Map Boy

Guv, I too found that the addresses you mentioned are on the north side of Prospect, across from the Wolstein Center. That was one of the original sites considered for the transit center and would have required demolition of a building (or two) on Euclid, but in my understanding, this option was ruled inferior to the block just east of the Wolstein Center. What does the proposed acquisition of these structures have to do with the ESTC? Also, I'm very happy to hear that CSU will be rebuilding its front door in its entireity! The University Center may be beautiful once you're inside, but it's one of the most forboding buildings on campus. I look forward to the day when they tear that mother down!

Is the tenant who was lined up for the now burned down building still slated to occupy the space? I know it's been excavated for some time now, so I wonder what the hold up is?

Well done KJP! Too bad this didn't get more press coverage. Apparently the PD is too busy ripping the neighborhoods and reporting on more "doom & gloom" in the Flats to find room for news like this!

Wow, this would be huge! This would be great news for Downtown and Euclid Ave. I'm surprised at the quote that Goldberg has been keeping the building off the market all this time. I know I haven't heard a word since the County offices selected the Ameritrust complex, but why would he actively keep it off the market? Well, I guess this is why... I'd also heard a peep here and there that the building wasn't fit to be inhabited...that it was structurally unsound. Apparently, this is false!

Great post BizBiz. I've been following a lot of this over the past year or so and it's quite notable. As others have already said, there's a mixture of those developments that I feel good about and those that disappoint. The Midtown Technology Center has been a huge disappointment since it kicked off several years ago. I know that Midtown and Cleveland are banking on it working...and on the next phases that would involve new construction. In fact, a conversation I had with someone at the CDC led me to believe that leasing the new buildings was perhaps more realistic than leasing the building that already exists...complications there that I don't think I understand, so I'll wait for someone else to fill in the blanks! I know that several developers have expressed interest in doing more housing along Upper Chester, but have met with some significant roadblocks from the City and Council. This happens all too often in Cleveland. And then we see what gets built (or demo-d)... Where were the roadblocks when ODOT decided it was time to tear down the buildings at 55th & Euclid?

I agree, wimwar. Shaker Square has become one of my favorite night-time destinations...perfect for the dinner & a movie theme. Problem is, every time I visit, I wish I'd left home a couple hours earlier so I could soak it all in a bit more! If there is a downside, it's a couple missing retailers. With Joseph Beth or another bookseller, or perhaps another clothier, the Square could suit my tastes even more. However, as a neighborhood shopping center, which it is, a pharmacy might be a better fit. It's just too bad that it'll be CVS (apparently) occupying that beautiful space! Bottom line with me is that it's almost fully occupied and there are people there all hours of the day. If you ask me, Coral is doing a fantastic job!

I really like the design, but I'm confused about the mixture of uses and where they'll go. Also, I'm surprised at how slim the tower is! Also, Guv, why is the book store not planned for a prime Euclid Ave location? Or will the UC reconstruction be so significant that this will be the effect?

I'm not sure about that image...looks a little too forested if you ask me! But this whole re-design thing was pretty necessary. I haven't been down there in a few years, but when I was at UC, this just wasn't a place that was living up to its potential...much in the same way that Cleveland's Public Square fails in this regard. They're positioned so well in the Downtown and region, surrounded by high-density uses, yet they're overrun by pigeons and panhandlers. I hope that Cleveland will be able to reassess how we treat our front door sometime soon as well!

What will the impact of the decision over where to locate the Convention Center have on this project?

Right, I'm sure that ODOT's version of working with neighborhoods for 8 months will really come to a community-driven solution. As disappointed as I am with the decision to proceed with the new, northern bridge, it appears that this is a battle lost. I'll be left to wonder why the damn thing is there in the first place and why we're not replacing it, but doubling its size... Next, the Trench. I may not have the same motive for objecting to this plan as it stands as some of the Midtown folks. I'm inclined to support, as CSU does, less on and off ramps, freeing up more land for development. However, what I dislike is the apparent "necessity" to demolish some 20+ properties along the route in order to build a "marginal" road and avoid traffic disruption during construction. What?! The economic opportunity cost is already making itself apparent with projects put on hold or forgone altogether and the plan is still just a plan. What happens when they actually approve it and start knocking down buildings? What does that say to the people that have spent so much time and money rehabbing buildings that were thought to be obsolete? To the people that chose to locate businesses and homes along this route? Well, what I hear is that the State of Ohio and the City of Cleveland (if they let this happen) don't care much for their money or effort or presence. Time for another series of letters. Let's hope we don't give in to the dark side on this one as well!

Is there a lighthouse anywhere near here?

Since it's not mentioned here and was one of my favorite weekend activities when I lived there, I have to insist that you check out both the Camden Market and the Portobello Road Market. These are both on the fringe of the central city and are two of the best urban street markets that I've ever been to. Portobello is more antique-y and quirky and Camden has more of that counter-culture feel to it. Regardless, they're both huge tourist attractions, but they're also attractions for locals, so there's something for everyone there...including delicious food! Other than those, I'd recommend Neal's Yard, Marylebone High Street, St. Christopher's Place, and all of the many beautiful parks that the city has to offer.

Oh, definitely, the design doesn't HAVE to be so auto-centric, though it could've been much worse. But I'll need to have some conversations with the architects/planners who come up with this sort of development to understand why they put the cars in front of the shops at places like Church Square and the one at West 25th & Lorain. The latter is much more of a mystery to me, as its neighborhood is much more pedestrian oriented.

You're right there, B12, and the new Arbor Park in Central is proof of this. As those of you who've been there may have noticed, there are no garages for those hundreds of homes...no back alleys either. All parking is on-street and the community wanted it that way. They don't need garages and driveways because they don't have the cars to fill them! Now, my point about the building of Church Square was that the developer didn't build it for the residents of Hough. They built it for the tens of thousands of people who drove by the site every day on their way to Downtown, Midtown and the Clinic. This is where the money was coming from and this is why it was built with parking as a big feature (why it has to be prominently placed in front is something that I still don't understand). Regardless of who the developers built it for, though, the neighborhood residents still benefit from the addition of these retail amenities in their community...amenities that would likely not have been built based on their buying power alone. This is one of the positive arguments for gentrification...not that anyone would say that Fairfax or Hough are gentrifying.

aw, hell no! was there an inspection and all that? obviously, the owner got away with it!

well, that's the idea, right? looks like a train, acts like a train, costs like a bus. the other (orange) bus, however, looks like the "special needs" version of the same thing.

The 2005 Citirama thread has some photos that I took and a little commentary (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4599.0). I think that this type of infill with homeownership units is ideal for these neighborhoods, but it needs to happen on a wider scale. The Cleveland Housing Network does a lot of work on this scale, with single and multiple lot renovations and infill and it helps. Every time a house goes vacant, the surrounding houses start to slip as well. The same happens in reverse. Someone builds a block or a single new house, the effect radiates. Other homeowners are inspired to paint, plant and invest in their properties. This type of thing is contagious and it works both positively and negatively. As for the McMansions, I'm definitely not a fan. I think the context is incredibly poor. But then I think about the position that the City and the Ward would have had when these were on the table. If a neighborhood family says that they have a hundred thousand-plus dollars and income to match and that they want to built a home in Hough or Fairfax in the early 1990s, how can you tell them, "we don't want your investment here." You can't really. And zoning code/design guidelines may have been overlooked in order to accommodate them, but that's just the position we were in. The same goes, as far as I'm concerned, with the auto-centric strip centers that were built all over the city at the time. I don't like them either, but their target markets were driving by, not walking, and the investment in neighborhood amenities was too good to forgo. We're seeing this on a much larger scale today with Steelyard Commons. Today, however, it appears that we have more bargaining power and more people (developers and homeowners) who are looking to build in the City. We have new overlay districts and hopefully re-invigorated CDCs and City Planning officials who will be able to push more for design standards and sustainable urban development. I'm not expecting to see any more McMansions on Chester, but I still think that we stand to improve significantly on the Beacon Place/Woodhaven-style development. Stepping stones, right? The next one should be bigger, with better connections to the neighborhood, a mixture of uses and ideally a mixture of income levels and tenure. And I said all this without even mentioning that the Councilperson from Ward 7 (north of Chester) is a developer's worst nightmare...ooops! I said it!

Yes, a long time, and they're significantly behind schedule. Imagine if they were actually doing another capital project of any significance at the same time! Something is seriously wrong at the RTA... Now, about those buses. According to this press release from the ever-outdated RTA site, they purchased the buses some time ago: RTA Purchases 21 Rapid Transit Vehicles "The RTA Board of Trustees approved the purchase of 21 articulated, environmentally friendly, diesel-electric powered Rapid Transit Vehicles from New Flyer of America for the Euclid Corridor Project. "We are confident that these unique state-of-the-art vehicles will project an image that the RTA and Cleveland can be proud of," says Joseph A. Calabrese, general manager and chief executive officer of the RTA. "This Bus Rapid Transit Project will be a world class model of transportation technology and efficiency. It will allow us to significantly increase the quality of our service, while being more productive." The extra-long, low-floor, bullet-nosed, articulated vehicles will include two doors on the driver's left side and three on the right side to accommodate the median boarding and passengers. Each will have 46 seats and space for 120 standing and sitting passengers, as well as areas for two wheelchairs and two interior bicycle racks. New Flyer will adapt the vehicles, which somewhat resemble a high-speed train, from those the company is presently manufacturing for other cities. Incorporated in the $20.52 million cost is research, design, engineering, operation, maintenance, parts and testing of a prototype vehicle. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will cover 80 per cent of the cost of the vehicles that promise to decrease pollution while increasing fuel efficiency. To reduce costs, the RTA is combining its order with the Lane Transit of Eugene, Oregon, which is buying five similar vehicles. The North American headquarters of New Flyer is in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company's U.S. assembly plants are in Minnesota and North Dakota. Through the FTA's Buy America program, New Flyer will manufacture the structure of the vehicles in Manitoba and assemble them in North Dakota. Before full manufacturing begins, a prototype will be tested at the FTA New Model Bus Testing Program, operated by Penn State University, in Altoona, PA. Such testing is required on all new model public transportation vehicles before they can be purchased with federal funds. Delivery of the vehicles will begin in early" .............. and yes, it just cuts off right there. great job guys! Upon visiting the New Flyer site, they have Calabrese quoted and have this picture of the articulated buses with the RTA logo on it. So, what are we to believe? Have they bought these or have they bought the orange monstrosity from a page ago? And in the end, are we going to end up with spindly trees and painted concrete? Are they going to pull some of the old corrugated metal bus shelters from the heap and use those instead of actually building shelters with bus arrival info and maps? And will public art amount to a box of crayons at each stop for riders to use as they please on the walls of the shelter? My optimism is waning here folks!

It's amazing how little news there's been on this front over the past year or so. They're obviously doing lots of work Downtown on the "unpretty" parts, with trucks, barrels and back-hoes out every day, but I haven't heard much until this about the remainder of the timeline. And how many of you are with me in feeling that this project is still a mystery to most Clevelanders. I'll admit that I don't really even know what the end product is going to look like! And $200m is sounding like less and less money as the years go by. I'm starting to worry that this project is going to be a dud, relative to what I was looking forward to about 4 years ago. Who's got the goods? Who can pick me up with a fancy drawing or a picture of a bus that doesn't have orange and brown stripes on it?

and the progressive foundation's money...they're all different.

This is excellent. True regional cooperation. Efforts like this are critical to the health and vitality of sprawling urban regions that exist all over the country, but are rarely this comprehensive.

well that's a bummer...how are all the new residents in the Quadrangle supposed to get their blufftop views if there are walls up all along Lakeside? Bob Brown and Joe Cimperman: this is on you if you let the abuse of this real estate continue...you're on notice!

right, not just for millionaires... billionaires can find a home in Cleveland too!

good find Urban Life! we even thought enough alike to bold the same line!

Another thought that crossed my mind on the subject pertains to the timing of this campaign... knowing how long some of this stuff will take to materialize and the propensity for big projects to either fail or get whittled down to miniature versions of themselves, when this launches, its products need to be visible. That doesn't mean that the apartments need to be ready to inhabit, but that there need to be (at least) cranes in the air. Those of us geeks on this site know how exciting the sight of progress in the form of cranes can be, but it's not just us. How long has it been since we've had a significant number of construction projects going on Downtown at the same time? We've had one here (the new Courthouse) another there (Pinnacle), but not since the mid-1990s have we seen a quantity to get excited about. Over at the Clinic and UC, construction progress has been more plentiful and concentrated, but the outcomes haven't been nearly as great as the prospects. We've seen one disappointing Clinic building opened after another. CWRU's new housing and the Weatherhead School produced some interesting outcomes. But just wait until we've got the CIM, CMA, the West Quad, and Ford & Euclid all going on at once! And then think about what we have lined up for Downtown Cleveland with the Avenue District, Flats East Bank, West 9th & Main, and the lots between St. Clair & Superior...potentially all at once! Imagine the excitement in every Clevelander's and every visitor's hearts when we see those cranes in the air! There will be a buzz about town...and the millions of annual visitors will go home to Toledo or Pittsburgh or Indianapolis or Toronto and remark about the amount of construction going on in Cleveland. Minds will start to wander (maybe Cleveland's the place to be...) and people will want to come back to see what we've built! To paraphrase what one of my professors at CSU (Ned Hill) recently said, "Clevelanders have, for too long, thought of the crane as an endangered species." How true! Let's build and save he crane!