Map Boy

What, if any, discussion was there of bring the huletts out of hibernation? I know there was talk of them going a little further north on the trail...

I'm sure that was at least 51% of the motivation behind their decision... :wink:

Good news... Tribe signs shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a five-year deal 9:49 a.m. By Paul Hoynes Plain Dealer Reporter WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The Indians have signed shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a five-year contract worth an estimated $13 million. The announcement was to be made at an 11:30 a.m. press conference in Winter Haven on Friday. www.cleveland.com

Something that keeps surprising me is that the university plans to tear down Viking Hall somewhat soon after Fenn Tower is completed... Correct me if I'm wrong, experts! This seems to be counter-productive, unless Viking Hall is in such bad shape that it needs to be torn down. Otherwise, I would say leave it, build a little park in front of it and keep building your other on-campus residential options. Then, in 10 years or so, if you have to tear it down, no biggie... As it stands, it seems like they need to keep all the on-campus housing they can! Comments? Musky? Guv?

That would have to be it! This is a disorienting perspective, but that's the only crane working over there right now...

Wow, this thread just sprouted up yesterday and already the content is incredible! Some of you guys know a lot about the airline industry and international travel/commerce! I'm impressed, to say the least. As several of you have stated, developments like this speak to the strength of Mok as the head of the Hopkins. We'll have to see if there are other issues at hand and how much these things matter to Frank.

So, it will be built much like 505 Euclid...with the structural capacity to support a tower and other uses on top? How does the transit center fit into this first phase of construction. It would seem that CSU and RTA would have to be working together to coordinate at least that much. This site is going to be very important in tying the south end of campus together. As it is, it just doesn't feel like a very cohesive neighborhood. The garage and transit center (plus later additions) stand to make it better because they're to be built on a surface lot, but they really must work to have a pedestrian element, to link the Convocation (Wolstein) Center to the rest of campus...

Great shot Mayday! I'll try to get over there for some more shots this week (spring break!).

Well, here's a link to WKYC coverage of the event with some clips of the video. It looks like we'd all enjoy it, though we probably wouldn't learn a whole lot from it. I don't have audio on this pc, so I can't tell you what everyone's saying in the video... http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=49039

so, which ones do they still have issues with in gaining site control? I would imagine that if they don't have this wrapped up by now, chances are very slim that they'll have it done in two weeks...

From Crain's Flats parcel eyed for city land bank By JAY MILLER 8:44 am, March 6, 2006 The city of Cleveland is preparing to market a two-acre piece of land it owns in the industrial south end of the Flats. Greg Huth, director of the Department of Economic Development, said the city will put the long-vacant property, which has an old building on it, into the city’s industrial land bank after any environmental problems are cleared up. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20060306/FREE/60306002&template=printart

I can see it now..."the new, $300 million innerbelt bridge, due to open in the spring of 2012, will have to wait another decade, due to the fact that the two ends of the bridge fall 3 feet short of coming together...ODOT is considering building a jump, so that fast-moving cars can just hop over the gap, thus preventing the project from further exceeding cost estimates..." Bridge cables are three feet too short Major gaffe will delay W. 3rd span's opening Friday, March 10, 2006 James Ewinger Plain Dealer Reporter The West 3rd Street Bridge slid into place with surgical precision Monday, but significant imprecision will keep it from opening on time. The 64 cables that raise and lower the deck to allow boats to pass underneath are three feet short. Correcting the error will take some time, delaying the reopening of the bridge to vehicle traffic by about three months, an ODOT spokesman said. www.plaindealer.com

I can't speak to Dupont Circle (though I've heard much praise for it!), but I do like thinking about alternatives, both radical and simple for Public Square. I doubt we'll see the sunken layers approach anytime soon, but I like the idea. And as several of you have said, and I may have said on this thread some time ago, it's about the programming of the square, rather than the reconfiguration. We have an opportunity with four unique quadrants to make something special out of each one. The only one that seems to be pretty set in stone (no pun intended) is the southeast quadrant, where the monument dominates and creates a landmark and beacon visible all the way down Euclid (pretty awesome, by me). The other squares seem to be open to interpretation, but I haven't seen much of anything new or creative done with them anytime recently. Though, I have been away for several years, so I hope to be proven wrong this spring and summer! I know that Parkworks and others have been working with the Malls, Star Plaza and Market Square to give them more active uses. These things are great and right on what we need to be working on in the short-term. Of the ideas mentioned here that I especially like are the transit center (with staff!) and new retail uses. I always think of NYC and Portland, which were my two most recent homes before moving back to Cleveland. Both have premier public spaces with visitor centers and a high density of pedestrian and transit uses focused on them. I think of Bryant Park in NYC with its outdoor cafes, sanwich kiosks, outdoor reading area (courtesy of the Public Library), movable seating, movie screenings, and subway stations. This was not a great place to go in the not-too-distant past, but a major effort by neighborhood businesses, residents and corporations pulled it all together and made it one of the best public spaces in the world. (see the Project for Public Spaces site for more...) Portland's Pioneer Square is a transit hub for buses and light rail, has a Starbucks built within its boundaries, features a series of water features, chess tables, a wide open plaza for acitivities and a newly opened visitor center. And it is notoriously well policed...try riding your bike across it and you'll surely be nabbed by an officer! There are also simple things like the dog park in Thompkins Square (east village, nyc) or transitory things like the farmers market in Union Square (NYC) and other, smaller markets elsewhere throughout the city and country. I think the addition of the Downtown Alliance will make a noticeable difference to the cleanliness and the perception of how friendly our city is to visitors. Also, having the visitors bureau located on the square will surely add a draw and demand better services and programming...

I thought this was going to be more of a loose visioning meeting, but it sounds like they already have ideas. They all sound like good ideas, though, so I hope they can make some progress tonight. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has a chance to go to this event...

wow, that's a significant vision by the PA! any time frame or is this just a "vision."

good question. also, these units are not replacing "Riverview Towers," as the article stated. They're replacing the units that surrounded the towers. i'm starting to get a little peeved at OCNW as well. it seems that these issues are popping up a little late in the discussion. unless they were brought up earlier and not publicized. i also agree with Santiago that the rehabilitation of 12 homes south of Lorain between 25th and 48th will be a big plus. i recently walked a large part of that neighborhood and was very surprised at how many boarded up and burnt out houses there were. turing about a fifth of these blighted properties into assets will be a great boost for that part of the neighborhood.

Cut and paste your favorite off-the-topic thread-killing rants and other rubbish here.

can we cut and paste the last page+ of this thread and put it in some "rants and other assorted rubbish" thread? here, I'll make it easy: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7923.0

You're right mrnyc, cases that go to ed hearings are rare. everyone's got to act in their own best interest and that usually means settling on a price outside of court. i like the comment, b12, that we were all on the verge of a "collective anxiety attack." well put! we can always count on you to bring us back down to earth.

I don't know that this is the answer, but the first thing that comes to mind is that the RTA has so many routes that run through Public Square and continue down Superior. They've just solidified this route with the improvements they made to Superior and the addition of "bus only" lanes. However, I don't see why they couldn't run the buses around the square before the continue down Superior. One of my major complaints with the Downtown (Public Square) hub is that there's not enough information for the transit rider who doesn't know exactly what they're doing. For example, if I decided that I wasn't going to take my normal bus home and wanted to head out to Old Brooklyn instead of Ohio City, how am I to know which bus will get me there without asking around or heading down to the basement of Tower City for some maps? There needs to be better signage and information at those major bus stops and more clarity as to where a rider should go to catch a bus headed in their direction. I think that running all the buses around the square could make this that much simpler. They're doing this with the Euclid Corridor "silver line" buses and creating new shelters and bus stops around the square. Couldn't they do the same with the other routes? This would serve as THE bus mall for the Downtown hub and it could serve not only tourists and visitors, but the average RTA rider as well. I've got lots of ideas on how to do this and started to share them with Joe Calabrese while riding the silver line with him, but there was much left unsaid. As for private automobiles...I'm not too concerned with how they get around the square. There are so many options Downtown and the traffic around the square isn't too heavy that it couldn't be manageable.

Thanks for that KJP! This should be a good new perspective on the project.

I'm curious about the rest of that building. According to Ed Small, the developer of the Environmental Center, Market Square (the one that burned) and the building that houses US Bank and the Film Society, there is an interesting niche market in the OC for smaller office tenants who are willing to pay Downtown rents. I get the feeling that the big building on the corner of W. 25th and Lorain isn't going to attract these tenants without a serious rehab, but it's worth thinking about for the owner.

and an article from yesterday's PD: Retail center to honor steel history Tuesday, March 07, 2006 Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporter The history of steel will join the mix of retail at Steelyard Commons, the big-box shopping center being built in the Cuyahoga River's industrial valley. Mittal Steel and the Ohio & Erie Canal Association announced Monday that they will pump $45,000 each into a proposed steel-heritage exhibit at the shopping center, scheduled to open in a year. Plans call for a $215,000 exhibit featuring a small, red-brick "clock" house, where steelworkers started their shifts; a "bottle car," a rail car that moved molten steel; and other artifacts from steel making on the site. Read More...

Another comment... I know that in proposing a project of this size, Wolstein needed to go to the City for support, which he got. The public is really into this project and such a big deal has been made of it that it seemingly HAS to go through. However, how much more difficult is it going to be to secure the remaining parcels with these grand plans and the neighborhood's profit potential being broadcast on the front page? These 7-8 owners have every right to demand what their properties are worth, but now they can hold out, knowing just how critical their parcel is to the entire project. Herein lies some of the need for eminent domain, but I wonder how this could have been avoided...if at all. The same question goes for Stark's proposals for the WHD...which are at a much earlier stage.

Crap...This sounds a lot more complex than I had thought. With the way eminent domain cases are going these days, it could be years before things are sorted out. What, if any, work can be started without these properties in hand?