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That sign looks better every time I see it. It tells people "here's a development on a scale you haven't seen for a while."

FEB is shovel ready because of a somewhat tragic and poorly-timed swath of demolition. That doesn't mean we have to put the first possible item there. I liked the original FEB plan much better than putting the CC there. I like FEB better than TC for a CC, but that would involve major drawbacks both for the CC and for the FEB which others have mentioned. If possible, we'd like to redevelop both the flats and the center of town. Combining the two projects takes away that opportunity and reopens the difficult question of what to do with the mall.

Fountainhead, I think your strongest case is what all can develop in the FEB using this as an anchor. People aren't going to buy that there isn't developable land elsewhere downtown. And IMHO it does seem like casinos might be a better centerpiece for the flats anyway. I'd rather have the convention traffic as centrally located as possible within downtown. Destination entertainment (i.e. casino) would capitalize on the flats' existing national reputation much better than a comparatively sterile CC would. If Wolstein is just pushing this CC plan to keep his fires warm until casinos pass, more power to him.

We get pushed around by any team with a serious big man. At this point the no-trade is seeming not so hot. On the good side, here's JJ's opening. He's suddenly a key piece.

Regardless, that's freakin sweet! I'd never heard of that plan either. I've always thought the mall area is our best bet for new skyscrapers. Give us this plus Ameritrust, as in the picture, and our skyline is better than a lot of places twice the size!

Given that they tore so much down, the FEB better not be abandoned. That site definitely needs the most peripheral construction and business development before it would be viable, and it offers the least amount of boost for existing downtown businesses. That said, I still like it better that the TC proposal.

I don't find Mr. Quinn's assertions credible. Statistics, particularly on maps, will give a pretty clear view of whatever patterns exist. Like stay away from that CMHA thing. Victim accounts aren't going to be scientific, and it isn't hard to predict what they would sound like as a whole. Scary. I'm guessing the PD, Mr. Quinn and Ms. Johnston, were well aware of that.

Recently in the PD comments an editor had to come in and try to restate the article's point. Seems like they're getting beat up pretty well already. I too am surprised how many pro-city comments there are. It shows how little actual experience with the city some of their regular posters have. If this article led to an open dialogue about how best to improve safety, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all. I doubt that will happen though. What I'd rather see the PD do is talk to the mayor and the police chief and union head about what went wrong, and what they've done in the past week to address it.

If the PD comes up with a laundry list of trouble, it should put more pressure on the police to reassign some people and solve the problem. Downtown's image is secondary to whether or not we're sufficiently policing it.

It's more of a crisis aversion than a victory, but thank you. The offer was for a short term apartment not a job. Still working on that. My roommate had been wanting to leave, with me having 3 months of school left, because I don't do enough dishes. So I'm doing more dishes. Can't afford this place by myself.

Because I just got an offer, I thought I should post that my situation changed and I no longer need a short-term place. Thanks to everyone for the advice and info.

Simple as pie. Anyone know anyone on EC council? Census is a year away, let's go.

Hopefully adjustments can be made. Another ADA feature I wasn't in love with at first was the sonar beacon at each crosswalk. I lived on Euclid when those went in and it was like being in a submarine. Seems like they were turned down at some point, thankfully.

I think most trains use this system, particularly freight trains that cross the Rockies. If you're gonna spend all that energy getting up, might as well get some going down. Indy cars also use this system in place of alternators. It's simple and very scaleable.

The healthline buses do have digital crawl screens. They say what the recording says, which takes a while, which stinks if you just want to know what time it is. They also say the time and date, and I think they say something about Medical Mutual when the time comes to do that.

Because it may be more of a liability on its own. There is a specific process for merging two cities and I'm pretty sure it requires a vote on both sides. I have it in a notebook in my locker and I'll post it sometime.

Specious is a good word for that. A core circulator helps anyone who interacts with the core, or who lives in a neighborhood served by that core. It will stabilize properties and foster new businesses that everyone can use, not just people downtown/uptown. Not that you haven't covered that in 197 pages. I'll be down there next month, and I can't wait to walk the proposed routes and imagine what could be. Seems like an exciting time to live in Cincy.

Sorry to bust in again, but I'm really interested in this project and the surrounding issues. It is striking how racial arguments against building rail can take such divergent positions. Whenever there is a proposal to expand rail in Cleveland, one of the suburbs that would be served by it argues that rail service would invite "undesirables," who until that point had presumably never heard of their town. They also grouse about money being spent on rail to help these "other" people. In Cincinnati it seems like almost the opposite racial argument. There is a sense that rail would somehow only benefit whites or the well-to-do. I never thought I'd hear such a thing. Of course, it probably does no good to tell them that racists elsewhere tend to oppose rail and urban advocacy groups tend to support it. Has anyone heard anything about reaction among national advocacy groups to the anti-rail arguments being made in Cincinnati? The stance seems so out of step with... everything, I wonder if they may be due for some backlash.

On the one hand, I like this guy's work even though it isn't my style. On the other hand, concrete slabs? Trespa? www.trespa.com/na. At it's best, it looks like an upgraded version of the wood paneling one would find in a mobile home. At worst it looks like cheap plastic. When I say someone should throw a brick through his window, I mean that 100% figuratively.

You pretty much already answered your own question. I think people were expecting something taller/denser and were more upset when it was first announced. Now that they're coming alive people seem to be swinging to the other side and liking this development now that they can see how it fits into the urban fabric of downtown. I felt similarly toward the Avenue District townhomes in Cleveland. I still hope the main street frontage, which isn't underway at all yet, involves a little more height. But I've warmed up to them generally because they look good and they perform their intended function, getting people to live downtown. And I still think this Gay Street project is one that Cleveland should look to as a model, because the design really is nice.

I can't think of an area I'd rather have fixed up before this one. I would include Glenville in the greater East Cleveland reinvestment zone, but that's arbitrary. It has that awesome location between the Heights/UC and the lake, along with great transit access, great urban character and a history of opulence. There is so much to build on and so much that could one day be. In keeping with the thread topic, I think EC's tiny demolition budget may have been a blessing in disguise all these years.

That's that 50s motel/apt building near 30th, they're redoing the whole thing. Windows are new and the facade is getting work now. I don't know what the future plan for it is.

Part of the reason some people might not like heavily armed cops running around is that certain groups have historically poor relations with the police, going back several generations. There are trust issues. Some of those issues may still be legit. I would prefer a happy medium of more cops with standard armament. Maybe a few more shotguns. You can end a lot of confrontations just by cocking one. But really, a cop could be standing there holding a flower and still prevent a lot of trouble. Just being there is the main thing.

I would distinguish commercial real estate from loans for specific industrial or tech ventures. The real estate aspect is secondary to them, they often just need a roof, any roof. They get loans more for equipment, payroll and basic operating funds. Seems like the most helpful thing the banks could do is try to grant as many of these loans as they can, even if real estate is hopeless.

Why annexation hasn't happened yet is beyond me. I doubt Cleveland wants to do it, but it couldn't hurt come census time. And right now Cleveland has a huge mess on its border, right by the UC area, that it can't control. Seems like annexation at this point would be better for everyone.