gottaplan

The Ferchill Group of Cleveland redeveloped the Book Cadillac Hotel and applied significant pressure to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp (quasi-govt agency that handles mostly demo's and some renovations) to get that building removed. Their argument was that if they didn't someone in line to renovate it, it needed to come down because it was a blight on the neighborhood and unappealing to the hotel visitors. The DEGC caved. There was talk for a little while in 2007/2008 about Quicken loans moving thousands of jobs downtown Detroit and the Lafayette would've been ideal for market rate apartments but that relocation never fully occurred.

Skybridges are the first thing to get chopped when it comes to "value engineering".

^I know Coral Group did extensive market analysis on daytime & night time uses as well as demographics of the area. The biggest thing they came up with was that only 20% or so of the people who work in UCI live in the area. The rest are commuters. Rubin's theory was exactly what you're getting at KJP - if we built nice market rate housing here in the area, would you give up your commute (and possibly a car)?

I went back & re-read the article, I didn't see anything mentioning CWRU as a partner in the development. The area designated as "student housing" faces the back of those ugly old apartments and would likely have cheaper finishes. The higher end "market rate" apartments facing Mayfield are what's being targeted to the doctors & tech employees.

Banks care about signed leases, not parking. You can build a tree house with a rope ladder and no parking but if you can get it leased for $20/sf, you can probably get a bank to finance it.

Probably to make the bankers happy. Banks don't care about parking, tenants do. Try and build an apartment building or office that doesn't offer 1 space per apartment or 1 space per employee and see how well it gets leased. I don't care if there is a transit stop right out front, this is Cleveland, not Chicago. That parking is also required to produce revenue to fund the project. As far as the project getting built, current estimates for the project as shown in renderings was right around $100million. Current lending environment are maybe 60% loan to value. Add in another 10-20% of equity investment and it's still well short.... take out a component of parking and you come up even shorter on financing. Additional financing challenges stem from fact that UCI owns the land and is retaining it, just leasing it for the project. So from a lender's standpoint, if the project goes belly up, they cannot foreclose on the land, only the building...

No, it's their biggest. By quite a bit, but keep in mind they are partnering with Panzica also. Still going to justify that big of an investment, I predict a scaled back version

3 units already presold, foundations poured, block started today.

Garage Bar is huge in the summer for the biker crowd, great patio. That weather is just starting. I'll support whatever goes in there but I'll miss Garage Bar just the same. I never did get a chance to eat at Dragonfly but I heard good things about it

Should be a fun time. Lots of momentum in Gordon Square area. They are moving ahead with the construction of the Near West theater & hope to break ground on that soon over on 67th. Also looking to build more modern market rate apartments in the area, as nothing really exists. Some of the units owned right in the vicinity of 65th & Detroit are designated for low-income residents as required for the funding, but those are set to expire soon and they will be upgraded for market rate rentals. Reddstone's never-ending renovation is wrapping up also, should be reopening next week. New bar & flooring in place & stained, new tap system, kitchen remodel, new restrooms. Upgrades for the patio planned as well.

very interesting numbers, thanks for posting. Also interesting is that the total nubmer of police has probably declined over that period, just a hunch?

^wow, nothing like painting with a broad brush.

awesome. I love seeing massive structural steel pieces like that. It's like a massive tetris piece

quit texting & driving. Plenty of research books available on photography at the library or at your local bookstore. It's a great hobby. Craigslist has some phenomenal deals on Canon & Nikon DSLR setups with lenses, jumbo memory cards, etc for a fraction of what they cost new, only a few years old. The technology is still far superior to anything a novice will ever need

Great points except galleries in Tremont & the theater in Gordon Square are open 52 weeks a year and have other attractions nearby to walk to, enhancing the destination effect. League Park does not. 12 years ago, did Tremont? 7 years ago did Gordon Square. Yes or no? Could something eventually evolve from this project? Yes. But you're ignoring the $5 million (estimate only, construction costs will likely come in much higher) up front investment and zero surrounding infrastructure to support this boondoggle. No vacant shops that can be reopened easily like there was around Gordon Square, no closed up bars that can be reopened to serve crowds before & after like Tremont.... the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Great points except galleries in Tremont & the theater in Gordon Square are open 52 weeks a year and have other attractions nearby to walk to, enhancing the destination effect. League Park does not.

What exactly was slimy behavior? Or just because you see some contractors standing around with signs picketing, you assume the developer is up to no-good? Selling the land outright would be a big mistake. They would lose control and have no option if they should want to expand in 20 years (they will).

I drive through there every few weeks, mostly to see updates or action at League park, so yes I'm very familiar with the area. I'm familiar with the random spots of suburban housing also. I'd rather see the City spend the $5 million to continue cleaning up the abandoned housing and making the area more attractive for development. Then in another 3-4 years if the progress continues, a League Park renovation might make sense. As far as being short sighted, it only makes sense, in a shrinking city like Cleveland, to focus development in the areas which are best poised for a rebirth and growth. Throwing development money at random projects in random areas will get random results. Focusing $5 million in areas which the City has already targeted for supporting new development would get much better results. Spending $5 million on what will essentially be used a handful of times for something other than a little league facility is silly. Spend a fraction of that on modest improvements to keep the place functional and let the area around it continue to grow to a point where further improvements are justified.

Sorry but this is project is an albatross if there ever was one. The location is surrounded by poverty, decrepit housing, vacant lots and it's hard to get to on top of all that. It's great to see reinvestment in a historic structure but it won't trigger additional investment and it's not going to draw outside visitors more than a handful of times a year. There is nothing else nearby that would warrant anyone to come down there and spend a day and it's too far off any real commercial corridors like E. 55th & Chester which would be the first to benefit from any new investment from the project. Whats the project cost again? Who's paying for it?

THere's a bus line that goes to the gun range? WHERE?

I was in that building also. It was NOT in bad shape. Complimented the renovated Book Cadillac very nicely from an architectural standpoint. I parked right beside it when I went back for the Detroit Auto Show this year. The vacant lot which occupies the spot now is a disaster. Detroit is such a mess.

Go have a seat in the lobby of Riverview Tower on 25th. it's a public building. See who comes & goes. You'll agree it's elderly folks struggling to get by another day, not thugs or punks. For a real kick, take a ride up the elevator and see the view from the center breezeway of the upper floors in either direction

While I agree that funding transit should be a priority, the article was so one-sided and short on facts, I'm surprised KJP bothered to link it. What percentage of Americans even have access to mass transit?

CMHA police maintain a constant presence in that building, to protect the seniors as much as anything. They also do their own periodic patrols with drug dogs, etc. Maybe that's what you see. Cleveland police rarely responds to CMHA calls.

The Riverview tower on W. 25th is a senior building, 50 & over. Half those people are disabled of some sort - on walkers, oxygen tanks, etc. As much as people want to point a finger, they are not a crime-committing population. The problems you are referring to are coming from outside the immediate strip of W. 25th