gottaplan

Whether anything is going on or not, the owner or whomever does a good job maintaining it. Any graffiti is quickly painted over, the front doors & windows are clean and newer, the sidewalk isn't overgrown in weeds... more than I can say for most of the buildings around it.

Approvals granted last night for a new urban farm commune behind the Riverview Tower on W. 25th on the land facing the river. Sounds like it's going to be one of the biggest urban farms in the country, hoping to grow & sell the produce at the Market.

I heard that La Boca is closing down for a month, the owner is bringing in a new business partner and making some changes. Hopefully it reopens, I really enjoyed the menu, service and patio everytime I was there.

your opinion, not fact.

Next Saturday June 12th, they are hosting a "Party in the Square" in conjunction with University Circle's "Parade the Circle". I was trying to find a link for the info but I cannot. There will be cartoon showing in the new Capitol theater, live bands performing in the street, and a number of other activities. I'm hoping someone with more info can update this thread, but it should be a great time to visit the area if you haven't done so yet.

Good question, perhaps Sen. Patton can answer it for you. See my earlier post for his contact info.

Technically, it's not. But changing the law to lower the speed limit is the critical first step in creating the boulevard and the planned connections. If the law is not changed, the funding is not granted to begin the design & development. No law change = No design work. Vintage, the developer of Battery Park, worked very hard to get the 76th & Lake tunnel renovations "separated" from the rest of this giant project, so at least they could go forward. I think they may take the same approach & pursue getting the 73rd connection done. It's a major uphill battle though.

This has been discussed about 50x already. The current plan does not have at grade crossings. ODOT has studied it a dozen different ways and there is no way to do at grade crossings on the Shoreway without creating major backups into Lakewood or downtown at peak traffic hours. Reducing the speed limit to 35 would add about 5 mins of travel time in either direction. Section of the Shoreway this affects would be from approx Don's Lighthouse to The Harp, which is 2.1 miles. Basic math: Going 60 mph, this drive takes about 2 mins. Going 35 mph, the same stretch would take just under 4 mins. For argument's sake, I drive this about 3 times a day, as I work downtown & come home for lunch. Rarely can you really go 60 mph on this stretch, traffic doesn't allow it. So the reality is that the impact on commute times is negligible. Can everyone please review the latest 62 page ODOT Power Point presentation from Feb 23, 2010 before making uninformed comments on the project? It's a great presentation, very informative, lots of pretty pictures, easy to understand. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/LakefrontWest/Presentations/Pages/default.aspx

Bids were received yesterday on the ODOT project to renovate the tunnel at W. 76th & Lake. Barring any contractual issues, work should begin sometime in August. The vote on legislation to reduce the speed limit on the Shoreway did not pass. This is a major setback for the entire project, as design & development work on any of the phases cannot begin until this legislation passes. The legislation will be reintroduced in the fall and hopefully tacked on to another bill. Until this passes, no design work will be done for the planned interchange at W. 73rd or the other phases.

Bids are due tomorrow for the ODOT Project to renovate both tunnels, W. 76th and Lake Ave/Don's Lighthouse. Hopefully all goes well and the work can get started right away. Also received a note that that there is legislation pending with the Ohio Senate to lower the speed limit for the Shoreway. The legislation is needed in order to proceed with the planned redevelopment of the Shoreway. This matter is extremely urgent. The legislation must pass by Thursday of this week. Please contact Senator Tom Patton to urge him to pass the legislation to lower the speed limit for the Shoreway. Senator Patton's contact information is below. District 24 Tom Patton ® Senator Senate Building 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (614) 466-8056 Email: [email protected]

So is there a cleanup tomorrow? 11am to 1pm, meeting at the upper parking lot? It is the 4th Saturday of the month...

BP is a very safe area. Sent you a PM with an invite to some upcoming events. Welcome to the neighborhood. I know several people who came in originally as renters and liked it so much they decided to buy a place.

Action happens locally, block by block, house by house. Accountability and action get best results in small groups. I think you should really familiarize yourself with the DSCDO and the people there and what they do. I met them all and practically interviewed them before making the decision to buy in that area. I don't think Gordon Square wants to be separate from O.C. or Tremont or vice versa at all, but to give one group the responsibility of improving all aspects of housing, streets, business, safety, etc for the entire near west side is futile. The best approach is the CDC hands down. The people of these CDC's are most often residents and should be. They walk & drive through the area everyday and get to know the residents and the issues at hand more intimately than anyone could ever hope to from city hall. Come to a block club meeting or attend a DSCDO meeting sometime and you'll change your mind.

Any approach to economic development must be multi-faceted. Some folks think it's as simple as "Let's throw up some $200k condos and the money will start rolling in". It's not that simple of course. There needs to be investment in infrastructure, ensuring businesses & residents are getting adequate city services, attracting business development, and increasing property values through facade improvements, demo'ing vacant/abandoned homes, home paint/landscape programs, storefront renovations, etc. Detroit Shoreway has done all this & more. The amount of work that has been done around there in the last 5 yrs is really significant. Anyone remember what that strip of Detroit was like back in early 2000's??? I think they had maybe 2 storefronts open. Now most all are open with more coming in. Some of the businesses like Kitsch City and such have been debated here on the board but it's a start. Eventually I know there will be more than just food/bars in the area. I'd love to see the post office relocate from 65th/Lorain down to Detroit. Perhaps a decent gym. I think we'll see a salon of some type open up and my wife always comments that the area could benefit from a few boutique shopping stores for women. We'll see.

Public forum was held 2 weeks ago for the Toast wine bar on 65th. The meeting was very well attended. The residents directly north of it are very opposed to the idea as well as the church on the south side. All of the other residents are looking forward to another new business in the neighborhood. It is coming up for a BOZA ( Board of Zoning Appeals) hearing soon.

Battery Park on the near west side has really nice sand courts, not on the beach but just up the hill from Edgewater Park. No lights either, but as long as there isn't a league, anyone is free to play. Usually open on weekends, Mondays & Fridays... check the Hermes schedule though

I'm a casual basketball fan and really just started watching closely now in the playoffs. Hard to believe the Cavs were the #1 seed in the NBA. Of course you have to give credit to Boston, they are talented & playing hard & well coached, but the Cavs just seem so out of rhythm. The other night they looked like they had never even played together before, like they just met outside the arena for the first time... I think this series is over even if they get a win tonight... no way the win 2 in a row. Which is too bad because I like our chances against Orlando.

I've always told my friends I wish I had the money to buy the "Riverview Apartments" from CMH and turn them into renovated non-government funded apartments. If that ever happened I can't imagine how much the area would take off. CMHA & Riverview Tower property aren't going anywhere anytime soon. They've already been offered plenty of money for that building, along with big $$$ to buy them out of the Lakeview Terrace complex. The problem is always where to put all the people. Riverview is actually a very clean well run building compared to many others. It's getting new windows also in the next year or so, probably going to be red, instead of the faded orange shade. As far as redeveloping it, you would never be able to do anything with it but what it is. The building has a central corridor with tiny 1-BR apts on either side. The walls are structural too, so I don't know how you could renovate it into anything else. But I agree, it holds back Ohio City. And the views are amazing from BOTH sides.

Also posted under the Shoreway thread, but since this already has news updates on the tunnel renovation, I'll post here as well... The ODOT project to renovate the tunnels to Edgewater at W. 76th and at Lake in front of Don's Lighthouse is now out for bid. Contractors bids are due on June 3rd and we should see work starting by the end of July. For anyone interested, plans can be viewed here, https://extranet.dot.state.oh.us/groups/contracts/Lists/ConstructionBiddingDocs/Links.aspx Project number 100379 I scanned through the prints and the project to renovate these tunnels is much more than I initially anticipated. Both tunnels are getting alot of work to patch & recoat the walls, floor & ceilings, alot of new lighting, of course the new cut & fill to build the ramps, removing the steps, concrete retaining walls, new landscaping, a good amount of new drainage pipe & structures... Both tunnels should get a ton of use though when these projects are finished.

The ODOT project to renovate the tunnels to Edgewater at W. 76th and at Lake in front of Don's Lighthouse is now out for bid. Contractors bids are due on June 3rd and we should see work starting by the end of July. For anyone interested, plans can be viewed here, https://extranet.dot.state.oh.us/groups/contracts/Lists/ConstructionBiddingDocs/Links.aspx Project number 100379 I scanned through the prints and the project to renovate these tunnels is much more than I initially anticipated. Both tunnels are getting alot of work to patch & recoat the walls, floor & ceilings, alot of new lighting, of course the new cut & fill to build the ramps, removing the steps, concrete retaining walls, new landscaping, a good amount of new drainage pipe & structures... Both tunnels should get a ton of use though when these projects are finished.

Actually trying to get to this "Forgotten Triangle" area for work again recently and remembered this thread. Traffic on E.55th gets totally backed up with folks trying to head in that direction from 490 in the morning, opposite on the way home. I know there are many on here opposed to the project for a variety of reasons, but I would hope some would at least acknowledge the need for a better route. Currently, the only real way is to go up 55th, then back down Kinsman. Cutting back to Bessemer is not a decent route and going down to Union is an even bigger waste of time. I realize I'm probably going to get flamed for wanting to "zip through areas without stopping..." but it really is a difficult area to get to and the project is needed in some form or another.

Actually there are a number of architectural salvage shops around the Detroit area that make a living taking out unique interior & exterior details such as stone insets or scrolls, unique mantles, doors, marble insets, stained glass, etc. Not all is lost.

That's a great idea.

I used to park right on that corner when I went to school at Wayne back in 2008....

Htsguy - I'm voting against it too for the exact same reasons.