Map Boy

ODOT has been very reluctant to incorporate traditional traffic circles into urban street grids in recent history. I'm surprised that this is being seriously considered. I, too, am very pleased to hear of the Clinic's partnership with Fairfax. I've been driving down Cedar quite a bit recently and there's certainly a lot of room to invest in that more community oriented street. I'm sure it was once a lovely, urban scaled retail street with beautiful houses (some of which remain) on the numbered side streets. We need to get some Fairfax people into the forum!

oops! someone beat you to it! So, do you have any new images?

Litt was feeling it when he wrote that one! I'm very happy about this and that it will start this Spring and be complete around the opening of the ECTP. I can only hope that this sort of intervention will be the kick in the pants that the Levin College needs to do something with its useless grassy knoll! Musky or anyone else have up-to-date images of the project?

yikes...went by the site today. The signs are aesthetically pleasing, but tres cheesy! Lots of stock photos of people doing trendy things and words like "sophisticated"... but very few images of the actual project. One of the quotes nearly made me snort up my coffee: "The Best Thing Cleveland Has Ever Seen." What the???

Geez, I don't think I know anyone who lives in RR. I'll ask around, though. Good work KJP!

I refer you to my previous post

Not really. We're heading into a "quiet" phase, where much of the real work be done. To MTS's comment, it's true that the focus is on the consumer products sector, because that's where Cleveland stands out. Architects, fashion, graphic, digital, and other designers will in no way be shunned. They just have to start somewhere with their heavy marketing and that will be with existing consumer products companies and industrial design firms.

and?

Question: What's the Leopard? I hope it's open by the end of May, 'cause we have a bunch of guests staying at the B&Bs on Bridge & W. 28th around that time!

There's gotta be a market for that. I, too, love a good construction fence, but yeah, I'm not peeing my pants over this part of the project.

Still not ready to post my interior shots yet, but there will be a lovely shot on the front cover of the next Full Circle magazine, which comes out soon! By the way, don't you people read my captions? I named the dome thing-a-ma-jig in post one! Why do I bother...

In regard to my inquiry about the demo on Chester (Madonna Hall) it appears that there is a proposed development of 32 townhouse and loft units on the site. That's all I know so far!

Statler has just under 300 units and I understand that they're leasing is up since Coral took over. I would also like to suggest that the WHD and E. 12th Street aren't really competing as much as some may think. The products offered in the two neighborhoods are considerably different and likely appeal to two different types of apartment hunters.

Believe it or not, Park Lane Villa doesn't have it's own construction/project thread yet! With 96 luxury rental units and 45 floor plans (even units of the same floor plan will have slight variations), this is going to be one of the most fantastic buildings in Cleveland to live in come autumn. Units will range from 900 - 2,200 square feet and the prices will be roughly $1 per square foot/month. Views include the Clinic mega-campus, Downtown Cleveland, Rockefeller and Wade Parks, and the University Circle arts, culture, education, and medical area. I had the opportunity to take a tour of the building last week and speak with one of the principals from the Finch Group, who is developing the project. It's looking fantastic inside, but there's still a lot of work to do. The first model units should be complete in March and the building is slated to open in late-summer 2007. Floor plans are indeed unique and spacious. There are still numerous features that have been preserved, from fireplaces to built-in cabinets. The restaurant and ballroom on the ground floor is being meticulously restored and hopes to lure a 250-seat restaurant with a bar and cafe bistro that will cater to residents and visitors alike. I'm sure you're all wondering (I know I was!) about the loft building that was to be built next door. Well, according to my source, that's still on the table, but is in redesign right now. It was originally to be 4-8 units and now is looking more like 14. The footprint for this addition has been preserved, but a construction timeline is still undetermined. I'll get the thread started with some aerial shots from the Judson Manor (next door) and a postcard from Cleveland Memory (www.clevelandmemory.org) and will post more later. There are additional notes, articles, photos, etc. in the University Circle Construction thread, but I figured this warranted its own special place! Postcard from Cleveland Memory: Downtown Cleveland skyline in the distance and Cleveland Clinic construction cranes on the left: Lake Erie and the Temple Tifereth Israel to the right; CWRU's West Quad research campus will rise just steps from here: Shot of the bi-level garage construction. This will wrap around the building and could potentially be fronted on Park Lane with the loft building.

New website: www.DistrictOfDesign.com Cool Cleveland feature: http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/video/DesignDistrict.wmv Levin College Forum event: http://www.urban.csuohio.edu/forum/events/01_26_07_design_district.shtml Friday, January 26, 2007 4:00-6:00 p.m. Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium Presented by the Maxine Goodman Levin College Forum In Partnership with the Cleveland Institute of Art Program Northeast Ohio is home to many successful consumer product marketers and manufacturers. The collective resources of these companies represent a critical mass in manufacturing, marketing, sales, distribution and most importantly research, development, and design. However, the region currently lacks a vibrant design culture that enables companies to be at the leading edge of new product development. Learn more about an exciting plan for a design district along Euclid Avenue in Cleveland that is being developed by Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Institute of Art, with support from the Cleveland Foundation's Civic Innovation Lab and working with a number of community partners. What progress has been made toward making the Design District a reality? What is its potential value and impact? How will it enhance Northeast Ohio's consumer products industry? Agenda * 3:30-4:00 p.m. Registration * 4:00-4:20 p.m. The Vision for the Design District * 4:20-5:30 p.m. Reactor Panel * 5:30-6:00 p.m. Questions and Discussion

The first Battery Park Avenue loft building now has color! It looks even nicer than the renderings!

Well, according to the County Auditor's records, the property was transferred to the City of Cleveland Land Reutilization Program (Land Bank) in 2004 and was transferred to Madonna Hall Development LLC in December 2006. From what I know of the Land Bank, there's no such thing as transferring a property of that size without imminent plans for development. Also, the City generally doesn't pay for demolition and if they do demo a building, they'll do it prior to sale/transfer. I'll look into the City and Council record, as both are required for these transfers, but I'm not sure what I'll find in regard to development plans.

Wow, 137 years of tax abatement?! That's a bit much Wim, don't you think? Switching gears, the first phase of Lebron James townhomes on Superior & East Boulevard is making good headway. The exteriors are pretty much complete from what I can tell. Now, how about Lebron sponsors a basketball "cage" down the hill in Rockefeller Park where Cleveland can have big tournaments every year?

I'd forgotten about Tesco's involvement in this project. The lagging progress makes more sense now.

I think the bottom line for most of these developers is the tax credits. They probably wouldn't be looking into converting old office buildings into apartments if they didn't have historic tax credits on the table. With this funding comes restrictions, though, one of them being that they must be rental apartments for a number of years. Not exactly sure what the rationale behind this is, but I can't say I've really looked too far into it. In regard to this and a couple other projects I'm familiar with, I know the developer would prefer to go directly for-sale. He sees this as the market niche right now. He also saw demand being generated by the CSU crowd, but I think he was over-estimating the ability of students to BUY apartments. My only concern here is that we do already have a glut of rental units in the immediate neighborhood. Statler is finally getting close to capacity, but from what I understand, is still somewhere around 80% full. Not sure if that makes the building profitable or not, but it's clear that they're doing better now than they were a couple years ago. I've also heard rumors that there are big things in store for their vacant retail/restaurant spaces. I couldn't get anything more than that out of the guy, though. That said, if we're looking at a 2-year timetable, with the ECTP done and retail finally filling in, I can't think of a better place to have a glut of rental (and for sale) housing than this part of town. Let's just hope that what the County decides to do doesn't screw up all the other investments around here!

wow, this thread makes me ill...

I agree that uses like this should definitely be considered when thinking of new uses for Public Square, but markets don't necessarily have to spring from these high-profile places. I once proposed creating a temporary (lunch hours on some week days) international food market on Mall B when I worked at City Hall. The response I got was that it wouldn't work...too difficult to organize...no electrical outlets and what not. But these things sprout up on parking lots in cities that really want them. Or under bridges! Look at Portland's Saturday Market...under a big bridge overpass! This helps with weather and shade, but it's also not going to be used for anything else, so why not? On a side note, I'm too young to remember the Central Market, but what was it and its surroundings like when it was still operating on land that is now the Gateway Sports Complex?

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I recall hearing something about this as well, but I've got nothing for you. Exciting possibility, though!

oh man! between these two restaurants, I'm going to have to double my time at the gym! Fantastic!