Map Boy

So, which is first? St. Clair & 12th or Superior & 13th? Or will they be built at the same time? (pretty please???)

This, from the most recent Avenues: 1211 St. Clair Avenue closes in on Pre-Sales Dear Friends, We are nearing our pre-sale requirement for 1211 St. Clair Avenue at The Avenue District, the first building in Downtown Cleveland's newest and most elegant neighborhood. There are only a few more sales needed before shovels will be in the ground and cranes will be in the air. If you are considering buying at The Avenue District, now is the time. We are offering $10,000 in free custom options to the next few buyers of our loft building at 1211 St. Clair Avenue. This incentive will not be available once the pre-sale requirements has been met, and don't forget, there is still pre-construction pricing available for our Townhomes at The Avenue District. There is no better time than now to secure your place at The Avenue District. These Incentives Are Hard To Ignore: Pre-Construction Pricing 15-year Tax Abatement Discounted Interest Rates 2-year Rate-Locks $10,000 in Custom Options 1-Year Membership to the Cleveland Athletic Club The Excitement of Downtown Cleveland at your Doorstep Walk to Work or Enjoy a Reverse Commute

well, I think the West Quad (can we rename this thread already?) was looked at as more of a connected part of the CWRU campus and had a critical mass of available land that could be acquired all at once. If they can build out with bio-tech-med uses, then great, but I, too, thought that there could be some residential uses on-site. Much like we're seeing at St. Luke's (Buckeye-Shaker), the possibility of re-using hospital buildings as residential structures is somewhat speculative and iffy. But there could definitely have been a market for building new residential towers over Rockefeller Park, Wade Lagoon, CMA, and the Arts Garden! As for the blocks west of the West Quad, there is lots of interest from developers in this area and I've seen some beautiful conceptual drawings, but have heard nothing more concrete to date. I think the market will eventually make it happen and there are lots of people pushing for it right now!

I was most taken by this from KJP's summary: This seems to me to be critical to the development of this corridor...and the fact that they can see passenger rail and TOD as a way to enhance their business is right on! I actually brought this up at the Lakefront West meeting yesterday to a look of bewilderment from an ODOT rep. He didn't seem to think that NS was at all considering alternatives for their route on the West Side. Then again, my comment was more along the lines of removing it altogether, so that could've been my fault!

^well, we'll have to have a little catch-up session later after we watch Rachel Ray! I think it's the City of Cleveland's responsibility to ensure that ODOT's plans feed into a larger community-based and citywide planning process. That's what the Lakefront Plan was designed to be, so city planners and community leaders have to press really hard to make sure that those aims and objectives are met through this project. I didn't get the sense, during my hour there, that this was apparent, but I know that the effort is there somewhere and I don't believe that city leaders are going to let it slip away. The fact that three city council people and many other neighborhood representatives (plus residents and business owners) were present and involved gives me confidence.

^that from today? you can see the steel from the heart center popping up! i've always wanted a cleveland tat', but I've never gone for it. When I lived in Portland, OR, I really wanted to get an outline of the state of Ohio tatooed on my upper arm. I can't figure out if I'm glad or disappointed that I never did... any Urban Ohio tatoos out there?

^please do! Though I love the idea of having a terminal in the Flats, I really think that the Tower City thing would work best. Namely, because it's a hub for shopping, tourism & transit already, but also because it's the historic terminal for NEO's passenger rail system. If they could somehow reconstruct (or uncover) some of the original station and incorporate some of the historic trolleys that are stored there now and make a trolley/transit museum adjoining the CVSR station, I think that would be fantastic! Any feedback, KJP? Are there any other stations planned down the Cuyahoga aside from Steelyard Commons?

you know what would make it easier and less fallible to count riders? using turnstiles and counters on the fare boxes! unfortunately, there are either no turnstiles or easy ways to walk around them at most stations and I really don't trust the drivers or farebox attendants to keep track like one of us would! And how many times have you gotten on the bus when the driver just waved everyone on and didn't press a single button or take a single fare? on the cleanliness thing...there are these little postcards on most trains that read "ride happy or ride free!" I hope they're sincere in wanting to know about our riding experience, but sometimes I wonder...

^Funny, because the guy who lives across from the site is a scrapper...he drives around the city all day and picks up scrap metal and other assorted junk. I always wonder if people were actually using the stuff or if he just took things from porches and yards! The last block club meeting I was at where the WSCH developers were there, they were very clear in stating that they wanted to keep the neighbors informed about their plans, but that there were still a lot of details (contracts, finances, etc) to work out. That said, they were 100% committed to the project if they could work it out and planned to start as soon as WSCH moved down Lorain...sometime in September, I believe. So, W. 28th, did they say that the negotiations were further along? Complete?

^I used to head up to Cold Spring on the Metro North for hikes as well...a lovely getaway! It sounds like "all are aboard" with this one, so let's make it happen!

well, I'd assume that too, but it's just strange that the master plan was already given a dink before it ever really got started...

I was only there for about an hour and managed to get pretty overwhelmed in that small amount of time. With bossy newsmen telling me to move and 200 onlookers, it was tough to get in there and really examine the options. The ODOT reps were very helpful if you could get their ear, but the whole thing was just a little too "busy." That's obviously not the fault of ODOT, but my other issue could be. The maps were pretty much just overhead shots with a bunch of lines and alternatives. It would've been very helpful to have a zoomed out aerial at every station, as well as more elevations. It was tough to really comprehend the terrain and where roads and trails were leading under the setup they brought. Anyway, I couldn't stay, so I'm planning to study the plans with more time and perhaps propose an alternative or two that are not listed. They kept saying that these were just the first set of ideas that had been put forward by a number of interests, so if they try to pull any Central Interchange stuff on us and tell us that "these are the only options..." well, I'm going to have to take somebody down!

^yeah, they did all these studies to determine the cost/feasibilty/function of keeping some/all/none of the Mt. Sinai buildings. They also included cost estimates of developing to different densities on site. Then, to end up with a full demo (except the precious parking garage!) and to build a one-story building as a kick-off? Not one of the proposed schemes had a building that small... makes you wonder.

this is very exciting and optimistic! I'd assume it will still only be used as a tourist route, but damn, I'll hop on! Would taking your bike on the train, "chugging" down up the river and riding back be an option?

I also made a dorky (but very scenic) Cleveland postcard to mark my return (with YSOH) to the city. The plan was to send it out as a "here's our new address" postcard, but it never made it to the printer. We ended up altering it a bit and turning it into a Christmas card!

all the warehouses are down, except the little one that's actually attached to the hotel building. Maybe they're using this to store some equipment or materials while they work on the old building?

ahhh, yes! Thanks Mayday! I sometimes catch the bus right out front, but don't pay much attention to the building. I'm usually a bit more taken by the St. John's buildings next door!

hey, welcome to the forum! and thanks for reporting on your transit experience!

The demolition of the old residence hall on the St. John's campus (E. 9th & Superior) is nearly complete. Will we be looking at another parking lot or some sort of green space in the near future?

shame shame I know your name! Seriously, though...let's get that thing moving...build that tower over 515 and get crackin on the Atrium (meaning, market the hell out of them) so that when the corridor opens, we won't be traveling through the same landscape of vacant buildings and storefronts as we were before spending the $200 mil! thanks, B12. I don't recall seeing Eaton on the building, but I'm sure I'll notice it next time!

From the CBRE Downtown Office Market 2nd Quarter Report: "Eaton Corporation has taken additional space in its headquarter building and will occupy in August 2006." Where is this? "The local unemployment rate decreased during the quarter from 5.6% to 4.5%. The unemployment rate in Ohio stayed flat over the quarter at 5.3%, while the national rate declined to 4.6% from 4.8%." That's a pretty significant jump for the MSA, especially relative the the state and nationwide numbers! I was also surprised to see the newly remodeled Idea Center listed as "Class B," but I guess I really don't know all of what goes into this classification. I just assumed that a newly renovated and technologically well-appointed building would be in the "A" class. Finally, I don't think we're going to see any new office construction in the very near future, but if and when we do, it'd better be rehab of an existing building or development as part of a larger residential/hotel/retail/entertainment facility. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only way to do it right now!

one lane of automobile traffic and one lane of BRT traffic in each direction is hardly frightening. I think what the CC needs to do to make their environment more inviting is actually do something to foster more street and sidewalk life. Creating another barrier to reinforce this single-use island campus is only going to make their campus worse. This isn't Mayfield Village, after all! It used to be a bustling entertainment and shopping area with brownstones and thousands of residents!

well, I think our presence and our optimism have to be encouraging for leaders and developers, if they're paying attention. much of the tide for development has swung back towards downtowns and inner city neighborhoods in recent years, but in my experience, Cleveland has seen development with much more caution than other places. (Keep an eye out for my review of my weekend in Pittsburgh a little later on.) The term "risk averse" is one I wish I'd never heard, but it seems to sum up the Cleveland development picture quite well!

Man, this is going to be tough...

Shoreway wish list worth $70 million Hearing aims to pare tab for boulevard Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporter City and state planners have big wishes but limited cash to convert the West Shoreway into a lake-friendly boulevard. Wednesday night, they want you to help them decide how the $50 million project should be laid out. The city and the Ohio Department of Transportation will roll out eight possible sites for new or improved access along the 2.9 miles of the West Shoreway (Ohio 2) running from West Boulevard to West 25th Street... The plans will be on the Web soon after the meeting, at www.innerbelt.org. Click on the Cleveland Lakefront West link.