gottaplan

Quick clarification - what is the status of the Nashville project? Still a concept? Is a site selected? In design phase? Under construction?

I agree, it really is pathetic. So much misinformation out there too among the general public. How many people have even driven past this site? Of course showing it on a map is interesting, but most readers of the PD come down town about 3x a year for ballgames & that's it, they don't know where this site actually is or what it looks like at street level.

Detroit does have some amazing architecture. I did a walking tour of many of those buildings a few years ago. Had the opportunity to go all the way to the top balcony of the Guardian building (take elevator all the way up, get out, walk up 2 flights then go outside). Ditto on the Book Cadillac. Broderick Tower rehab has been a rumor for a long time. It's a great building but the smallish layout would make residential a challenge. No parking there either. If anyone has plans to go to Detroit in the summer, try to get in on the home tour of the homes of Indian Village. If you like homes, history, & architecture, it's a real treat. Palmer Woods is a must see also.

I used to enjoy Connie Schulz's columns for her views about daily issues. She's become unreadable anymore with her obvious political slant. Might as well have her byline read "sponsored by Ohio Democratic Convention". Then again, perhaps she's balanced out by Kevin O'Brien.

Assuming that once this place is open & operating, and space is in more demand than supply, who would benefit from the higher leases? MMPI or the county?

This project won't make Clifton a true boulevard with a landscaped median though or will it? I was under the impression that was part of the original project. Did this get cut out or is it going to be done under a separate project?

This is really going to be a boost for our economy when you add up the FEB, MedMart, & Casino projects, nearly $2 billion in construction, that's alot of guys making good money, upgrading their homes, buying cars, spending $$$ that wasn't in the pipeline before. Construction projects are proven to be the fastest way to put money back on the street & in people's pockets from a stimulus perspective.

Battery Park Wine Bar is also hosting an upcoming wine tasting, cut & pasted from the email blast sent out on Monday. Battery Park Wine Bar is going to be having its first official Wine Tasting. The tasting will be held Wed Jan 26th at 7pm. We will be tasting 16 wines for $20 and be serving assorted gourmet appetizers. You must RSVP before Mon Jan 24th and prepay for the event. You can reach us at 216-631- 9463 after 3pm and we will be taking credit cards over the phone or you can stop in and pay via cash. Thank you, Mike Graley and the Battery Park Wine Bar Staff http://www.batteryparkwinebar.com/index.html

Slow drivers in the left lane that won't move over and are oblivious to the half dozen or more cars behind them

So just to be clear, the building at 113 St. Clair, looks to be an 8 story building, and the entire parking garage at the NE corner of St. Clair & Ontario is going to be demo'd to make way for the new med mart building?

it would be an interesting masters thesis to do a collective study of these buildings, identify what their original target market was, what their original financing plan was, and see what started to unravel. If the market went away first or the financing went away first.

I drove by yesterday and it was already a pile of rubble, being broken up & loaded out

not nearly that many yet. Maybe 8-10 equipment operators and as many laborers, a couple supervisors. Probably 20 right now. Throw in some office staff working on site and 25 max right now.

Those are going to be great photos to reference as the demo is completed & the new structure starts to take shape. The contractor, Independence Excavating, has a lot of equipment and looks like they are really gearing up for the project. They can certainly handle it, they moved 3 million yards of dirt for the airport expansion and have done huge sitework & demo projects all over the area

Check out Paul Duda's gallery, in Tremont, he's got some amazing stuff http://www.pauldudagallery.com/photography.html All the obligatory shots of downtown, the bridges, looking East from Edgwater, but also some really cool shots of the steel mills. Another great local photographer is Jim Ptacek. I bought some things from him the other summer when he was set up in the plaza across from West Side Market. Super nice guy.

It's too bad they can't figure out how to utilize more of those spaces above the shops

If that Alabama player had managed to pick up the ball after the blocked kick, he could've walked into the endzone, game over. He knew it too

"Tough guy"? Why start with the name calling? I certainly can't be the first person to challenge the accuracy of your posts. And just because you post on here non stop doesn't add credibility either. Why don't you provide a teenie bit of backup once in awhile for your comments, starting with the one above, about how the states in best fiscal shape TEND to be those that are largely rural. I countered that claim initially because Illinois is largely a rural state outside of Chicago, yet it is mentioned first & foremost as a state in financial emergency. Maybe you're correct, maybe you're not, but a quick link with a few facts here & there would definitely add to the creative discussion. If you can't support the statement, perhaps your post should say "my suspicion is that ...." or "my experience would lead me to believe that...."

^you make up facts on this board so regularly and offer backup so rarely, it's ridiculous

I think the 60 Mins piece is more a focus on poor government leadership & lack of fiscal responsibility, essentially giving up too much to public employee unions. I didn't take much away at all regarding "diversity" or cornfields. Texas has a huge budget, tons of immigrants (diversity) and isn't mentioned in the fiscal emergency that states like California & NJ are. On the other hand, Arizona is basically desert, has all the vast majority of population centered in Phoenix metro. Unless desert is statistically different from your cornfield analogy, Arizona shouldn't have a budget crisis like it does?

^WTF is that supposed to mean? Take away Chicago & the state doesn't even have another city over 200k in population.

Very interesting how this will all shake out. Seems to reason that the states who are in the best shape financially, will be in the best position to barter for new development. From reading about Illinois, why would you want to own a business or have any interaction there with the govt at all? You want to be someplace stable, where taxes are predictable and government actions are not all emergency measures.

I'm certainly not opposed to it so long as there was substantial effort to make the stores part of the urban environment and cohesive with existing architecture, streetscape, etc. IE, make it fit, don't level 2 blocks for a standard 1-floor store and another 2 blocks for parking. Walmarts have a solid reputation for bringing alot of other retail traffic along with them. Could be exactly what some of these overlooked underutilized urban areas need.

You think "new" construction will do that? why? Because I know a lot of people, myself included, that would love to live in this area, but the lack of housing options prevent it. Excluding the condo market, the purchasing options are very limited. The vast majority is very old Victorian era homes, with high maintenance requirements. What options are in the area that are single family homes, or even townhomes, with modern layouts and amenities?

This area really needs some new construction to draw in new renters/buyers. I was there last week picking up some last min gifts from Penzey Spices in the large commercial building on the SW corner of Lorain & 25th. The block behind it would be ideal to do some new construction of housing & aptmts. Still walking distance to the RTA line & all the attractions in the area, without tearing down anything significant. Looked to be several parking lots and very old homes of little architectural value.