gottaplan

Well this weekend should be real interesting. Lots of people are going to head down there to witness "something" not sure what. Then it becomes a powder keg situation of people "waiting to see something" so if nothing happens, some idiot STARTS something. I also wonder how many people head down there this weekend with no intention whatsoever of going in the bars, just simply to hang out and witness/cause trouble? Best wishes to the Cleveland Police and legit bar owners in trying to contain the situation and prevent any trouble.

^^I've been following this very closely as well. I haven't been down to W. 6th on a weekend in probably 5 yrs, but I used to go every weekend and had a great time with no trouble back then. I really hope they can get this sorted out soon because it's becoming a sore subject for a lot of folks and whether the trouble is real or not, people are going to read this and stear clear. The article doesn't give much background but some of the comments posted tell a much different story. Especially the one about people walking in front of police cars while others sit back with cell phones ready to record potential missteps by police? That's got all the ingredients for a bad situation ready to happen. One comment I thought actually made a lot of sense, in regard to people openly smoking pot on the streets & in the alleys: Bring in drug dogs to patrol the area like they did in Pittsburgh. That'll clean stuff up real quick and tell people to head elsewhere!!!

We're getting alot of discussion on the surrounding neighborhood and residents and ignoring the fact that there's a big chunk of vacant land for a good sized building & parking lot, located on a busy intersection. That right there makes it a great location in the eyes of most developers.

^^^ couldn't agree more. E. 55th is 5 lanes wide? Kinsman/Woodland is very busy too. Only thing I might offer is that I've heard rumors that 55th is being studied as the next option for a Bus Rapid Transit design similar to what was done on Euclid.

I know where Willson Tower is, thanks. I also know that you're mistaken Phoenix Village for King Kennedy North Towers, two 6 story buildings behind it. Who cares what properties were rebuilt either, that doesn't change the mindset of the residents within. My point about the fresh fruit & veggie stands currently available is that they don't get frequented much by the residents because there isn't much demand, even when they come & setup right inside the property so residents don't even have to leave to get it! Pretty much my entire point. Could the project work? Yes. Could people from other areas come & visit they way they do the WSM? Yes. They'll have to, because it won't float on support of local residents, regardless if they pay with benefit cards. My 2 cents.

I'm all for this project too, the area certainly needs something to create vibrancy and better food options than Rallys & KFC, but the concentration of poverty and public housing in this area is probably the highest in the area... within walking distance are 4 BIG CMHA properties: Willson Tower, King Kennedy, Outhwaite, Carver Park... Of course, these people need better options for shopping than what they currently have, but many of the properties already have fresh food markets come and set up shop selling vegetables & fruit to the residents once a week or so, and it's not a big draw. As long as this Maingate Marketplace is going to have so many local residents on public aid, there needs to be a real cultural shift toward healthier eating habits if this place is going to survive.

awesome, exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

Suggestions on dinner of course, during the week is fine. Also, please feel free to suggest any other places to stop in and check out, whether art galleries or whatever. Any suggestions on where to park? Thanks

Not sure how I missed this, but it's an official update on the project from ODOT describing budgets & timelines dated June 17th 2010: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/LakefrontWest/Documents/6.17.10%20Lakefront%20West%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

I can't wait for Fr. Caruso to be cut off E/W with the 73rd tunnel so people stop drag-racing down it. Give me my nice little pseudo-cul-de-sac ASAP! ((i've personally witnessed 3 near accidents at 69th there with kids on bikes/chasing balls and cars doing prolly 60-ish MPH)) Regardless of when that happens, how would you or the residents back in that cul de sac get out to go over to 73rd & get on the Shoreway? There would have to be some East/West cut over to it and right now there really isn't. Herman doesn't go all the way over to 73rd from the East?

Cleveland's MSA is around 2.2 million; with Akron around 2.9 million; add Canton, it's 3.3 million; add the rest of Northeast Ohio (market), it's a little over 4 million. Chicago is around 10 million; NYC is around 22 million. But that, as MTS pointed out, has nothing to do with marketing. Soooo, there are no Cavs fans outside of the 4 million NE Ohioans? None in Columbus, Toledo, or the rest of Ohio (11.5M). I would imagine there's even a sizeable fanbase in Western NY and PA. Illinois & Ohio are about the same size, but don't forget Milwaukee is only 90 miles away from Chicago, while the closest team to Cleveland is double that (Detroit). Now that we're 180* off topic, my point was about local advertising, ie local tv and radio & such. So that was the radius I was referring to.

Cleveland metro area is what - 2 million people? Of them, let's say 20% are interested in and likely to buy a ticket and go down to the Q and watch Lebron play. Chicago metro area is what - 12 milion people? NY metro area is 30-40 million?

CLE is NOT that small of a market lol.... and besides its not necessarily the physical size but the percentage of people who spend. For instance Raleigh Durham is a similar sized media market - but the RDU market takes up MOST of east central North Carolina from the VA boarder to the SC boarder... and the population doesn't spend nearly what they do in CLE. Ever been to RDU... the commercials are practically all LOCAL Who cares about Raleigh Durham? Do they have an NBA team looking to sign LBJ? My point is that Cleveland is the smallest market of all the teams vying to sign him. We're a mapdot compared to the amount of people he could play for in NY, CHI or MIA, much less international exposure here than in those cities also.

Lebron was the spokesman for some car dealership, I know they billed themselves as "official dealership of King James" or something like that.

I wonder who the commercial sponsor is that gets the ad space at 9:07 tonight? Nike? Gatorade? Budlight? Ford?

I think Cleveland has always been in the running, it's his hometown, he has a huge home & fan base built in here and I think the Cavs can pay more than anyone at the end of the day. But at the end of the day also, Cleveland is a very small market for making endoresement money and the real question is what other talent they can bring in to help him win multiple championships. I just went home for lunch and ESPN radio had Colin Cowher going out on a limb and GUARANTEEING that Lebron stays in Cleveland. However, the idiots on TV including Skip Bayless who I can't stand said he's going to Miami, no doubt about it. Skip & Jackie McMullan also ripped Lebron for everything he's done pretty much since he left high school. Not sure how he's become the bad guy out of all this though. Best point I've heard yet is that if he's truly interested in "promoting his brand" by doing this tv special, making the announcement tonight that he's playing for any city but Cleveland is going to make him look like a real jerk. Hope his advisors thought this through...

I believe Roseangel opened up yesterday, formerly LaBoca. I checked inside Tuesday night and they were still hard at work painting & cleaning. Just curious if anyone had a chance to try out the new menu yet???

I've heard the changes in lending have made it much more difficult to get a loan for a condo, but Battery Park seems to be moving along despite this - over a dozen units sold in last 10 months? Most people there are getting loans through Keybank which financed the entire development. Why can't this same approach be done at Avenue District? Both developments are in the city of Cleveland, new construction, mid rise townhome style, tax abated...?

No, I wouldn't live in the city if I worked in Strongsville, but I probably wouldn't live in Strongsville either. I bought my first house in the suburbs and after being there for 3 years, I realized I hated everything about it. I consider myself a bit of an urban pioneer and doing so has it's risks & rewards. I had my gas grille stolen this past weekend after leaving it outside for only a few hours, which really sucks. But I'm seeing change for the better overall, at a pretty good rate. City living is exciting. It may not always be for me, but right now I wouldn't have it any other way. Even if a person's job was out in the suburbs, living in the city still isn't all that bad. Reverse commuting is pretty cool, I did it when I worked in Mentor for 2 yrs. Nothing like leaving work and there's 4" of snow on the ground to get back to Cleveland and it barely dusted.

I live in the city of Cleveland & work in the city, run all my errands in the city, go to church in the city, etc. My wife & I rarely leave the city to do much of anything if we don't have to. It's funny but when I do leave to go visit friends who live in Westlake for example, I'm shocked by the amount of traffic and time wasted sitting at stop lights with dozens of cars in front of me. My wife & I look at each other and say "We never have to do this in the city." One other spin that might've already been mentioned, I apologize for not reading atll 36 pages, but new construction in Cleveland is eligible for 15 yr tax abatements. You can get this also if you buy an old home and spend something like 2x the value in improvements. Hopefully someone can correct me, but I know several folks that have done this in Ohio City & Tremont. The numbers work very well if you can buy an old crappy home for about $50k or less... In either situation, you have a great "new" home, and can take the thousands you'd pay in property taxes and put it toward a great private school education. For the record, I wouldn't send my kids to the public schools of most inner ring suburbs either, so living in the city and springing for private school costs aren't a huge hurdle.

OK, no more controversy, I promise. Work should start on renovating the tunnels at both 76th & Lake within the month. Good amount of tree clearing to be done at the 76th tunnel between the tracks & Shoreway to open up the slope for the sweeping grade change switchback that will go about 200' east, then come back west. Likely have a lane closure on that side of the Shoreway while the work is done to allow the trucks to get on & off the highway.

it's been really bright blue this past week... I have dozens of the same shots. Every time I walk in the park I bring my camera and end up snapping the same photos because the view is so extraordinary. Then I get home and realize I already have the shots in spring, fall, summer, winter.... up close, far away.....

This project really needs to start soon. I was down at Shooters 2 weeks ago and the view across the river of the FEB site is absolutely dismal. Rubbish piles, weeds, piled up broken concrete... looks like a dump, literally.

No new management, some additional investors bought in. I think Josh does a great job with food & drinks there. Sometimes it takes awhile to get your food or drinks, but the patio has been packed since the warm weather. Great crowd, very diverse & friendly, great vibe there.

Things are really moving along - going to start building the last 2 homes on 76th soon and another building over between 73rd & 74th. Won't be long and we'll all be wishing it wasn't so crowded.