jborger

But the city doesn't build these buildings - developers do. Wolstein owns the land in the Flats, Jacobs owns the parking lot that touches Public Square and another group owns the vacant lots nearby in the Warehouse District. They ALL would love to have a company approach them and say, "Please build us a 300,000 sq. ft. headquarters on your land." But they don't have that. Wolstein managed to get Ernst and Young so they win this round. Yes, the city sets up guidelines to try and get things moving in a certain direction. But this is far from an exact science when dealing with so many companies and factors out of your control. You have to balance what you'd like in a perfect world with the reality that life hands you.

Developments like this won't get rid of parking, they'll add it by creating multilevel parking garages. And since downtown needs density, this is a good thing.

More on that here: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/09/pierres_icecream_wants_to_expa.html They want to double capacity and build a 35,540 sq. ft. facility attached to their current one. They'd start construction immediately (once plans are approved) and be finished within a year.

K&G construction manager Henry "Hank" Picozzi was sentenced to two-years in prison for bribing two Cleveland building inspectors... http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/09/kd_group_construction_manager.html

I hate to say it, but I kinda saw this coming... My girlfriend and I went to Bang and Clatter in Cleveland when it first opened. The performance itself was GREAT but it didn't feel like the business end of it was run very well. Alcohol was free which, while nice for us, couldn't have helped their bottom line. They would also let people in free all the time. Kind of like a "pay what you can" system. Again, that's nice and all, but if you're running a business, don't expect to stay around for long. Another time we won tickets but when we showed up for the performance, they said it was canceled. They didn't even call us to let us know. Many other times we would walk by and it always looked like it was closed. I actually haven't heard about any performances their in months and I'm more plugged into Cleveland's art scene than the average citizen... I hope they find other entertaining, non-bar or restaurant tenant to fill that space.

Just received this in my inbox today from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance... Tri-C's Hospitality Program Moving to Public Square The current home of Cuyahoga Community College's Hospitality Program is their Metropolitan Campus, a location somewhat removed from the core of Downtown Cleveland. While a portion of the program will remain at the Metropolitan Campus, Tri-C envisions a new culinary learning center in the core of downtown Cleveland, a "front-door" that will afford the program high visibility in downtown as well as partnership opportunities with nearby industry employers. In August 2009, Tri-C signed a lease for 25,000 square feet in the first floor of the May Company Building on Public Square. Construction of the space is scheduled for completion in July 2010. The completed space will feature state-of-the-art cooking facilities, classrooms and a demonstration studio, and the potential for specialized and limited retail services. This learning center will bring Tri-C's specialized teaching environments, culinary demonstration studio and student activity center directly to the street. The new Downtown facilities will not only expose their students to the rebirth of the Euclid Corridor and potential employers but will infuse Cleveland's urban core with the energy of hundreds of imminent professionals who will soon be seeking jobs and new residences. This new "front-door" will feature a video wall that will anchor the campus's activity center and present local and nationally recognized Chef Lecturers. Tri-C's objective is to grow their Hospitality program's enrollment from 140 to 500 students to meet the rising demand for an educated hospitality/culinary workforce. Visit the <a href="http://www.tri-c.edu/programs/hospitality/culinary/Pages/default.aspx">Tri-C Culinary Arts page</a> for more details about the program.

My first thought when I saw those pics was "Is that plywood?" Remember when homes used to be made out of real materials?

Except that there was no camera lens because the image was computer generated...

The Coakley Space was actually between Bling Pig and the entrance to The Bradley Building. Did Coakley move? Is that space vacant now?

Awesome pictures. Really unique living spaces.

Agreed. Especially if the building is historic. I know w28th was joking with is color scheme (right??) but something like that would be more acceptable on a new build, such as the dream 20-30 story residential structure I'd like to develop on that surface lot at East 4th and Prospect. :)

It's a sign of jobs. Manufacturing jobs. In a down economy. I'll take it.

I saw it Sunday during the Warehouse District street fest. It looks good! Sad to see they got rid of the granite curbs... But Johnny's was already using the additional space to add more outdoor seating. It creates a better experience while walking down that side of the street. They've also repainted the lines in the street to add a turning lane.

Is K&D using union workers for 668? If not, that could have been a smear campaign started by a union member pissed off that she's not getting the work...

I'm still curious as to how you take a 1,300 theater, divide it into three smaller theaters and keep any type of architectural integrity. At that point, you might as well gut the whole building, right?

Perhaps the North Coast Transportation Center could replace Public Square as a "hub" for RTA. That would clean up Public Square and reduce bus traffic so the square could finally be united from four squares into just one. Eh, maybe for another thread... :)

We need more civic-minded arsonists.

I used to be against the idea of out of towners being used for these development projects since I believe we have capable companies here. However, now I think having people that don't know all the Cleveland "baggage" being able to look at the city with a fresh perspective is a great way to go.

K&D Group announced yesterday that Titan's Gym will be the 20,000 square foot facility in the building. I'm guessing it's the same as the 24-hour one in Mentor? (turn down your speakers before clicking this link...) http://www.titansgym.com/

I went to the Art Museum East Wing grand opening last night and it was fantastic. I was there from 10pm-1am and the place was PACKED. They had an awesome stage set up outside with live musical acts and DJs and the crowd was dancing and really into the music. They also had live performers moving around outside. It was just a great, lively environment. The new wing is beautiful as well. Just really something to be proud of for Cleveland.

Doug Price spoke this evening at the Downtown Cleveland Alliance advisory committee meeting. He said the Prospect side should be ready August 15 and the Euclid side will be ready on November 1. Everything will be done March 2010. The Euclid side was delayed due to government intervention with the terra cotta. Not sure what that means... But he said they just got approval on it yesterday. There's 80 people that are on a waiting list to get tours of the units. There will be a two story, 20,000 square foot fitness center on the Prospect side. (as someone else said, it's not Fitworks) There will be a 4,000 square foot convenience store. The restaurant in the building will be Zig, a high end, French-American restaurant with an outdoor patio and bar. There will also be indoor seating in the atrium along with indoor entertainment there when the weather is bad. He said the building will also have cool lighting and that they're working on the design for signage now. Speaking of the indoor atrium... Does anyone have pictures of what it used to look like in there? Is that building completely open to the ceiling inside? www.jeremyborger.com www.twitter.com/jborger www.examiner.com/x-6824-Downtown-Cleveland-Examiner

I thought they were moving to the suburbs because they needed a campus. That's a campus? Two buildings?

The victims were buying drugs? Where did you read this?

While SuperKidSpliff was rude about it, he's correct that OmniMax and IMAX are very different. Omnimax does NOT play IMAX films "in a 3D dome format". Omnimax is a dome and therefore not suitable for playing "typical" movies like an IMAX. Omnimax and IMAX are not compatible systems. I was hoping the Flat East Bank would get a 3D IMAX system. The closest IMAX is in Columbus. An IMAX downtown would be a good draw for suburbanites.

The name will be "Dragonfly" and will be a sushi/martini place, I believe. The owners have done a great job with Garage Bar so I'm sure Dragonfly will be cool as well.