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brtshrcegr

Huntington Tower 330'
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Everything posted by brtshrcegr

  1. This is sad news for me, as I've come to know a few of the great staff members at the museum. It seems like they never were really able to regain steam after their renovation. However, it will be interesting to see what the Clinic does with the space. It seems to me that they certainly have the wherewithall to keep it open as an outreach/health education center, since it's kinda their niche! Cleveland Clinic snaps up HealthSpace museum 4:30 p.m. Grant Segall Plain Dealer Reporter The ever-growing Cleveland Clinic is snapping up the adjoining campus of HealthSpace Cleveland, including a museum space barely two years old. HealthSpace leaders said Thursday that the building, $33 million and 81,000 square feet, was a great idea at a rotten time, foiled by a stagnant economy and soaring fuel costs. But leaders say the museum's outreach programs are thriving. They hope to maintain some sort of visitor center, but aren't sure where or for how long. The Clinic has yet to announce its plans for the museum.
  2. Not to digress, but KJP, what is the background behind the first bullet-point, about the CBD employment population. Does that mean Cleveland has, by working population, the eighth largest downtown in the US? That's pretty impressive...and I'm sure we look even better if we were to combine the UC stats.
  3. X, you refer to a building just behind the Peterson Nut remains thats also slated for demolition as being on Seneca...are you thinking of Sumner Ave.? If so, I'm sorry to hear that b/c of some personal connections to that place.
  4. As promised, here are the pics from my tour on Friday The now-notorious elevator entrance! The third-floor lobby. The desk will be staffed by a concierge 24 hours. Another look of the lobby, towards the lake. The main elevators, just to the right of the front desk. Funky chandeliers, eh? The kitchen/dining area of a nearly-finished unit on the 10th floor (I think). Sitting area. Another view of the kitchen and dining area, from the sitting area. A closer view of the kitchen. Master bathroom. A media room in the same unit. Here's the view from another unit on the same floor, this time on the west side. Looking towards Lakewood. Looking off the small balcony towards the lake. The living room. Very nice kitchen. Here's another unit, a little higher up and with the framing going up. The hallway on this floor. The finished hallways are alright, a little sterile imo but certainly unoffensive. Lebron's future pad...possibly. Penthouse level, and where the salesman gave us the sheepish grin when we asked about King James. Notice the second level, as well as the curve of the roof. From Lebron's place. Definitely a million-dollar view, even (especially?) if the foreground is soon occupied by Bob Stark's construction cranes! Hopefully these pics help ya'll put some of the pieces together. Once again, I was hugely impressed by the entire building and have no doubt that the units that are still available won't stay that way for long when people see the finished product. Cheers!
  5. Hey All- I've been a lurker here on the boards for about a year now but I think I've finally found the time to get involved. I'm a sophomore at the George Washington University in Washington D.C., which I've attended since graduation from a high school in the West Side 'burbs in 2004. Like everyone here on UrbanOhio, I'm a passionate booster of Cleveland and I'm constantly inspired by each piece of news I read on here that points to the continued revitalization of our great city. It's funny that KJP just posted what's above, as, just today, I had the opportunity to take a tour through the Pinnacle. To those frustrated by it's slow progress, I'll tell you this: It is absolutely worth the wait! I think a few of you would probably be quite excited to hear what I learned during the hour I was there, so here's a little summary. Forgive me if this post's a little long. First, all the hype surrounding this project certainly built it up as something groundbreaking for the Cleveland market, more likely to be found in South Beach or Canary Wharf than anything seen in our little burg before. IMHO, such hype has been translated into reality. The most breathtaking feature of the building are the views. From Browns Stadium to the Flats to the Terminal Tower, the vistas from this building is just like being in a "Believe in Cleveland" commercial! :wink: And there really are no bad views, either; it seems that crazy curvy exterior really does improve the sightlines, as even the non-corner units have just about a 180 degree shot. The lobby, which is quite spacious, maintains this ambiance, and the seemingly awkward front entrance isn't acutally quite as strange, at least based on one trip. Once again, the elevator is glass, so you have a great sense of openess and even a bit of a view. Parking for the Pinnacle is the third through fifth floors of the garage, and the lobby is on the third, so there is some method to this madness if you arrive by car. The other garage levels have elevator access directly to the rest of the building. There aren't any models or the like. But there are indeed a few units (mostly on the lower floors) that are basically complete, and I believe I even heard that the building already has it's first four residents (This is probably what you have seen, KJP). This is because of the procedure Georgalis is using for completeing the building: None of the units will be sold finished. A buyer gets an essentially open floor plan, a blank slate. After a client agrees on a unit, they have 30 days to complete a design with the developer. So, for example, they can decide if they would like an open, loft-style unit, or a more traditional design. There is a flexibiltiy in the number of bedrooms, or number of baths. Both ceiling and floor type and style can be seleceted. And, of course, they will select their style of countertops, cabinets, hardware, etc. After this 30 day design period has elapsed, construction will take approximately another 90 days. Or so he said. Considering the history of this project, I'd imagine their could be a slight fudge-factor... When a unit is purchased and completed, the common areas of the floor the unit is on will be completed as well, even if it's the only unit on the floor occupied. The rest will sit with their doors locked, empty pads of concrete until someone comes along and buys it. A little creepy, at least to me, but it doesn't sound like there will be any "Dark Water" scenarios for long (that rubbish movie from this summer about a ghastly Roosevelt Island apartment building), which brings me to my next item. As of today, we were told that 50 of the 79 units have been sold. The traffic in the sales office (on the ground floor of the Cloak Factory, off Johnson Court), as well as the cell phone calls our representave was taking during our tour, seemed to back this up. While they have been on the market for a while, this still seems pretty impressive, considering these are in the $500,000-$1.5 million price range. They are on their third round of price increases, as well. While there are only a few units at this point that are at or near completion, they are predicting that a large chunk of those 50 units will be finished by mid-March. Now, is one of those owned by a prominent R&B star with more than a passing interest in the Cavs? If you've been paying any attention to the LeBron & Co. over the past few months, you will remember the rumor that Usher has made a purchase at the Pinnacle. When such a possibility was mentioned while touring one of the penthouses, our man sprouted a big grin and mumbled something about not being allowed to discuss the specifics of any deals... Whether he was just trying to maintain the buzz or was for real, he definitely left the impression that there is some credence to the rumor. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough! Hopefully this makes up for the relative dirth of news about the Pinnacle over the past few months. There's definitely some stuff I missed, so I'll try and answer any questions you might have. I did take quite a few pictures too, so once I get them loaded on my computer I'll attempt to post them on here. But like I said at the beginning, I think ya'll will be hugely impressed with the finished project. It was great to see the energy the (young) sales staff had for it, and even better to finally see first hand what we've all been waiting for. And as impressive as it is, its dwarfed by what's planned for the WHD and the rest of Downtown Cleveland over the next five years, and that's more exciting than anything.