Map Boy

a question for those of you who are in-the-know: what is the next phase for the condo building? will it be along E. 12th or St. Clair? I don't remember if this was specified somewhere along the line...

I don't see the bickering and feet dragging that you're talking about. I do sometimes wish that developers would wait a little longer to publicize their plans... thereby avoiding stirring up our emotions on projects that may be years off or never come true... but these things take time. Lots of time! It's not like the Avenue District just popped up out of the woodwork. These lots have been run through the development spinner many times over the past couple decades. It is great to see a plan stick and get built, but I'm not about to go calling the other developers laggards.

Here are a couple other threads you may be interested in checking out: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2873.0 http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=653.0

Welcome to the forum and to cleveland (perhaps?)! I live with my wife and newborn (yes, folks, I'm a dad now!) two blocks south of Detroit, between W. 58th and W. 65th. It's a little different from the blocks you're talking about... bigger houses, higher traffic street... but I do spend a good bit of time walking/biking/jogging in your neck of the woods, so I can offer my perspective. Like Dan B said, the councilman lives on W. 69th. That's usually a good sign that you'd be a part of the neighborhood that will not get overlooked. There are active block clubs in that area and new investment in both housing and commercial spaces, so again, new people and existing people are going to be looking after their investments. As was also said, this is a city and bad things can happen to good people no matter where you end up. I wouldn't expect the area you ask about to be particularly unsafe, but I would also recommend using the buddy system after dark. That's just common sense no matter who you are. Then again, I rarely practice what I preach! There's already been good advice here about scoping it out for yourself. But no one has really plugged the positives yet... you're walking distance to Edgewater Park and the Gordon Square commercial district, new bars and shops, and convenient transit to Downtown. Plus, as you'll find on here, you've got good neighbors. I'd give it an honest look!

Try this link for your options and contacts: http://www.clevelandcityliving.com/images/rental.pdf

I like that Stark didn't say he was going to replicate Crocker Park downtown, but instead gave his best shot at making a comparison - Crocker Park on steroids. It says something that he understands the difference between what he calls "new suburbanism" and urban core development.

I'm impressed. Very well done WKYC!

Nice. Way to go Fairfax!

Nice pics JeffreyT! I took some myself the other day, but I haven't gotten them up on here yet.

In other news (from the D-S newsletter), the Capitol Theatre renovations are slated to begin in the Spring of 2008 with a late-fall 2008 grand opening (sounds bold). duoHome, discussed previously on this site, is scheduled to open on Nov. 23rd, just in time for the holiday shopping season! They'll feature an assortment of interior decorating items, such as contemporary furniture and home decor accessories, as well as many "green" product options. Room Service will also open on the 23rd, directly adjacent to duoHome and Kitsch City, across from the Gordon Square Arcarde. Again, home accessories, furniture, vintage items, jewelry & gift items, are some of the offerings. This stretch of Detroit is filling up!

1. Yes, and I believe there are 3 to be built in all. I would not call them townhomes, but more something that you might see on a hollywood hill 2. Are we not talking about W. 69th? This is the one with all the cute little buildings and the painted Italy in the street...

the next question is whether they are part of the overlay zoning district that exists along Euclid Avenue that will require them to build up to the sidewalk and with at least three stories...parking in rear. From the sound of things, they are not. On a related note, Church Square was fully leased at the end of last year. The video store left the prominent corner location and was temporarily filled by a tax service. As far as I know, that's still the only vacancy at this prime location.

My first impressions were the same as many of those expressed here... disappointment in its blandness and its resemblance of an old warehouse/parking deck. I also hated the "hump." I still do, actually, but as was also mentioned, it's where the function part of the design comes in. I, too, would've liked to see a design that gave the expansion and this whole complex a nice big entrance on Euclid Avenue. But, the main entrance to the complex will remain in the middle of the McCullough Building, set back from Euclid, which means that the new building needed to create a gateway to this entrance somehow. I know there were a lot of regulations coming from the federal government in relation to the historic tax credits that they're using on the existing building. Part of this precluded the expansion from actually touching or being built flush up against the McCullough Center. This is the reason for the gap between the two buildings on the Euclid Ave. facade. I worry about this space and the space underneath the "hump." They have the potential to be dark, dreary, havens for airborn litter and such... There were also earlier versions of the building (conceptual) that proposed a much more dramatic and "outside the box" structure, but I believe budget and historic requirements tapered those down as well. As many will attest, the interiors and their function is far more important. This is where my impressions have changed. As W28th mentioned, the "hump" creates sloping auditoriums for lectures and for the cinema. Studio spaces will also be along these slopes and all will benefit from great natural light corridors. The connection to the McCullough Center will be in the middle, above the main entrance, where the sloping glass that exists today will be removed (if I understand correctly) and a glass canopy will be built over the entire atrium between the two buildings. This should be impressive. I also believe that the Euclid Ave. ground floor space will be a gallery and that there will be a cafe in the rear, attached to the cinematheque. The McCullough Building's Euclid frontage will finally be opened up with a new library (IIRC), which should enable them to take down the shields that create a blank wall of opaque windows on the main street. As for the main entrance being off-Euclid? Well, like I said, I'm not a big fan, but there should be an opportunity for some sort of plaza space opening up on a new street (there actually used to be a street there) on the west side of the new building. This street will serve both CIA and the new Uptown/Triangle district and will run from Euclid to Mayfield.

good! I like that news better!

wow, I actually was joking...

The "Drive-thru District..." I like it. Add it to the project map! Pedestrians and vegetarians beware!

Maybe it's people camping out for the opening? Crazy people love them some Wal-Mart! Were they tailgating?

I, for one, can't wait to sit down over a new high-tech McGrease Burger while entertaining clients and making use of their wi-fi!

pretty please... that's another reason why I'm worried. You take off a handsome, historic facade and put up something cheap or inappropriate and you'll break a lot of hearts.

you expect me to pay a shipping surcharge?! Honestly, it never occurred to me to buy them online. Still, my issue rings true... you shouldn't have to go online to buy them. They should be available in the stations.

Their current building sits on about a half-acre fronting Euclid. They own about the same amount in the form of a surface parking lot directly behind the building. All told, the building occupies about 1/4 of the land. I understand that they lease in Playhouse Square as well, so, I'm wondering if leasing additional office space in PhSq (subject to available space, of course) could get them by while they demo and rebuild or add onto their current space? Then again, there may be better uses for that location as well. Or, they could be the office tenant in a more significant multi-story mixed-use structure. Say, 4 floors of office over first floor retail and 4 floors of apartments above that? Or go a little higher on land owned by Playhouse Square just west, directly across from the Palace Theater? (There's still one private owner in there...) Just thinking in print...

and thank you, Jerry, for your attention to our many many comments! We all want the best for/from our GCRTA! Following up on that story, I ended up going to a vendor near my house that was listed on the page I posted earlier (Convenient Food Mart on Detroit). They said they've never sold 5-ride farecards... only monthly and weeklies. The search continues!

all this talk of fashionable dining... somehow lost in the fold is one of our most exciting restaurant developments! New-look McDonald's coming to Cleveland Posted by Zachary Lewis October 18, 2007 17:26PM Fast-food junkies in Cleveland may have trouble recognizing their old hangout when the dust settles on the city's newest McDonald's. That's because the restaurant currently under construction on Carnegie Avenue near East 30th Street is being rebuilt according to the chain's newest design and will look like none of the 270 other McDonald's locations in Northeast Ohio. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

I'd put Lola on a different level than Vivo. Vivo is a spot I could afford a few times a year. Lola... maybe once. Plus, when I leave Vivo, I'm actually full and can still afford to go see a movie!

Jerry, I'm sure your people have looked into this, but I'm curious about why RTA would go ahead with work on the property (after tearing off the facade about a year ago) without an end user. Is it because they believe it will be easier to market with a new facade? What if the end user decides they don't like it? Interesting...