Down_with_Ctown

The funny thing is that the Beauty Supply store caddy-cornered to the CVS at Monticello and Noble is an old Rite Aid building that was constructed right around the same time (1998 or so).

IBM letters coming down! (Sorry for the “salty” view thru my windshield. Taken during standstill traffic on the Opportunity Corridor.

Agreed. There's also the Severance Place condominium complex (a converted 6-story office building) that fronts Mayfield Road between the old movie theater and city hall. Units appear available for rent online ($1,500/month for 1 bed, 1 bath, 1,050 sf). And on the eastern edge of the property is the Courtyards of Severance, a 51-unit grouping of townhomes with its own HOA and management firm (Coral). Per county tax records, the parcels appear to be worth something in the $200-250k range. It's about a 15-minute commute from the parcel to all the jobs in University Circle, so there should be plenty of built-in residential demand now and in the future.

Both pics are looking north of Wilson Mills. The first is what’s left of the Sears department store, the last structure of the old mall that is being torn down. in the other, you have the new Meijer’s store. Exterior is all done, including signage. All that’s left is the dotting of the “i” (and “j”.) :). Fwiw, there’s already a “now hiring” sign on site.

The Belle Oaks leasing office, rising at the northeast corner of Richmond and Wilson Mills/Monticello (for reference, it used to be a BP gas station).

Don't have pics because it's just a Meijer's and Firestone rising out of the ground so far on the southwestern portion of the old mall site, but construction is continuing apace on the commercial segment of this project. Still some minor demos that have to occur (the mini-plaza that hosted La Fiesta for decades and the existing Firestone auto care center) but "Phase I" of the project should see some ribbons being cut sometime in 2025. The residential portion, which will rise on the northern part of the old mall parcel, is not visibly moving forward. The old Sears building that occupies much of the future residnetial footprint still stands as I type. However, the developers are building a "leasing office" that will sit at the NE corner of Richonmd Road and Monticello/Wilson Mills. That's an encouraging sign.

Yup, and as Ken pointed out further down in his article, the pot of sin tax money that would, in all likelihood, be the linchpin of the public's contribution to the Brook Park Dome is under county, not city, control. Ronayne isn't just beating his chest here, he appears to have serious bargaining power. That said, the "worst" case scenario for downtown is a 17-acre or so "Brown(s)field" development site that also happens to be prime lakefront property. Given the quality of football that has been played there the last quarter-century, I'm pretty sure it would qualify for Superfund status when it comes to redevelopment too :).

I'm a skyline guy but even I have to admit being impresed how much this project does for DT at the street level. It's not just the addition by subtraction that we saw in wiping out the Public Square/WHD parking crater. It's the view looking west down Euclid Avenue with the HQ tower complementing the existing density of that street. Just gives everything such a more "big city" feel. On the downside, what a blunder by SW not to make the parking garage amenable to future vertical growth. Much more than "underbuilding" the existing HQ tower, being stuck with this stubby, 5-story or so parking warehouse on prime downtown land forever sucks. But it's really hard to complain given the overall impact of the project.

Eastern half (2/3rd??) of the pathology center looking north towards Cedar.

First floor progress on the Stokes Blvd. side, looking west.

Belle Oaks, again northwest from Wilson Mills. Ground is pretty well cleared away on the south central portion of the site, which is where the JCPenney was and the Meijer’s will be. Back in the fall, the plan was to start the Meijer’s building in March, and it looks like they’re on track for that. Lot of work elsewhwere on the site, though. Still lots of piles of earth, debris, and gravel behind the old Macy’s building (which is now a self-storage site and will remain standing). And demo on the Sears building hasn’t even started.

Looking northwest from the intersection of Cedar and Stokes. First floor rising on the Stokes side!

Street level view of the eastern portion of the forthcoming Pathology Research Center north of Cedar Road and east of E. 100th Street.

As someone who drives by this site most workdays, I can tell you that Meijer's has been open for business for some time now. Tuesday's grand opening is more of a ceremonial thing. But it's been worth for all the pub it's getting in the PD (front page story last Wednesday) and apparently the local TV stations. Meijer's is kind of like the "Heinen's" of big box stores, and has much more of a "grocery" history/ethos than Wal-Mart or Target. I'm thrilled that they've picked Cleveland for their first urban format store outside of Michigan (their home state). And I expect them to be rewarded handily by us locals. The location just south of the Clinic main campus and the rest of UC and Little Italy will bring them plenty of customers. I'm thrilled this store landed where it did rather than the suburbs. If this succeeds, maybe Meijer's opens a sister store on the west side around OC/Tremont/Gordon Square?

Went for the panoraric view just to get all 4 Cleve Clinic cranes in one shot! This is looking northwest 7 floors up from the corner of Qunicy Ave. and East 93rd Street. Cranes on the left are for the new Neuro building and those on the right are for the pathogenic research building.