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Pigboy, Which city has the Orpheum in it? I lived in Memphis and we had an Orpheum there, but that picture is definitely not Memphis.

Cleveland: ?? this would take a while to think of all of the pro athletes. I'll go another route and list the current pro athletes from my high school (St. Ignatius): Chris Hovan Tampa Bay Bucs LeCharles Bentley NO Saints Jacob Bell TN Titans Tom Arth Indianapolis Colts Dave Ragone Houston Texans Mata Kata Arizona Diamondbacks +several others are at the minor league level Not professional, but.. Tim Mack Pole Vault Gold metal winner 2004 Olympics and current Olympic record holder

Well, they have a spectacularly suburban feel to them. I'll take it, but the design could be much much better. Alternatively, if they attract a market that wouldn't otherwise consider the inner city, then its a definite plus.

Summer Olympics draw a much larger audience.

I agree with MGD & KJP that is sounds like a very unique and good idea. But, I have a little bit of difficulty envisioning how this would fit into the current convention center plans. Would it demand additional space? According to the article, it would require a large amount of sq footage.

Facility-wise, Columbus would make the most sense. Transportation-wise, traffic could be a nightmare.

PBL is 152,000 sq ft. This is why I just don't understand how this will be a stand-alone signature building. I heard the original thinking was that there would be a large condo tower about MoCA at the corner. The support beams that would disect the museum space would severely limit the flexibility of exhibition possibilities. So, they scrapped that idea. I am curious to see how they envision the museum mixing with its context. I am sure that the developer would want to take full advantage of that corner's visibility, so I am sure that the space will be utilized wisely. The PD had an interesting graphic on Friday. It showed the beach property as belonging to Case. While that sale will happen, Case and UCI are still negotiating a price.

Blinker, I agree with you about Litt's portrayal of the Triangle. Its not the best architecture, but its not a dead area. UCI has about a 97% occupancy rate in those apartments (mainly grad students and medical residents). If we gave people some nicer options, I think that area could take on even more density.

That's the idea. But, it can be a gamble sometimes with modern architecture. The space will not be that big, so I am curious as to how large the footprint will be and how it addresses this major intersection. Additionally, it will have to fit in with the Triangle's redevelopment. I heard that the RFPs have already gone out to developers. We might hear more in the first two months of next year. While it hasn't been framed this way, the Triangle redevelopment would be a great TOD possibility. It borders a redline station and the new Silverline.

CornerCurve, Welcome to the forum! Its great to have another active Clevelander on UrbanOhio.

Great news!

Little Italy just finished their master plan. Its up on their website. http://www.littleitalyredevelopment.org/

Dan, I don't disagree with most of what you say. However, your reasoning doesn't apply to the Forgotten Triangle. No one is trying to put a road through Shaker Lakes. No one is trying to give E This is what frustrates me with the reactions that some people have towards the OC: some people are so anti-highway that they are can't calm down enough to see that this is not another highway that would wipe out neighborhoods or open up cornfields for development. Its not that I believe that the OC is a panacea for Cleveland's ills, but we do need to carefully look at all the ways to improve the city. To sit and think that commuter rail is the only way to improve our city is short-sighted. Creating an area where industrial businesses can set up shop is vital to growing this city's tax base. Without improved revenue, we are never going to improve our schools and neighborhoods. Without improved schools and neighborhoods, we will be severely limited in our attempts to improve the economy, built dense and vibrant urban cores, and support TODs. I love that we are calming the Shoreway. That is a fantastic idea that will improve that part of Cleveland. I wish that we could do away with the innerbelt bridge altogether. Let's turn I-490 into the the first leg of the innerbelt and route traffic through I-77 till it hits deadman's curve. I wholeheartedly agree that the elimination of roads can improve a city. Yet, the Atlanta and Los Angeles examples show a poor ability to compare and contrast the unique situations that each city faces. How will that help open up this place for industrial redevelopment? Or, do you think that is not a priority?

If you have read Roldo, you know that he is against any sort of corporate welfare. He would never seriously suggest buying homes for corporate executives.

^They are massing models. The designs are not yet complete. I do like how the site plan. It creates a new grid and provides a lot of access to the river. As a past boater, I really like the transient marina. I can see a lot of boaters visiting Cleveland during the summer because of this project. It will be a cute new urban neighborhood with many amenities. You could dock your boat and take the WFL to the Rock Hall or to Tower City, or just walk around the WHD and East Bank. North Coast Harbor should do a similar thing.

I want to start this topic before I forget about it. I really should be doing some school work, but... I generally have a lot more respect for critics who offer a solution. I have read a lot of things by Roldo and have yet to ever hear him advance an idea that would help solve the problem. Now, I can't claim to know all of what the man has written. Maybe I have missed some very well-written articles that offer constructive solutions. I know that newspaper commentaries are supposed to offer a critique. Roldo does that. Yet, time after time, he delivers the same anti-business message that follows the deeply-worn tracks of his previous pieces. The piece below is no different. Does anyone like his articles? Is there any redeeming value in his predictable style? I don't mean this to be a rip-apart-Roldo piece, I would like to know what I am overlooking. Memo to Chris Ronayne... Give Until it Hurts, and Then Give More Perspective from Roldo Bartimole 08.24.05 Memo to: Chris Ronayne Chief Development Officer & Chief of Staff City of Cleveland, Ohio From: Roldo Bartimole Chris, you fucked up again. Lost OfficeMax. It was born here. Why Chicago ? I know you and the gang wanted to give them two million, maybe three million dollars, maybe four or more, to stay but they turned you down. You learned a lot from the experience, they say. I wonder what, though. Here’s where you made your mistake, Chris. These guys that run the company have their homes in the Chicago area. I’m told they don’t want to give up their homes. You messed up. You offered them tax abatements. You offered loans. Low-interest loans. Some they wouldn’t have to pay back. (Those are not really loans, Chris; they’re gifts!) Free parking? What no BMWs? You forgot about the homes. Why didn’t you buy the estate of the late Al Lerner and offer that tract for the OfficeMax chairman’s new Cleveland home? Free. No taxes. Limo service back and forth to OfficeMax's Cleveland or Shaker Heights executive offices. There must be other places available out in Hunting Valley , Gates Mills or Moreland Hills that would have made nice gifts – the kind you cannot refuse – to lure other high OfficeMax executives here. Boats for Lake Erie . All the top staff could have been given yachts. That’s enticing. College tuition for their kids, anywhere, free. Hey, if you’re going to attract top talent you have to pay the price. See. You didn’t use your noggin. You depended upon all those old gimmicks – tax abatements, 1970s stuff. Low-interest loans. Pffft, you can get that anywhere. You have to think out of the box, Chris. The time is now ripe to really help your corporate leaders. How about free restaurant meals for all the executives? That would be nice. How about full income-tax rebates? That might sing the right song to them. Why should they pay income taxes when they honor us with their presence? Let’s get into the right frame of mind here in Cleveland, Chris. This is an arms race. We need new weapons. They’d miss Chicago ? We’ll give them jets to go back on the weekends. No cost to them. Maybe some spending money, too. We need a Plan B, as Shaker Mayor Judy Rawson suggested. B for Bribery. Corporate bribery. That’s what works today in Corporate America . You want corporate headquarters? Well, you have to be more creative. A little bit more generous, too. Give them what they want. Never mind that old tax abatement stuff. That doesn’t work anymore. Anyone can give that. You know how it is with kids. Offer them candy and they want more. Hope you get the drift, Chris. You just have to be a little more inspired, somewhat more artful. Without it, you’re just left buying your pencils at Staples. I guess now it’s back to the Convention Center for some community oomph. We need it more now that ever! That could be your slogan, Chris.

If the East Bank is successful and Stonebridge keeps on growing, it will be such a boon to to each side to have some sort of crossing near the Main Ave bridge.

A Bridge Too Far North : ODOT races ahead with the biggest area highway project in a generation. Is the plan the best we could do? By Michael Gill Make way While firefighters work on a museum, ODOT plans a highway for their doorstep. WHILE TRAFFIC RUSHES THROUGH SNOW on the Innerbelt bridge about 100 yards away, a handful of retired firefighters jab steel scrapers at a foggy circle on the floor of their old dispatch station. They use dry ice to brittle the crust of old tile adhesive so it chips off more easily. They’re putting sweat equity into their vision of a Western Reserve Fire Museum, a dream that could open its doors to school kids and the curious public in less than a year. But the Ohio Department of Transportation’s plan to build a second bridge between them and the one that’s there now would separate the museum from parking and almost literally put their historic building up against a concrete wall. The building is home to banks of 120 round brass bells and Morse code stations. From 1928 to 1999, the bells rang when someone pulled one of Cleveland’s 1,200 red fire callboxes. No other fire museum in the country has such a system in its original location. Dan Hayden was working there on they day they shut the massive communication network down...

^I would favor a giant catapult. Let's be innovative and create a unique experience! ;)

River's banks support failing Thursday, December 08, 2005 By KEN PRENDERGAST West Side Sun News Hoping to head off a potential crisis with failing bulkheads along the edges of the Cuyahoga River, the Flats Oxbow Association is devoting much of its annual meeting today to the bulkhead issue. The bulkheads are the association's primary concern because they support the river's banks and, in some cases, hillsides and buildings above them. Also, a significant failure of bulkheading could block the river, shut down commercial river traffic and isolate some industries from low-cost water transport. Most of the bulkheads were installed in the 1930s as part of a federal Works Progress Administration project and are showing their age. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, repairing or replacing the bulkheads, costing perhaps $1,500 to $5,000 per linear foot, is the responsibility of property owners along the river. Also part of their responsibility is preparing designs and seeking building permits for new or repaired bulkheads. More at http://www.cleveland.com/sun/westsidesunnews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1134064104121270.xml&coll=3

^what a convenient way to describe the kick-out to prospective tenants

The Metro Joes next to St. Patrick's has closed??

KJP, Can you at least tell us in which Sun we can find it?

From the sketch above, it will be a big improvement over the present configuration. The only thing that I don't really like is the huge amount of surface parking near the corner of Cedar/WCR. Why did they located the two large stores all the way in the back? If they moved those two and fronted them on Cedar, the design would be much better. They pretty much do that with the rest of the project, why not complete the scheme?

I'll really miss that poorly-designed, architercturally-poor strip center. ;)