Ctownrocks1

Turner Construction-led team picked to tackle Cleveland convention hotel for Cuyahoga County CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The construction team that managed work on the Cleveland Convention Center complex will pick up another big-ticket gig, as design-builder of a 600- to 650-room convention center hotel on Lakeside Avenue. A committee of Cuyahoga County officials and consultants recently chose a joint venture led by Turner Construction Co. to shepherd the $260 million project from conceptual design to its planned opening in 2016. The deal requires approval from Cuyahoga County Council, which could conduct the first of several readings of legislation related to the construction-management contract on Tuesday. Turner rounds out a team of convention-hotel heavyweights tapped to design, build and brand the publicly financed project. After soliciting competitive proposals, similar selection committees picked Hilton Worldwide as the hotel manager and Cooper Carry, an architecture firm based in Atlanta, as the conceptual designer. If council signs off on the Turner contract by mid-November and approves roughly $10 million in initial spending, crews would start to clear out the county administration building -- on the future hotel site -- before the end of the year. Demolition might begin in December or January. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/turner_construction-led_team_p.html#incart_river_default

Not sure how loose slots are normally but this was from 2 months ago where it stated the Cleveland Horseshoe had the loosest slots in Ohio and one of the loosest in the surrounding area. The Horseshoe paid out more than 93 cents on the dollar last month, 93.07 to be exact, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. That was the casino's highest payout yet. Among other casinos, the Horseshoe Cincinnati paid 92.83, the Hollywood Columbus, 91.38, and the Hollywood Toledo, 91.11. Also The Horseshoe Cleveland's slot wagers, buoyed by $6.2 million in comps, totaled $168.8 million, the highest this year. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/08/horseshoe_cleveland_casinos_sl.html

Higbee Building face opened to make way for casino skywalk CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Workers have opened the face of the historic Higbee Building to create an entrance for the Horseshoe Casino skywalk. The skywalk will cross the intersection of Ontario Street and Prospect Avenue to link the casino with its parking garage. Construction began a month ago and is expected to continue until early next year. Rock Ohio Caesars, which owns the Horseshoe, hopes the 175-foot-long, glass-enclosed bridge will increase business by providing convenience and a sense of security. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/10/higbee_building_face_opened_to.html

Hilton emerges as likely operator of Cleveland's convention hotel, in deal with Cuyahoga County CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Add one more name -- a big one -- to the list of future hotel flags in downtown Cleveland. Cuyahoga County officials have picked Hilton Worldwide as the likely operator of their planned convention center hotel, a $260 million project slated to replace the county's old administration building at Ontario Street and Lakeside Avenue. Hilton executives will join County Executive Ed FitzGerald this morning at the new Cleveland Convention Center to announce their burgeoning relationship. Details of the management agreement, which will outline Hilton's responsibilities and compensation, are still being worked out. And the transaction will require Cuyahoga County Council's approval. But the hotel company already is participating in discussions about the project, envisioned as a publicly owned and publicly financed hotel that will boost Cleveland's chances of landing large events. "We had kind of a gaping hole in Cleveland, relative to our representation," said Ted Ratcliff, Hilton's senior vice president of operations for eastern North America. "We really didn't have a hotel in the city. Some of our brands are represented there, but not the Hilton flag in a significant downtown location." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/hilton_emerges_as_likely_opera.html#incart_river_default

Just wondering if anyone plays this game. Its like a live giant scavenger hunt or hide and seek with a twist and its all based on these "portals" which are really parts of your city that you have to get to and either capture or destroy. These portals are usually buildings that have great architecture, public art, government buildings, landmarks, statues, fountains, etc. So there are a lot of portals in Downtown areas and places like University Circle in Cleveland, and you can submit your own portals and see if they get accepted. A little background on the game from WIKI. Ingress is a near-real time augmented reality[1] massively multiplayer online video game created by Niantic Labs, a start up within Google, for Android devices.[2] The game has a complex science fiction back story which Niantic is revealing in segments.[3][4] The gameplay consists of establishing "portals" at places of public art, etc., and linking them to create virtual triangular fields over geographic areas. Progress in the game is measured by the number of Mind Units, i.e. people, nominally controlled by each faction (as illustrated on the Intel Map).[5][6] The necessary links between portals may range from meters to kilometers, or to hundreds of kilometers in operations of considerable logistical complexity.[7] International links and fields are not uncommon, as Ingress has attracted an enthusiastic following in cities worldwide[8] amongst both young and old,[9] to the extent that the gameplay is itself a lifestyle for some, including tattoos.[10][11] The game makers' framing device for the game is as follows: Earth has been seeded with “Exotic Matter,” or XM, associated with the Shapers, a mysterious phenomenon or alien race which is neither described nor seen (and which thus functions as a MacGuffin). The in-universe motivation for the Enlightened faction is their belief that the Shapers are working toward a powerful enlightenment which will uplift all mankind. The Resistance believes that it is protecting humanity from Shaper ingression.[12] The factions have, however, been occasionally observed to ignore the back-story and to co-operate for the sake of real-life gameplay and game balance, for example by establishing neutral zones and rules of engagement.[13] A player using the mobile app is presented with a map representing the area nearby. The map has a black background while only roads are represented in grey and the entire map is completely unmarked. Visible on the map are portals, Exotic Matter, links, control fields, portal keys, and items that have been dropped from a player's inventory. Players must be physically near objects on the map to interact with them. The mobile client represents the player as a small arrow in the center of a 40-meter oval which represents the perimeter within which direct interaction is possible. Players are rewarded with "Action Points" (AP) for actions within the game. When a player accumulates enough AP, their player level increases, with Level 1 being the starting level and Level 8 the highest available level in the game. Higher-level players are able to make use of higher-level in-game items. The makers of the game have seeded the earth with a large number of “Portals”, visible to those using the game software. They are colored green, blue, or grey, depending on whether they are controlled by the Enlightened, the Resistance, or currently unclaimed. A portal with no resonators is unclaimed; to claim a portal for a faction, a player deploys at least one resonator on it. Each portal may be equipped with up to eight resonators and four modifications (or "mods"). Portals are typically associated with cultural landmarks such as sculptures and other public art, libraries, post offices, memorials, places of worship, public transit hubs, buildings of historic and/or architectural significance, and other recreational or touristic features.[14] Players may submit requests for the creation of new portals,[15] and the number of portals has increased steadily over the lifetime of the game. The density of portals correlates with population density, thus the central portion of cities typically contains the highest concentration of portals. A portal may be equipped with up to eight "resonators" from one faction. Resonators have levels, ranging from level 1 to at least level 8. A player can deploy resonators only up to his or her own level, and there are rules about how many of each level an individual can deploy.[16][17] The game mechanics reward teamwork by limiting the number of high-level resonators a single player can deploy; up to eight players working together can create a far higher-level portal than any one player can create individually. [18] Furthermore, the resonators decay spontaneously over time, and must be recharged either on site, or remotely, or both. A portal may be equipped with up to four modifications, or "mods." As of June 2013, there are six types of modification available: Shields, Force Amplifiers, Link Amplifiers, Multi-hack, Heat Sinks, and Turrets. These have effects such as making the portal more difficult to attack, increasing the intensity of the portal’s response to attackers, and increasing the yield of hacking the portal.[19] As of September 2013, an individual player may place up to 2 mods per portal. They may not be removed or upgraded once placed. Just wanted to see if anyone played because it could be interesting to have a UO group pick a side and create new portals and try to create control fields between cities such as going from Cleveland to Akron to Columbus and all the way down to Dayton and Cincy. There are some groups out there also that do this to have fun and explore their surroundings while finding out new things they might have not known existed. I think its cool too because you get these portal keys for the portals you capture which sometimes has descriptions of the building, artwork, etc that you captured and you can pull it up and get the location for them anytime you want.

Cleveland Airport Mounts Rock Music Photo Exhibit Visitors flying to Cleveland will be reminded right away that it's the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has mounted a five-month exhibit of the rock music industry photographs taken during the 40-year career of Janet Macoska (mah-KAH'-skah). Her works have been displayed at the rock hall and are a permanent fixture at the National Portrait Gallery in London and at Hard Rock Cafe restaurants and casinos around the world. The rock hall presented a retrospective of her work in 2003 and 2004 and it has since been displayed in Dallas, Orlando and Toronto. The airport exhibit will be on display in the public art gallery at the entrance to Concourse A until Feb. 28. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/cleveland-airport-mounts-rock-music-photo-exhibit-20418789

National Senior Games in Cleveland break record for participation CLEVELAND, Ohio -- More than 25,000 people poured into Cleveland for the National Senior Games in July, with 10,888 registered athletes – the greatest participation in the event’s 14-year history, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission President and CEO David Gilbert told Cleveland City Council members during a caucus today. Every downtown hotel room was booked for two weeks, streets were bustling and more than 65,000 people came through the event’s festival village at the new Cleveland Convention Center, Gilbert said. Promotional materials and maps steered visitors to entertainment in the city’s neighborhoods, Gilbert said, and the commission negotiated with RTA to get free 5-day bus passes for athletes and discounts for family members. Within the next 45 days, Gilbert said, researchers at Kent State University will deliver an estimate of just how much money the event pumped into the local economy. But most importantly, Gilbert said, Cleveland made a remarkable impression on out-of-towners, many of whom, when offering feedback on the event, said they had competed in many cities, and Cleveland is the only one they hope to visit again. http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/09/national_senior_games_in_cleve.html#incart_river_default

Nice I got tickets to the Wild Card and ALDS Game 1 the same way. Hopefully they make it :)

Former Fairmont Creamery Project 1720 Willey Avenue The redevelopment plan for the Project Site is to refurbish the existing structure into a mixed residential/commercial site, creating approximately 30 residential units on the upper floors, and converting the ground level into approximately 13,000 square feet of commercial space and a 12,000 square foot health and fitness center. The fitness center will cater to the Tremont area as well as the Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway neighborhoods, which currently are lacking a large scale fitness facility. This facility will be a vital step forward for these neighborhoods as they build toward an amenity that attracts and retains people interested in living in Cleveland. The gym operators will work with the two major neighborhood hospitals to create bulk employee memberships and incorporate health initiatives including neighborhood outreach and education efforts. The project will also include rooftop community garden plots which will provide food and temperature control, as well as aesthetic benefits and recreational activities. A rainwater irrigation cistern will collect potable rainfall water for the gardens in addition to diverting rooftop runoff. Total costs for the acquisition of the property, demolition, interior remediation, soil remediation, project management, and infrastructure upgrades are estimated to be $2,804,775.00. It is expected that 35 new full time jobs will be created at the project location within the first three years of operation, with several additional temporary construction/trade jobs added during construction and redevelopment. The created payroll for all new jobs is estimated to be $1,259,200.00, exclusive of benefits. The annual real estate tax generation is estimated at $166,368.00, plus a one-time sales tax benefit of $255,000 during construction. The remediation and subsequent No Further Action (NFA) will remove the regulatory and environmental stigma from the site and enable the redevelopment of this property into a mixed use commercial/retail/office space, creating jobs that generate tax revenue for the City and County. Once the cooperative agreements are signed between Sustainable Community Associates and Jobs Ohio and/or Cuyahoga County, it is expected that all grant-related activities will be completed in a timely fashion. Construction and remediation activities are planned to commence immediately upon the closing date for the property acquisition, which is set for October 2013. A NFA Letter will be prepared following development, and the subsequent NFA is anticipated to be issued by June 2014. Construction of commercial spaces is planned to be complete by October 2014, and residential spaces are planned to be complete with a Certificate of Occupancy issued by November 2014. The property is expected to be fully leased and stabilized by spring 2015. http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/clnd_images/PDF/ED/FairmontCreamery.pdf

Pretty Cool :)

Cleveland Hopkins airport wins United's on-time STAR Award for 5th straight month CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport may be the smallest of United Airlines' eight U.S. hubs, but it is trouncing its bigger and busier siblings for getting early-morning flights out on time. For the fifth straight month, Cleveland's flight operations team beat its peers at Washington Dulles, San Francisco, Newark and other airports for getting United's first flights of the day on their way as scheduled. "CLE" is inscribed on United's traveling STAR (Start The Airline Right) trophy on six of the 10 spots since November 2012, more than any other airport. "The performance here is without a doubt the best, day in and day out, of all the hubs," said Charles Duncan, United's vice president at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, during a recent visit to Cleveland Hopkins. "On every measure we look at, Cleveland is the best. Coming from O'Hare, we look on with envy." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/09/cleveland_hopkins_airport_wins_uniteds_on-time_star_award_for_5th_straight_month.html

May Co. building may see apartments in $100 million project Three big names in Cleveland real estate have set their sights on turning the old May Co. department store on Public Square into about 400 apartments as part of a $100 million redevelopment project that would look to take advantage of locals' hunger for downtown living. A joint venture led by David Goldberg, a longtime civic leader and real estate investor, and Landmark Management of Cleveland has reached an agreement with the building's Florida-based owner to buy much of the nearly 1 million-square-foot property, according to two people familiar with the situation. The potential deal is subject to multiple contingencies, such as the building makeover receiving crucial federal and state historic preservation tax credits and city approvals, the sources said. Neither source agreed to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss it publicly. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130901/SUB1/309019968

Public Notice - Clean Ohio Program Application The City of Cleveland, Department of Economic Development is applying for a $3 Million Clean Ohio Brownfield Fund grant to pay for environmental remediation and infrastructure improvements at the Flats East Development Phase 2 Property, located on portions of Old River Rd, W. 10 St, W. 11 St, Main Ave, and Front Ave in Cleveland. A public meeting to solicit comments on the grant application will be held at noon on September 23, 2013 at Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Ave, Room 514, Cleveland, 44114. The public is encouraged to attend. The application is available for review during business hours from August 7, 2013 until the public meeting at the Public Administration Library, Cleveland City Hall, Room 100. For more information contact David Ebersole at the City of Cleveland at (216) 664-2204. The site currently requires an estimated $4 Million in remediation and infrastructure improvements in order to complete Phase 2. The City of Cleveland requests a Clean Ohio grant in the amount of $3 million to address these brownfield-related cleanup costs. On-site infrastructure investment, which will be privately or publicly funded and used as match for the Clean Ohio grant, requires installation of utilities, water lines, and stormwater management, and totals the bulk of the remaining required investment. The development team has assembled a capital stack of over $170 million to construct Phase 2 and has begun the complicated process of refinancing and re-collateralizing the Phase 1 financing in order to close on Phase 2. The first mortgage commitments for Phase 2 total $111.4 million, personally guaranteed by the Wolsteins. The Wolsteins’ equity contribution now totals over $63 million, with $16.5 million additional equity pledged to Phase 2 Redevelopment Goals - The Phase 2 plan calls for a 150,000 square foot office building, over 125,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a total of 250 residential rental units (approximately 72 units in the CORF area), and one-of-a-kind entertainment destinations, and outdoor gathering spaces. The developer began site assembly activities for this project in the 1990s and has long held the vision of transforming Cleveland’s riverfront into a unique urban destination and redefine Cleveland’s waterfront. Phase 2 includes Buildings 1, 8a, 8b, 10, 11, and portions of Buildings 2 and 4, shown on the proposed schematic below. The project commenced with the now-open Phase 1 development; Phase 2, located adjacent to Phase 1, is necessary to realize this visionary project. Anticipated Phase 2 retail space is already more than 50% leased with significant interest from local and national tenants. Redevelopment Timeline - Phase 2 is scheduled to break ground in 2013. Complete build out is anticipated in 2Q 2015. The link goes to a 5 page PDF which has more information, including additional info on phase 2. http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/clnd_images/PDF/ED/CleanOhioSummary.pdf

$20M runway improvement project for Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland CLEVELAND - Cleveland's general aviation airport is getting a runway makeover. The $20 million project at Burke Lakefront Airport at the edge of downtown Cleveland includes installation of a 400-foot stretch of "collapsible concrete." That will slow down or stop an aircraft that's unable to brake on its own. Navigation equipment will be improved and a new taxiway will be built. The cost will be shared by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Cleveland Airport System. An airport spokeswoman says the project is on schedule to be completed in three months Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/20m-runway-improvement-project-at-burke-lakefront-airport-in-cleveland#ixzz2cLuafUSj

Clevelands tract of 1033 would be at 11,694.

Cincinnati: 0.11 sq mi OH061000200 / 1,068 (tract 2) 0.12 sq mi OH061000900 / 1,652 (tract 9) 0.10 sq mi OH061001000 / 1,437 (tract 10) 0.15 sq mi OH061001100 / 900 (Tract 11) 1.92 sq mi OH061026300 / 1,217 (tract 263) 0.23 sq mi OH061026400 / 2,519 (tract 264) 0.73 sq mi OH061026500 / 2,159 (tract 265) 0.24 sq mi OH061026800 / 1,481 (tract 268) Total: 3.6 sq mi / 12,433 population Cleveland: 0.19 sq mi OH035103300 / 2,222 (tract 1033) 0.89 sq mi OH035103602 / 3,254 (tract 1036) 0.58 sq mi OH035104200 / 1,143 (tract 1042) 1.68 sq mi OH035107101 / 4,193 (tract 1071) 0.77 sq mi OH035107701 / 1,944 (tract 1077) 0.60 sq mi OH035107802 / 3,334 (tract 1078) 0.80 sq mi OH035108201 / 1,354 (tract 1082) 0.53 sq mi OH035108301 / 1,647 (tract 1083) 0.22 sq mi OH035108400 / 1,237 (tract 1084) Total 6.26 sq mi / 20328 Columbus 0.20 sq mi OH049002100 / 1,808 0.27 sq mi OH049002200 / 1,851 0.32 sq mi OH049002900 / 2,368 1.59 sq mi OH049003000 / 3,105 0.27 sq mi OH049003600 / 1,442 0.28 sq mi OH049003800 / 1,896 0.87 sq mi OH049004000 / 2,941 0.45 sq mi OH049004200 / 1,370 0.34 sq mi OH049005200 / 2,584 0.57 sq mi OH049005300 / 3,054 0.80 sq mi OH049005700 / 3,629 Total 5.96 Square miles / 26048 Edit: Forgot one tract for cincinnati (tract 11) which is now added http://www.usa.com/rank/columbus-oh--land-area--census-tract-rank.htm?yr=3000&dis=&wist=&plow=&phigh=

'Lucky seven' casinos include Cleveland's Horseshoe The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland is singled out for praise in this USA Today story about a revival in the casino business. “Despite the sluggish economic recovery, it seems the American casino is back in a big way,” the newspaper reports. “Nationwide commercial gambling revenues are on track to surpass the $35.6 billion notched in 2011, which was up slightly from $34.6 billion in 2010, according to David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.” The newspaper then identifies the “lucky seven” casinos that are “bold, eccentric and unpredictable,” offering surprises to their visitors. The Cleveland casino makes the cut for its standout architectural features. “Smack in the middle of the Public Square neighborhood in downtown Cleveland, the Horseshoe's claim to fame is the building in which it occupies,” USA Today says. “The Art Deco Higbee Building dates to 1931, and was the city's first department store. The building (and surrounding Tower City Center complex) was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.” http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130128/BLOGS03/130129800

Colossal Cupcake apparently putting in their sign today and then the Colossal cupcake coming in sometime this week. Pictures of the sign are on the facebook page. I wonder how large this cupcake is going to be. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=336036389846036&set=a.155730194543324.33139.151334758316201&type=1#!/pages/Colossal-Cupcakes/151334758316201

Metroparks Zoo to get new carousel The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is going retro in a colorful way, with plans for a brand-new, from the ground up, old-fashioned carousel, made right here in a Ohio. The Metroparks commissioners on Thursday approved the carousel project, which is expected to open in 2014 and cost about $2 million. That pricetag is small by the standards of capital projects at the zoo. The RainForest, which just turned 20 years old, cost $30 million. The more recent African Elephant Crossing cost $25 million. The carousel, however, will cost the park system nothing. It will be the first project completely underwritten by the Cleveland Zoological Society, a separate, private-nonprofit that exists to support the zoo and aid in fundraising http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/01/metroparks_zoo_to_get_new_caro.html#incart_river_default

They also only listed the Indians and Cavs for the professional sports teams...

Happy Birthday!! I actually just turned 28 today (12/16) and I wish I was drunk at the Browns game earlier...

Do the Embassy Suites go by a different name because I didn't see it on that list up there.

Cleveland Indians close to selling SportsTime Ohio TV network NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Fox Sports Ohio is close to purchasing SportsTime Ohio for between $200 million and $250 million, said a source familiar with the negotiations. The sale could be completed by the end of December and would increase the Indians' rights fees for broadcasting their games from $30 million to an estimated $40 million a year. It's not known if the sale will help improve the state of the struggling Indians by giving the front office more money to pursue big-ticket free agents or trade for high-priced talent this winter. The Indians and STO are owned by Larry Dolan and his family. Paul Dolan, Indians chairman and CEO, issued a no comment through a spokesman when asked about the sale of STO. STO President Jim Liberatore said only, "Since we launched, people have been interested in buying the network." http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2012/12/cleveland_indians_close_to_sel.html

Cuyahoga County's Sterling Building in downtown Cleveland evacuated due to safety concerns CLEVELAND - Cuyahoga County is evacuating one of its downtown Cleveland buildings due to safety concerns after one of the walls appears to be buckling. County Executive Ed FitzGerald said employees in the Sterling Building at 1255 Euclid Ave. noticed the wall bowing out at about 11 a.m. Tuesday and pulled the fire alarm to get everyone out of the building as a precaution. The building hosts the Cuyahoga Emergency Communications System and 911 service. FitzGerald said the calls were transferred seamlessly to a backup location -- and no service was disrupted. It's not clear yet what caused the damage to the building, but emergency crews said it could be because of the severe weather from Hurricane Sandy. Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/cuyahoga-countys-sterling-building-in-downtown-cleveland-evacuated-due-to-safety-concerns#ixzz2Ank3EDvi

Cleveland's historic League Park to be restored Groundbreaking held for $6.3 million project By: Bob Fenner, newsnet5.com CLEVELAND - Cleveland's historic League Park will be getting a new and improved look soon that will benefit residents in the city's Hough neighborhood. Saturday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the former home of the Cleveland Indians located at 6601 Lexington Ave. The $6.3 million restoration project will restore the playing field and some portions of the original ballpark. In addition to restoring the ticket house and grandstand wall, the project will include a synthetic turf ball diamond with home plate in its historic location. A Visitors Center with display areas and a concession stand will also be built. Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/clevelands-historic-league-park-to-be-restored#ixzz2AXCnpdUy