Map Boy

Sorry about your life, pope! KJP, great graphic. Were you able to share this with anyone at ODOT, RTA, Cleveland or NOACA yet? This is the type of thing that we need to really drive our development agenda surrounding ginormous infrastructure investments like the Opportunity Corridor intends to be. At present, we're talking about throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Innerbelt work that will do nothing to improve the situation for surrounding neighborhoods. That's a huge waste if you ask me! The Opportunity Corridor, on the other hand, aspires to be a huge economic development tool and I think that TOD and your proposals in particular are a necessary part of it. I'd gladly write letters to officials that have seen or should see this. Any names you'd like to drop? One final note, the housing element over here is a no brainer as well. The economic and development impact of the successful projects in Central along Woodland in the E. 30s is already spreading east. Rysar, for example, recently bought a run down old development on Woodland next to the cemetery and is planning on rehabbing the units, in addition to adding another 100 or so new homes...all for sale at market rates! Imagine the potential along this corridor...

lost in all this is the fact that the development is fantastic and that the next phase (the first loft building with retail) is slated to start this spring!

Fantastic! I like that Oberlin is subsidizing membership for its students. I have a friend who is going to be in Oberlin for a conference in a month and this may prove to be a viable option while she's in town. She can borrow the car for the day and come hang out in Cleveland! I wonder if Oberlin is considering this at all?

Just a little tidbit from Heartland Developers latest newsletter: Doesn't look like Near West Woodworks gets to stick around...nor do a couple small buildings next to it. I haven't heard a word about this from anyone but the Heartland website and I'm assuming that no one has heard back from them...what's the deal?

ha, good one Wimwar... I wouldn't be surprised if they were buddies, though. The development world isn't so huge that they wouldn't have run into each other at some point! Unfortunately, I didn't get to bring up Mr. Stark at our meeting on Monday. The meeting went quite well, though! Mr. Mann is a gentleman (he bought me and YSOH coffee/tea/muffin) and a developer with a vision. I am going to practice prudence here and not divulge everything that we talked about (Mann seemed a little peeved that the PD wrote that small piece about the project and I don't want to be that ass that does the same thing!), but rest assured that he has plans on the table and wants to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. Realistically, in Cleveland, that means that nothing will happen for several months. But his plans do include a pristine rehab of the ORIGINAL facades (which are gorgeous...he showed us pics!) and to convert the buildings to whatever mix use the market will afford. That means he's open to ideas. If a firm comes in and wants two floors, he's not going to turn them away. But that doesn't mean that the remainder couldn't still be condos. And naturally, retail is the priority on the ground floor. Basically, the guy loves and believes in the future of Downtown Cleveland and is putting his dollars in the mix to make sure it comes true!

Wow, I love this one: "It's time that ODOT realizes that the two D's -- density and diversity -- are what makes a city vibrant. Density of development and population energizes a community, as do diversity of buildings, architecture, people and transportation. Instead, ODOT seems to think the two D's are demolitions and driving. Here's hoping the city's approvals process ... sends this project back to the drawing board." What great wordsmanship!

beautiful! is that second one the basement? what do they use all that space for? the only thing that's missing is a new ceiling...

Definitely a winner in many ways. Having a local supplier like this will encourage developers to invest in more of this high performance technology. (I'm assuming that was part of your point, guv?) There's still a stigma attached to "green" building in Northeast Ohio (and elsewhere) that it's not worth the cost, but as it becomes more common and more readily available, it will become clear that the cost savings over time and the allure of the "green" market niche is worth the investment. Also, the more common the practice and materials become, the more they will become the norm...ie: no more expensive than the alternatives!

Very interesting articles. Thanks for posting, KJP! There's nothing there that we didn't already know, but it's refreshing to see that print media appealing to different markets is giving the issue of redeveloping Cleveland attention. Of course, I object to some of the statements about how bad Downtown is, because it only reinforces the idea that there's nothing going on in the city RIGHT NOW (when I don't believe that's true), but statements like these ("In Cleveland, for example, much of the Flats District is played out, Tower City is in the doldrums, the Galleria is on life support, and Euclid Avenue lacks only tumbleweeds to complete its fall from grace.") make the remainder of the article more poignant. It's also nice to see the breadth of developers that are apparently committed to urban development. I need to see more "money where your mouth is," but the fact that they're all talking the talk right now is at least a good sign. What we need, though, is collaboration amongst them. I really have been sold on this idea that we can't just be content to build infill or a block here or there...and many of you know how it feels to WAIT and WAIT for development to take place over decades...so with collaboration amongst developers and leaders and monumental building projects, a critical mass of new development can really bring our Downtown and our city to the level that we all believe it can achieve.

I'm going to go against the grain here and quote myself... I take it back! The storefront is actually quite nice. What he could use is a merchandiser of some sort or maybe just another staff-person (they cost money, though) who can help keep this place in order. I, too, live in a world of organized chaos, but I only understand it when it's chaos that I've created. I think this may be a deterrent to more shopping in this bookstore...the perception that the place is a mess! Also, are there any places to sit and read? Is there room for readings or small events? I need to stop in and find out for myself, don't I?

I meant to throw my name in the hat during the most recent round of additions to the Citizen's Advisory Board, but I missed my window. I would be very interested in participating in a citizen's ridership group, but I unfortunately don't have a great deal of time to dedicate to it at present. I think the creation of a group like this would be another strong example of how well this forum performs as a source of ideas and creative thinking for urban ohioans! Keep me posted!

From today's Crain's City preps Detroit Road site for razing Trinity Building set as first demolition for industrial land bank By DAVID BENNETT 6:00 am, February 6, 2006 The first piece of Cleveland's industrial land bank initiative soon will fall into place. Literally. City officials are preparing contracts to begin demolition of the Trinity Building, a former aluminum factory at 9203 Detroit Road. The property, which the city acquired in 2004 through tax foreclosure, is the first up for reuse in the city's plan to assemble and reuse industrial land in Cleveland. Cleveland City Council Jan. 23 approved legislation authorizing the hiring of HzW Environmental Consultants LLC of Mentor, which will manage the cleanup, said Belinda Pesti, Cleveland assistant economic development director and manager of the project. Money to pay for the $2 million project will come initially from the Core City Fund, a city program for economic development projects. Ms. Pesti expects bids to go out soon on the environmental assessment work, the actual demolition and cleanup. The effort involves razing the 250,000-square-foot building plus two smaller buildings, removing asbestos and cleaning up the surface soil. The city leveled an aluminum foundry on the site when it took control of the property 18 months ago. The administration of former Mayor Jane Campbell in 2004 launched the land bank program to entice expanding companies to look at Cleveland rather than surrounding suburbs. The Trinity Building is only one of two sizable acquisitions currently in the city's industrial land bank inventory. The other is a 21-acre parcel at 10615 Madison Ave. that was home to the former Midland Steel Products Co. Although the primary building at the Trinity site is still months from being removed, at least one company has eyes on part of the six-acre property. Joe Gallo, president of Energy Wise Building Systems of Brooklyn, said the company hopes to erect a 50,000-square-foot headquarters and production plant on at least one acre there. More at http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5258381/City-preps-Detroit-Road-site.html

I have a relatively short commute from Ohio City to CSU and use the bus (as opposed to my bike) primarily during the colder months. I've been hitching rides home from school more often because it's cold and the late-night buses aren't as frequent. As for the RTA portion, though, I'd break it down like this: Bus 90%, Rapid 10% (primarily for longer trips to the Airport or University Circle) I use the U-Pass from CSU, which costs me $25 per semester and is attached to my college ID. This seems to be, by far, the most efficient way to travel...both by price and by ease of use. I'd like to see a better way to run the rapid's payment system, though. During the peak hours, there are usually booth operators at my stops, but off-peak, it's run like a bus, which isn't very efficient. It takes a while to get on and off the train this way, since only one of the doors will open. Also, does anyone know how the Euclid Corridor is going to operate? I'd hope it's more like the rapid, and this is what I understood to be one of BRT's strong points... There's much more talk on this topic elsewhere on the boards, so browse around and you should find some interesting commentary!

hmmm... nope! just the bus in all its glory... mmm...brt...

Wow, I had the opportunity yesterday to flip through the latest version of the ECP's Downtown segment plan. It's something like 600+ pages of drawings, maps, renderings, etc. etc and it's just for the segment from Public Square to the Inner Belt! To be certain, it's nothing glamorous. It wasn't colorful or pretty...it was just the nitty-gritty of how traffic will be re-routed, how thick the curbs will be, where the power lines, water lines, gas lines, drainage systems, and on and on will be removed and replaced. Basically, it was a lot to take in all at once, but it made me excited about the project again to see it all in print. As I mentioned above, this is part of the bid package that has been sent out to contractors and they expect it to be awarded in March, with construction beginning at the end of the month. Pretty exciting, really!

fantastic for Downtown Cleveland! It's too bad that this is a transplant from another metro location, but it sounds like this will be better strategically for them...

It's definitely one of the better houses built in the area and one of the best fits contextually as well. It's great to see that the market for single family homes of this caliber are strong in this very mixed income neighborhood!

I had the chance to talk to Eli Mann on Friday and we've got an appointment set up for Monday, so I'll have more details afterwards. All I know at present is that he's bought these properties with plans to turn them into for-sale condos and that this is just the beginning. He told me that he plans to do a lot more Downtown in the near future! Amen to that! Also, you may see some non-paying tenants on the ground floor in the coming months. Courtesy of the Storefront Cleveland Initiative! Will keep you posted on this as well...

Helloooo, I totally scooped the PD! http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3594.150

yeah, east of Cleveland Heights, you're going to have some serious trouble with walkability. bummer. but didn't you say you liked the idea of commuting out? (I can't just let you go, now can I?)

Cleveland Heights is nice and all, but have you considered buying in Cleveland? Where are your jobs?

I had a dream about the ECP last night... and then I woke up and found out that the bids for the Downtown portion are going to be awarded in early March, with construction starting later in the month. So, I guess, hypothetically, that there could be separate companies working on different phases at the same time. What kind of product will this produce? It could be identical, but what if one ends up significantly different? Just a thought...

Dan, is that your private patio or does the building share it? It looks great! Imagine how exciting it'll be when there's a tower being constructed just across Euclid from you!

According to the County's database, that's the other property! 1001-1015 sold on August 31st for $2.2 million (it sold for $2.5 million in 1980!) and 1021 sold in August for $400k, which is about half of what it sold for in 2001 (it sold for $3 million in 1985!). On the bright side, the lower sales prices leave more money for redevelopment, but what does this say about property values in Downtown Cleveland? I know many of them received lower assessments from the County in recent years so that they would owe less tax, but it appears that now it's coming to bite them in the rears when the time comes to sell. I know that the former owner of the 1001-1015 property is in his 80s and was ready to be out of the business, so that could be a different motivating factor. Still, $2.2 million is no small chunk of change! ps: thanks for posting those MayDay!

This is great news! I'm sad to say that I'm one of the many people who've lived and visited the neighborhood for years and has yet to buy a book from him yet. I've just never been into the messy old book store thing, but I need to get over it! I'll stop in very soon! Maybe OCNW can help him out with a storefront renovation?