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I don't know the area along the eastern shoreway very well. Some of you are saying that it would be the next logical step for an extension. Where should the extension end? It seems that no one lives on that route until you get to MLK drive. It would be a nice place to put high rise condos that overlook the lake, but it is so dreary there with the highway. I don't see it as being a very popular place to live. The problem with Cleveland is that our traffic is not that bad. It will be hard to convince people to take public transit if driving is so easy.

The planners at the county told me it would take 3-6 years to get the towpath trail up to downtown. I just feel that they are being overly optimistic. Or maybe I am being overly pessimistic.

What is the status of the train coming to tower city? Memphis has a series of trolleys that are 1. a decen investment and 2. a huge waste of money. One line connects three different entertainment districts around downtown. It is fairly empty until the weekend evenings. The accompanying streetscape project has created an area where residential is just now starting to boom. On the other hand, the local transit company (MTA) finished an extension last year that is rarely used. It connects a poor immigrant neighborhood, the medical centers and downtown. The cars are ridiculously slow. It would be much quicker to take a bus or your own car. Truly, it is painfully slow. It cost $80 million, but it is unlikely to spur much development. It looks pretty, but that's all.

In Cleveland Heights, they are doing a very nice residential project with an old church. The church will be turned into condos and townhomes will be added on the old surface lot. Look at http://www.progressiveurban.com and then click on the picture of the church for details.

Looking at the Lesco site, some of those inner city projects involve the dreaded attached garage. Hmm.

How was he a villain? All I hear is that Kucinich was mayor during our default. Most say that he was horrible. Others say that he was standing up to the corporations. I really don't know much.

I wish that I had a better photo than this one, but I would put St. Ignatius as one of the best in the under-12 category

The near west side is nicely on its way, I believe. The 65th area and Ohio City are creeping towards each other at a nice pace. So many infill projects in that area. Also, with the new Shoreway on tap in the coming years, the area will get an additional shot in the arm. Add in the Hope VI project and Battery Park (once it gets underway) and all the new townhomes overlooking the lake. When I went to Ignatius in the late 80s early 90s, I never would have thought that this stuff would have happened.

There may be a topic on this area, but here is another Crain's article about the up and coming arts district. I like what they are doing. West Siders need an art theater. Pile of cash needed for Gordon Sq. arts district By JAY MILLER A group that hopes to transform the corner of West 65th Street and Detroit Avenue into a West Side arts district is looking at an innovative way of financing a package of neighborhood improvements that could total as much as $20 million. Chief among those financing options is a bond issue that the group hopes the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will float, said James Levin, founder of Cleveland Public Theatre, which is based in the neighborhood. Mr. Levin is leading the effort to finance the revitalization of the newly formed Gordon Square Cultural Arts District. continued below Advertisement Deb Janik, Port Authority vice president of regional development, said a Gordon Square bond issue was intriguing and something the port would be interested in, though no formal proposal has been made. Mr. Levin said the group needs to line up guarantors for the loan package, which he said could involve a mix of corporations and foundations that would make either long-term grant commitments or would provide letters of credit to assure repayment of the bond issue. The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, a nonprofit, has been struggling for several years to coordinate the restoration of the neighborhood's jewels on a piecemeal basis. It had hoped a year ago that Issue 31 - the county arts development proposal that failed on the March 2004 ballot - would have provided a base for financing. The new organization brings together the previous individual efforts. Mr. Levin left his job as executive director of Cleveland Public Theatre eight months ago to lead the neighborhood capital improvements effort. Cleveland City Councilman Mat-thew Zone, whose Ward 17 includes Gordon Square, still hopes to receive some county money for the project, and he said the city already is putting $2 million into neighborhood street-scape improvementsalong Detroit Avenue. But he, too, is throwing his support behind the bond idea. An arts triumvirate The three pillars of the arts district would be Cleveland Public Theatre, the Near West Theatre and the Capitol Theater, an 84-year-old, 1,400-seat movie theater in the Gordon Square Arcade building that has been dark for decades. Gordon Square Arcade is owned by a partnership headed by the Detroit Shoreway development group, which has estimated the theater's restoration will cost between $3 million and $4 million. The hope is the Capitol Theater will become the West Side equivalent of the Cedar-Lee Theater, which shows a mix of foreign and independently produced films. Cleveland Public Theatre has been in the area for two decades and currently operates two stages in buildings along the northeast corner of West 65th and Detroit. It has spent several hundred thousand dollars over the years to carve out of its old buildings usable performance space for its out-of-the-mainstream productions. However, Mr. Levin has been searching for at least $6 million to upgrade and renovate several run-down buildings Cleveland Public Theatre owns in the neighborhood. It needs at least $3.2 million for a serious makeover of the 1912 Gordon Square Theatre, which is in need of air conditioning among other improvements, and an adjacent building that is home to the troupe's Mainstage Theatre. West 65th Street originally was called Gordon Street. Mr. Levin says the theater group also has its eye on restoring the old St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church at 6203 Detroit for smaller theater companies and educational uses. The Near West Theatre has been able to acquire an old furniture store at West 67th and Detroit but needs money to move from its current space in Ohio City. Mr. Levin said the plan is for Near West, which targets at-risk teens and other youth with its productions and after-school programs, to move into the basement and first floor of the furniture store and to build an auditorium on the back of the building. In a presentation last Tuesday, March 22, at Case Western Reserve University's Center for Regional Economic Issues, Mr. Levin said the presence of these anchor organizations is spawning a robust arts district that now includes a bookstore, an art gallery and several restaurants. It also includes the Verb Ballets, a dance company now performing at Cleveland Public Theatre that Dance Magazine a year ago designated among its "25 to watch" U.S. dance companies.

I posted the entire article on the "projects page." I didn't see that something had been posted over here.

I agree. They probably spent way too much money on that video. The music, the Elvis. The dorms are pretty enough, you don't need a bad video to prove it to the students.

Is the tech center going up next to the research buildings? I wish that land was a park and Sherwin wasn't using it like a suburban office park.

The same group, Goody Clancy, also designed the new Case dorms. The website says that Case's plan is to replace all the undergraduate housing in 10 yrs.

The Boston group that is doing the planning for this project is the same one that did the Cabrini Green Here is a link to their site. There is also some info on the project: http://www.gcassoc.com/html/market_specialty.asp?pageid=1032

Well, this article says that they should be doing some things this spring/summer. Hope to see some construction by the time that I move back. This article is from last Spring. Developers reveal Riverview Hope VI plans by Chuck Hoven The Hope VI Riverview development seeks to dramatically transform the east side of W. 25 th Street from Bridge Avenue to Detroit Avenue . On Tuesday May 18th, development partners Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Ohio City Near West Development Corporation (OCNW) and Washington,D.C.-based Telesis Corporation presented plans for the long-awaited development at a public meeting held in the cafeteria at Riverview Towers , 1725 W. 25 th Street . The first phase of the development calls for 416 units of new housing, 10,000 square feet of new commercial space, 267 new surface parking spaces and an underground parking garage with 480 parking places. Riverview senior towers with 501 units of housing will be integrated into the site. Phase I targets the east side of W. 25 from Bridge Avenue to just north of Franklin Avenue . The 12-acre site extends east to Franklin Avenue behind the Riverview towers. As part of the development, W. 25 th Street will be narrowed from Bridge to Detroit to the same width as W. 25 th south of Bridge Ave. The 416 units of housing will consist of 81 public housing units, 35 affordable housing units and 300 market rate units. William Whitman of Telesis Corporation said that once the development is completed, “You will not be able to tell the market rate from the affordable and public housing units.” “That’s what nice about this project,” said Laura Noble, acting executive director of OCNW, referring to the plans for people of widely-differing incomes to live side by side. All of the public housing residents will be required to have income below 60% the median family income in Cuyahoga County (currently $36,000 for a family of four). The 35 affordable units and 300 market rate units will range in price from $126,000 to $400,000. The housing units will be composed of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments and condominiums. There will be a condominium association to represent residents and Telesis Corporation or an affiliate management company will manage the entire new development. CMHA will continue to manage the Riverview Towers . Residents who were displaced when the 135 units of public housing at Riverview were demolished in 2000 to make way for this project will have the first choice to come into the new public housing units being created as part of this project. The first phase of the project is expected to cost $110 million, including $20 million for the infrastructure and garage; $15.3 million for the public housing units; and $73.5 million for the affordable and market rate housing units. Under CMHA’s Project Area Resident (PAR) program, hiring employment goals include jobs for CMHA residents, according to CMHA Hope VI Coordinator Michael Bowen. Asked whether the developer will work with the local building trades council to provide training that would lead to union apprenticeships and eventually a skilled trade, Telesis Corporation’s Whitman said an employment training program and outreach to the construction trades is “certainly something we have done in the past. It is something we take seriously and hopefully will make happen.” CMHA’s Bowen said one of the reasons Telesis Corp was chosen for this job was their track record in this area. Plans call for the commercial portion of the development to be on the northeast corner of W. 25 th and Bridge Avenue . It would extend the already existing commercial strip on W. 25 th Street north in front of the south tower of Riverview . Parking spaces would be located behind the retail space in front of the tower in what is now a green space with benches for residents. When residents expressed concern about losing the green space and benches, developers said other public spaces would be created for sitting areas throughout the new development. The plans call for the current turnaround now in front of the south tower to be moved to the front of the north tower. Developers promised to discuss these changes with residents of the towers. The parking garage will be built under the hillside in the rear of Riverview (between Riverview and Franklin), said Telesis Corporation’s Whitman. Residents will access the garage by means of a new road that will run parallel with Franklin . Whitman says the top fifteen feet of the hill will be removed to add stability to the hill. Developers hope that Phase I construction will begin in the spring of 2005 and be completed within 5 years. Developers are under pressure to proceed with the housing portion of the development because the $8.5 million in HOPE VI funding targeted for the project’s public housing must be spent by December of 2006. Members of the Riverview Local Advisory Council, led by President Clara Bell, asked for an opportunity to meet with developers soon to discuss some of their concerns, including proposed changes for the exterior grounds and increasing resident input on maximizing use of first floor community space. A number of residents expressed concern that an effort be made to include restaurants and other commercial ventures that cater more to low-income residents. Residents raised concerns about a proposed joint community center to be shared by current (mostly elderly) residents and the new families. Residents asked that a separate community facility be created for families with children to avoid conflicts with seniors. Members of the Bridge/Carroll/Jay/Riverview block clubs of OCNW were also in attendance. They asked about when updated plans would be available for the public to view. Developers promised another large public meeting in the fall of this year. CMHA initially received funding for the Hope VI Riverview and Lakeview proposal in 1996. In 2000, 135 units of public housing at Riverview were demolished to make way for the new development. In 2001 a public charrette was held to allow public participation in the design of the new development. In the interim plans were drawn up by Goody, Clancy & Associates, a Boston-based architecture and planning firm and the new development partnership was formed. CMHA’s Bowen says there is no current timetable for Phase II. Current plans call for a $70 million-development which would include 266 housing units and a park at the corner of W. 25 th and Detroit . CMHA currently owns all but three parcels in the proposed target area. They are negotiating with Transitional Housing to help find a new home for the facility. The eight units of public housing north of Franklin will be demolished. CMHA’s Bowen says the new housing in this area will include eight units of public housing to replace them.

So, does anyone know about a timeline in regards to the Hope VI Riverview housing project. So many nice ideas on the Ohio City/Near West website, but when will it happen?

I wish that they would send a rail line thru Lakewood. They have said for a while that trains will abandon that track in a few years. I highly doubt it would happen, but it is a city built for rail.

Wow! Looking at that photo really makes me kind of sick. A dense development there could be one of the nicest examples of new urbanism. With so much so close, including a towpath connection and the a rivewalk. It really is a crime that Forest City doesnt either develop it or sell it to someone who could do the city a lot of good. If this peninsula was build, it would make the Flats, WHD, Gateway that much more of an attractive place.

Pres, Sure would love to know more about what's going on. All I know is what I have read in the article posted above that mentions Scaravelli's plans. There was also an article on Scaravelli in the Scene or Free Times in the past two years about his project and how no one seems to be taking him seriously. Well, is he some crazy guy with a poor track record? Why isn't he taken seriously?

From what the Cuyahoga County planners say, they feel pretty good about the towpath connecting near Ohio City in the next 6 years. Imagine if there was a nice development between 25th and the valley's edge with the tow path passing right by the front steps of some pretty townhomes.

My uneducated, pessimistic guess is that it won't. But, I really don't know more than the next guy. Litt seems to paint a very negative picture, and then throws a bunch of hope at you. Interesting style. It is probably meant to motivate.

If done well, this project opens up a lot of potential for the city. If done poorly, it would be another kick in the groin. I'm a bit nervous.

URBAN PLANNING A new, well-planned Inner Belt deserves the state's creativity Sunday, March 20, 2005 Some city-planning ideas are so bad they deserve instant death on the drawing board. Thanks to the Ohio Department of Transportation, Cleveland now has a perfect example... Litt is architecture critic of The Plain Dealer. To reach this Plain Dealer columnist:

MGD, Good points. ;)

Forest City controls the mamoth parking lot that stretches from West 3rd to West 6th, bordered by St. Claire and Superior Avenue. I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure that they control that land. It was where their first attempt at a convention center site was before they realized it was not a good place, and then they retreated back to the Tower City site.