the website need to create their PDF files at a lower-res setting and it will be easier to load. Then again, the higher setting allows clients to print the PDF with better quality.

I have to agree that the second video is *somewhat* better in that the narration is slightly better and they brought in things like the Tunick shoot. The design (colors, typeface, etc.) of the entire site doesn't convey luxury living to me at all. They need to stop trying to dumb down or 'class' down their presentation just because it's in Cleveland. The people who have the money to invest in such a project have likely been exposed to polished marketing materials and what's on the Courthouse Plaza site needs tweaked. They seriously need to look at some of the presentations put together by other developers - a good (though not perfect) example would be the Turnberry company: http://turnberryplace.com/ http://www.turnberrytowerarlington.com/ I just have to wonder what the hell the developers were thinking with the 'narrator/yokel' dialogue. The quickest way to turn off a potential client is to insult them - and that's exactly what that dialogue did. It presumed that potential clients wouldn't be aware of the benefits of investing in such a project. Sure, there's a way to address the issue but the hackneyed dialogue is probably the worst way to go.

^And Lakewood has some of the highest property taxes of any west-side 'burb. Paying RITA is bad enough, which is unfortunate because if taxes in Lakewood could be more in line with Cleveland's (I know, wishful thinking), I'd seriously consider living west of 117th.

"We're hoping with the Chicle building being improved on one side and Rockport square on the other, this area will have some good potential for growth." I think it does have potential for exactly the reason you said - and while I'm not a fan of the planned big-box strip plaza planned for West 117th at I-90, you'd be in an easy 5-minute drive (West 110th "becomes" Franklin, which connects to West 117th.) It's a really convenient location.

"First off, I don't know what kind of lunatic would want to live on Jay Ave." Really? There's a home at the corner of 28th and Jay that is drop-dead gorgeous and has been featured on HGTV a few times. I can see maybe not wanting to live near Lutheran Hospital but it's not exactly a Level 1 Trauma Center with ambulances coming and going at all hours. "Hi. Just wondering if you guys had any opions on this place.... its on 110th and Detroit in the Cudell/ Edgewater area" I like those places a lot (though they're out of my price range) - I'm within about a 10-minute walk of them. I like the fact that they come right up to the street, and are one of the smaller developments that are helping to anchor prominent corners (i.e. 110th and Detroit). They're right next to Schilling Square condos which have been going for around $240K. Here's a link to a typical Schilling Square condo (click on the pics to go to the next page: http://www.results.cc/PhotoTemp/alfie/index.html The area has quite a few rentals and could be considered 'transitional' but I've seen them improve over the past few years. I saw you mentioned Slavic Village in your other post - this area is substantially more desirable. It's also about a 10-15 minute walk to the Rapid Station, and just down from the new Chicle Building project.

How about "it has a little bit of everything from quaint countryside (Amish countryside) to larger cities. It used to have a primarily industrial base, especially in the north but the economy is diversifying, albeit at a slower pace than other parts of the States." Same thing for climate/topography "It sits next to Lake Erie where there are some lakefront beaches and boating, and in the southern portion of the state the Appalachian foothills make for nice scenery". Then again, that might require you to look at your surroundings with a little less disdain.

"Bedford/Oakwood, Parma & Westlake in the burbs all have decent gay populations." But why would anyone of our people willingly choose to live in the first two? :wtf: :wink:

Just a visual reference...

I believe the buildings in question are those you see in the foreground: "I'm worried because there are a lot of cool old buildings on the East Bank, and just because they're boarded up doesn't mean they should be torn down." The problem is that the buildings are built right up to the river - and together they effectively wall off the riverfront from the public. Wolstein's project includes an impressive public walk along the riverfront, something that is sorely needed in my opinion. "I hate it when Cleveland tears down old buildings just because they're vacant." You are aware of how rare that is in recent years? The buildings in question may be older but they are hardly remarkable, and as I said above - they block off any public access to the riverfront.

"anyone heard of the "Post Office on Jay Avenue" development? it's listed in the Spring 2005 Heartland Developers newsletter... http://www.sussexcourts.com/newsletters/spring_heartland.pdf apparently, it's supposed to be at 2515 Jay Avenue in Ohio City and looks to include some townhouses and perhaps a larger building, all with a modern flair" That's the former Jay Hotel - formerly a SRO hotel which was infamous in Ohio City. http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1184

Lindsh, there most likely won't be any Republican candidates because quite frankly, it's extremely unlikely that a GOP candidate would win. Cleveland is probably the "bluest" city in a red state if that makes sense. Personally I have yet to see any candidate offer anything that hasn't been repeated ad nauseum. Duh, the schools need fixed; duh, people need jobs, etc. I could run for mayor and say the same things - we don't need someone who has a gift for stating the obvious. I have to say that recently, quite a few things have happened under Jane Campbell's leadership - the recent Moodys credit rating, the reinstatement of several dozen safety workers, her giving anti-blight ordinances some teeth, etc. I'm not pleased with her handling of the Steelyard Commons/Wal-Mart situation but that's not enough to convince me *not* to vote for her. Like I said, when one of the candidates is ballsy enough to suggest reducing the city council (which I favor), or something along those lines - then I might consider shifting my vote.

"2) Wealthy gay people creating their own well-to-do area" No. See Edgewater/Clifton, Lakewood along Lake and Edgewater, parts of Rocky River, a handful of the homes on Cedar-Fairmount, and spots in Ohio City and Tremont. Sure, "my people" are all over the place but Hough? Not really. Quite a few of the homes were built on 'urban meadows' - lots that were once part of a vibrant Hough area but were burned to the ground in the race riots. The city sold the lots for a very low price to people (predominantly African-American) who wanted to re-invest in their neighborhood.

No, H&M won't be opening at Crocker Park until the fall. My guess is that they'd locate a second store either downtown (which would be a nice draw, even though I'm not a fan) or on the eastside.

In regards to the legal squabble over the location of the ground-floor lobby, it looks like they've reworked it. I wonder if the actual lobby will start at the base of the tower (top of the garage). The 'before' is on the left, the 'after' is on the right. Hmm...

That list posted by bizbiz, while certainly exhaustive is really, really dated - the Greek Isles closed years ago. Not only that - but just about every place you go (chains included) will offer some vegetarian entrees especially Vietnamese, Indian, Middle Eastern and Mexican restaurants. Just because a restaurant doesn't advertise in a "Veggie Living" pub doesn't mean they don't offer such entrees. Vegetarian diets have moved way beyond the land of crunch, hemp and patchouli. Vegan... well, let's just say that I had a really bad experience at a wedding reception being seated next to a vegan - why he bothered to leave the house is beyond me. Besides, most places on that list are health food stores which are fine and dandy but who the heck wants to actually eat at one? Sorry, I need a little more ambiance than linoleum and shopping carts :wink:

"Apple Macintosh computers are not supported at this time (but we are working on it)." :x

IKEA is a Swedish-owned company that produces affordable yet relatively well-designed furniture. As some have said - some of their pieces are a little flimsy but for what you pay the quality is usually decent. It's not a place where you'd want to go to completely furnish your house or buy a family heirloom, but for basics, it really has carved out a niche. You can spend a hundred dollars and pick up some great pieces to fill in the 'blanks' in your home. It's also great for someone fresh out of school who is just starting out. Thus, the low prices and modern design also appeal to the younger demographic. It's not uncommon for northeast Ohio residents to make the 2.5 hour trip to Pittsburgh and "stock up" - if you go to the Pittsburgh store, every other car has Ohio plates. http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/

"Ikea now owns the Home Expo at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. Just got a Dodge report on that." :-o :-o :-o Do you happen to know the square footage of the Expo space? I think the standard IKEA store is around 200K - I know Expo was pretty big. That would be awesome to see IKEA there - and it does fit their usual site requirements (ample parking, highway access, etc)

I have to agree with wimwar - I have no doubt in my mind that the timing has political motivations. However, the legwork and effort that's gone into marshalling the proposals, financing, etc. - there's too much there to simply be a whim.

"That being said, it looks like Icecream's expertise is probably in the technical/legal property realm, so I'd be interested to hear some news or input from him/her that doesn't sound like an accusation... by the way, I believe that earlier post that aimed to display the scaravelli property included a disclaimer and a parenthetical "approximate" that we all heeded pretty sincerely." Agreed - welcome to the forum Icecream. :-) When I created the image with the inaccurately marked Scaravelli property, it was based on what I've read in the local media (which admittedly isn't the best starting place). I try to keep up with the details but I don't always have time to dig through public records - but if you do have that time/expertise, by all means feel free to post that information.

"I keep hearing that Stonebridge is getting a bad wrap however. I guess the walls are paper thin and the condo's are kind of chintzy" I haven't heard any complaints from my friend who moved in recently. Sure, he had a small list of minor things that needed fixed but nothing more than you'd have with a new house anywhere. The only time I heard about the construction quality was a single post on cleveland.com's forum which was *allegedly* made by someone who worked on the project. I say *allegedly* because whoever it was didn't say their name, or in what capacity they worked on the project. I don't know that I blame them, because saying such things could constitute libel.

Oh yeah - I've been a fan of propertiesmag.com for a few years now. Check out their archives for really interesting stuff - some samples: May 2000 - Bridgeview Apartments November 2000 - Tremont Ridge March 2001 - Plain Dealer HQ May 2001 - Stonebridge, Phase 1 June 2001 - Arcade/Hyatt December 2001 - Statler Arms April 2002 - Osborn Building June 2002 - Marshall Building August 2002 - 1900 Euclid Lofts December 2002 - Tower Press (awesome pics!) April 2003 - Quay 55 January 2004 - Villa Carabelli March 2004 - West Tech Lofts and Irishtown Bend May 2004 - Stonebridge Center March 2005 - House of Blues and the Chicle Building You know, looking at this list - it's like the "drip, drip, drip" of smaller projects that add up to quite a bit of progress! :-)