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First Merit put a lot of money into renovating it, right before they got bought out.

I've been supportive of the color scheme, but one thing I noticed today is that it blends so well with the BP building that Beacon will be invisible from the east.

I've been hearing radio ads for a pickup truck with "the most powerful steering wheel in its class." What?

I hope buses will stop at the actual hospital once it's moved back from the road, instead of dropping people on the wrong side of the greenspace.

It was. And there were a lot more tenants when it was there.

I'm with you but not every party can take place within a couple blocks of High Street. Crocker Park is similar to Easton, at least context-wise, and it has lots of nightlife. The whole point of these lifestyle centers is fake urban living.

Regarding demo, I'll take any good news I can get.

Metrohealth has not indicated that they intend to manage recreation facilities as part of this plan. Maybe it is pessimistic to assume this greenspace will be closed to the public, as MH hasn't indicated that either, although that is exactly what happened to Public Square after its terraforming was complete.

That stuff all costs money to maintain, even more than grass does. This will be a bunch of grass and you won't be allowed to walk on it. Let alone play baseball. The only neighborhood problem it will solve is lack of ornamental grass, which does not seem like it should be a top priority.

You make some good points. I think downtown retail still plays a critical role in making a city function. I suppose none of it needs to be in this structure, although it's no coincidence that so much of it was located near the rail hub long before it was converted into a mall. Of course it's been years since Tower City had much retail to offer. So when you lived downtown, where did you shop? Amazon? Steelyard Commons? The suburbs?

It looks like there should be a parallel tower there, like Reserve Square.

I love the sign on the wall that just says "WORK"

That's not what happened with Progressive, for example. Don't be so quick to deploy the market purity argument. Alternative tax schemes were just being discussed upthread. There's plenty of evidence that the downtown Cleveland office market has been distorted over the years by a handful of misguided people and misguided policies. Maybe it is time to change the parking tax. Maybe it's also time to review the city's efforts at making itself liveable, time to consider new approaches. That discussion might belong in a different thread, but it absolutely impacts the future of the Jacobs Public Square Lot. You just said yourself that the desirability of living here is an important factor.

Wow. You're certain there's no other factor involved, given how many corporate HQs have been built in the Greater Cleveland suburbs since the 1990s??

Stark's efforts over the years have been pretty visible, including the failures. What covert efforts of FCE and Jacobs have we been missing? You make them sound like Rocky Balboa. When Tower City still had a McDonalds it charged about 50% more than any other McDonalds, and panhandlers would go from table to table unabated. I think it makes sense to hold out for a proposal that fits this lot's location. Who knows why it's taking so long, but without further info we shouldn't assume the owner has been grunting and straining for decades to make something happen. It's safe to assume they were in on the Amazon proposal. Maybe Jacobs would rather someone else puts a deal together, maybe that's been their approach all along. Why waste the effort when the lot is profitable as is?