Map Boy

I'm looking at an urban planning foundation with real estate development as a side concentration...CSU has this, but I was thinking that they might partner with the Kent CUDC for more of a design concentration. My official campus visit is still pending! anyone out there have an opinion of CSU's programs in this area? (I'm planning on posting this elsewhere as well.)

I'll start by saying that I'm a little lost with some of your references since I haven't been to the site in a couple years. And you said "see my avatar - taken from Franklin just east of West 25th," but I don't know what that refers to... Ok, so there's a huge socio-political debate underlying the role of government in providing public housing and how it needs to correct for its past mistakes and what not, but that's a whole different log. I am fairly familiar with the site, though, and what was there before this project on the east side of W. 25th was some bad bad low-rise public housing. This was a horrible use of space, indeed. And now, with redevelopment, they're keeping (to my understanding) only the high-rise housing and rebuilding on the entire site, adding a promenade along the bluff and possibly a park leading down to the river (I can see this getting lost along the way). The housing will be medium-density and will include commercial frontages along 25th. If they go across the street, great! If not, this will be a huge step on its own. I'm sure you're familiar with HOPE VI projects and objectives, but I don't know what you've seen. The housing in Cincinnati's West End is very fetching and you'd never know what's subsidized and what's not. Same thing in Seattle's NewHolly development and in many other examples nationwide. I think this is government idealism attempting to prove that we can have public and private market housing side-by-side and that there doesn't need to be a stigma attached to subsidized housing. I know this is subject to a great deal more debate and I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say on the subject.

First, sorry about the Metropolis reference...it's actually February 2005...I still can't get used to that! As for my present location...Brooklyn, NY

yes, it was (is?) a CMHA project, but it's HOPE VI and like it or not, the program has shelled out some pretty solid neighborhood planning, filling in gaps where out-of-date public housing once prevented any sort of investment. I know the committment to 1-to-1 replacement of public units hasn't necessarily panned out completely in all of their projects nationwide, I think the overall successes have been very positive. Anyone else?

I was pumped when I first saw the CSU master plan pages a few months back...because I'm considering coming back to Cleveland for grad school. As an urban planner, though, I have placed a huge emphasis on the environment in which I choose to study. I have been visiting campuses and attending classes and I have to say that someone who isn't particularly attached to Cleveland would likely cast CSU aside in a heartbeat in its current state. I think that 20 years down the line, it will be aesthetically competitive, but right now, despite some new buildings, it still remains a very fragmented and ugly campus. They are moving in the right direction, but as they do it, so do other universities across the country. Some are further ahead, but few appear to be behind. On the top of the "good practice" sheet must be Portland State (Oregon) where they've just run a streetcar line through campus and created a wonderful new plaza in front of their urban affairs building...University of Cincinnati (check out postings here and the February '04 Metropolis Magazine spread)...and OSU. University of Pennsylvania is Ivy League and appears to be staggering a bit, but they've got their new bookstore in and are working on a housing revival in the area. PSU definitely stands out, though, especially in relation to CSU, since they're both directly contiguous to their downtowns.

Sorry, I posted this earlier in the wrong spot... On this subject, I was just reading Jane Campbell's State of the City address and I got to this interesting paragraph: "The Lakefront Plan is the very definition of what it means to have a vision for the City. This is the plan that sets the stage for a whole new neighborhood on the East Bank of the Flats with significant private investment in housing, shopping, and entertainment poised to break ground within the next year." The address is dated February 18th, but I haven't seen any updates here since December. Has progress been made?

hey, thanks for that! i did try that before starting my own posts, but I guess i was still redundant, eh?

What has become of the HOPE VI site in Ohio City between Lorain and Detroit? I was so excited when I first saw the plans four years ago and I know they're still on the table, but I haven't heard much buzz about it. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most exciting and most realistic development projects I've seen in recent years. Any news? pictures found at: http://www.gcassoc.com/html/proj_descr.asp?pageid=1196

I do agree with you that the streetscape improvements are very positive...I just wish there was more room for growth. What do you think about the NE corner of Euclid Heights and Coventry? It could be so much more. Much in the same way that this Lee Road site was just a drive through bank branch and will become so much more! Oh, and getting another grocery back in the old Food Co-op space would be nice too!

Wow, this is really progressing at snail's pace, isn't it? I wonder how peeved the pre-construction buyers are... Are there any updates on the stalled District Park project?

Oh, one more thing...while working at City Hall six years ago, I was inspired by the lack of lunch options around this "Civic Center" portion of downtown and by the glaring emptiness of the Malls. I ran this idea past a city planner: why not facilitate a farmers market on Mall B??? Or Mall C (which at the time was a parking lot)??? Bring them in like at the East and West Side Markets. Think of the Shaker Square farmers market. We have enough farmers, right? This could be a once-a-week thing or a three-times-a-week thing or whatever, but use the space! Create unique commerce! If I had to go to the Galleria food court one more time, I might have just lost my head! Just an idea...

OK, as I'm new to this and I have a lot to vent, this has the potential to go long, so bear with me... First, I don't want to see Cleveland drastically expand its convention center. Though massive public investments can drive piggy-backing private investment, I feel that they should be based in sound economic projects...a gigantic new convention center is not one of them. It will not make Cleveland unique and it will remain underused...just like the others that people keep referring to. Concentrate on better projects, like the inner-belt reconstruction and lakefront projects. Second, if the powers that be deem that a new convention center does need to be built, let's not start from scratch! We have a fantastic, historical base on the Mall that remains one of the most realized massive urban planning models in the country. Extend this under Mall B and reconstruct the County office site. We MUST include an extension of the Mall over the rail tracks down to the Lake in this project. And sprucing up our horribly inadequte regional rail station in the process couldn't hurt! Thinking outside the box...if the convention center is abandoned and the county offices are moved as well, we will be forced to re-envision this section of Downtown. Can you imagine this proposition??? Take several of the LARGEST blocks in Downtown Cleveland, all close to the Lake and sandwiched between all of the center city's amenities, and publicly owned...can you think of any fun ideas? For example, luring residents to downtown...how about adaptively re-using the Convention Center as a "Chelsea Piers" style activities center. Fill this with every possible amenity that no one can picture in Downtown Cleveland...a gigantic fitness center...a marketplace...a movie theater...a driving range(!) and voila! Residents will flock! The one downside to this sort of idea is that we have The Avenue at Tower City and The Galleria already floundering. The majority of our downtown retail is indoors in these malls and the arcades (which I adore), so I feel that building an underground city (as was mentioned earlier) or internalizing too much more retail could just harm us even more. We need to think original...unique...reuse the Galleria in this "Chelsea Piers" way if the Convention Center remains on its current site! And think of all the underutilized land to the east of Erieview along the Bluffs! Keep the dream alive folks... and one more thing...in regards to this Scaravelli character being bankrupt...wasn't Donald Trump on his way out a decade or two ago? The man just keeps building! And now he's the most unlikely TV star we've seen since Pee Wee Herman!

I think this project is fantastic. It's been a long time in the making and will fit nicely into the Cedar-Lee neighborhood. This remains one of the Cleveland region's most complete and vibrant neighborhoods and more people would love to live here. I think this should do well to accomodate new residents and a new influx of retail. Unfortunately, Coventry doesn't appear to be doing as well...

no no! that's my question! I know that the new building features the engineering to support future floors, but I'm not sure if the Winking Lizard building does. It's possible that it does, but if not, I think a retrofitting could provide this in a two-story building. Again, I'm no engineer, but I'm sure it's been done before. anyways, it's interesting to see the Pointe at Gateway with its new apartments and a big wall on the east side with no windows...might as well build up to meet it...if those apartments sell, new ones on the actual "point" should sell even better!

I've been keeping up with this project through the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission's Weblog: http://planning.co.cuyahoga.oh.us/blog, which is a great resource for those of us who live out of town, but want to keep up with day-to-day news around the Cuyahoga Cty area. CoolCleveland is also great...and there used to be a Cleveland Development Projects website, but I think the guy called it quits. Anyways, great news. It seems like all the needed players are on the same side and we could actually see this thing happen over the next 10+ years. Add to that new housing construction all around the Circle and up the hill, a renovated Wade Oval and Lagoon, an expanded CMA, CIA CIM, and CWRU and continued investments by both hospitals...plus Euclid Corridor. On the housing note, any progress on the renovation of the beautiful, historic Park Lane Villa?

Hey everyone, I'm new here, but no stranger to digging for Cleveland development news on the internet. I was at this construction site in December and sat staring at it for about 10 minutes, just imagining the possibilities. And this before I knew that there were plans for a future residential tower! Now, on the subject of adding to foundation buildings...it looks as though the Winking Lizard/Cleveland Urban Design Center building at the intersection of Huron and Prospect was initially expected to be much much taller. Though it is a handsome building and well-utilized, has anyone heard of any plans to retrofit it and build up??? ...enthralled...