bizbiz

A company in Cleveland is trying to re-zone some of it's excess land from residential to commercial, but there is a long list of things that a company must go thru to make this happen. I have seen projects not happen as a result, others delayed (Flats East Bank) while at the same time, some move forward and jump over the biggest hurdles in the world: Somehow the houses that got built on the Cuyahoga Valley's land in Independence and Brecksville. Now that story's in the news again that private land in the CVNP is for sale near Blossom and Brandywine. And of course, the CVNP can't afford the land. Somehow the CVNP had 140 million or so to originally buy the park land in the 1970's but doesn't have a few more today. I am surprised cities like Boston Township and others on the CVNP aren't preventing this land from being developed. Re-zoning it from residential to something else less likely to happen would make sense. This stuff happened to us a while back in NE Ohio and the smallest projects are fought by environmentalists whereas somehow these big projects somehow slide thru (e.g. Aurora's shopping center in the marsh land).

^ Awesome, this has always been one of my favorite buildings in Cleveland: tall, skinny, and smoke puffing rooftop.

For some reason, this news is making me very excited. I was in Hawaii earlier this year and something about this latest rendering reminds me very much of the Waikiki area, where there is a huge mix of retail/residence/hotel as well as park space and other stuff. The thing that I like most is that it will be the kind of area that will attract those who would otherwise fear a place like the Avenue District, since it's just one block of development, whereas this project is an entire peninsula full of stuff to do. Someone said the same thing a few pages back and I totally agree. The supermarket will help the Warehouse District residents, the movie theatre will be interesting, hoping it does not take away from Cedar Lee, but hoping that it does offer independent films. The park areas, the boutiques, the hotel, the office space, etc.... just thinking about the fact that it will ALL be new and not one rehab or one new buildout amongst decay will make the project look good to those who can't fully stomach urban living. I don't think I'd ever want to live in this area vs. extreme urban offerings in Cleveland, but I can pretty much assure you that this is the place I'll be shopping at, hanging out at, eating at, taking pictures at, biking, jogging, and relaxing. I think the best thing about this is the # of new buildings/structures that will be built. I would love to see this and Pesht succeed simultaneously so all the skunks who left Cleveland for similar offerings elsewhere will wish they hadn't left! GO CLEVELAND !!!!!!!! It's Cleveland's turn at bat!

Yes!!! It's awesome news indeed! Cleveland is now featured on Google's streetview maps. Not sure when it actually debuted, but it was announced in the PD/Cleveland.com today (4-1-08). So far, we can see most of Cuyahoga County. They have not added western Cuyahoga or eastern Cuyahoga County. But it's got Lakewood, Cleveland, C. Heights, and down south all the way into Medina County. This was one of those things that when it debuted a while back with NYC, I was hoping to God that one day they'd do it in Cleveland. The news article also mentions that this is good news for Cleveland - it will let people explore the city more in depth and it was good news to see Cleveland be chosen as the first city in Ohio to have this on Google!!!

Good! More good news! This is one of those things where I don't care about the details, just as long as it's going to happen, I'm happy! Add this one to the long list of projects that will transform Cleveland into what we all want it to become. Now, if we could start tackling the issue of new construction being built with "urban" and "dense" in mind, I think we'd be all set!

Awesome! Thanks straphanger! I wish this place luck, as this is the perfect addition to that part of Euclid!!!

I will miss the glass box atrium... the concept was awesome but it was executed incorrectly. "THE CAGE" :) <img src="http://www.upcam.org/0754%20CSU%202004%20Welcome%20Week%20in%20Cage.jpg">

Please, I hope, hope, hope, someone has info. on this one! The new admin. building that was just completed between the CSU bookstore and Trinity Commons apparently now has an eatery/restaurant/deli that is "now open for breakfast and lunch"! I didn't know this building would house such a thing! It looked very nice from the road as I drove by. I hope it's not crap.. anybody been there or know what this place is all about? I am going to try and stop by in the coming week if the weather improves, I'll walk to it from work. :D

I probably had my worst DINING experience ever at Zocalo's. Nothing could be worse than their service. It was something like the experience many people had at 20/20 but a lot worse, like 20 times worse. However, to keep this on topic, I have not been to 20/20 yet, but I am curious to know if this place is run by the people who own the coffee shop as well? Noticing a lot of 20/20 talk, but how's the coffee place going? Are the drinks good? Do they offer soymilk as an alternative? Believe it or not, that's a serious question I'm asking, because some coffee shops in Cleveland don't yet offer that, sadly!

Isn't this CVS fairly new? I mean, yeah, tear the sucker down, it's an awful location for a suburban setback drug store. I'd rather see a 5-12 story mixed use right there. Also, to powers that be out there, please remove the gas station and build out that corner too!!!!!!!!

Okay, there was supposed to be a hotel coming to the financial district of downtown Cleveland, in the building behind the Federal Building on E. 6th. Forgot the name, but it was a business-oriented hotel for extended stays. It was announced and then never spoke of again. Updates?

I forgot the name, but there was supposed to be a building near Euclid and E. 30th that was going to be re-habbed from office to apartment. It is on of the bigger buildings in that part of MidTown.. it was announced last year and then nothing was ever spoke of it again. Updates? Scrapped idea? It wasn't listed as a project in the PD's fabulous Euclid article on Sunday either.

What is the status of Jay Lofts?? Anyone?? It's now a wall of grafitti and looks worse now than before they hung the fabulous plastic sign announcing "Jay Lofts".

As for the plans with the NE corner of Clifton/W. 117th, hopefully when they tear down the old plaza, they can be sure to build it facing the street, up against the sidewalk. I'm not sure what is worse: building garbage buildings like CVS, with a parking lot in front and setback from the street or a Giant Eagle with a brick wall against the sidewalk. I recommend a re-do like the Whole Foods on the east side.. parking deck on top, entrance in the back for car dependents, entrance on the front to pedestrians, windows all around, and so forth.

Thanks cleveland_pride for that info.. you proved my deepest suspicions! I KNEW IT! I knew they were going to throw big boxes up on the east side of W. 117th near I-90.. First a Sam's Club next to I-90 and then I can guaran-damn-tee you a Wal-mart right where the warehouses are at, between Western and Berea.............. this was a given and it's going to happen eventually.. Soon, there will be no independent stores or small merchants. It will be W. 117th and the BIG BOX district. The fact that a Home Depot and Staples stand there, now a Target with a Giant Eagle coming.. followed by an Ihop and other shiite, we can pretty much safely say that whatever still stands between Home Depot and Target on the west side of 117th will one day be torn down, currently storage garage and then the east side is going to be sold to Wal-Mart (also owns Sam's).. it's going to happen, I wish I could bet on it.

I work downtown and I am using Steelyard 2-3 times a week, mostly for supplies from Staples and Target. I also have other employees using Home Depot quite often. Overall, I like SYC, minus the awful and deadly freeway exit off 176 south. I refer to that as Dead Man's Exit.. if you're coming from downtown, you take I-90 to I-71, then take the SR-176 south ramp and immediately have to jump 2 lanes over to the Steelyard Dr. exit, and almost always get hit by heavy oncoming traffic. As for SYC itself, tax dollars to the city and enjoying the suburban life in the city is always nice (sarcasm!) but in the end, I honestly don't have a problem with the whole thing. I don't normally shop at any of the offered stores outside of work-related business and the food options are lousy, but again, it's better than nothing or having to go to the suburbs. The only thing urban about SYC is the bike trails, proximity to Tremont, and the attempts to keep it looking like a "steelyard". It still blows away most suburban shopping plazas. I do have to say that Severance Circle gets the upper hand since they implemented residential around the entire project. In SYC, I'd like to see some dense residential offered thru apartments of some sort.

A lot of people voted for Gateway!

^ Best, as in your personal favorite. It's like an election: you choose your choice based on your criteria. Doesn't have to be the most important or impacting building, just what you personally see as the BEST thing to happen to Cleveland. That could be interpreted a million ways, so just pick your favorites!

I will start things off then: 1. Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse - The building is amazing, it's unique, it's wide, it improves the skyline coming in from the West and South, and it's a big step up from previous government buildings in Cleveland. 2. Euclid Corridor - Collegetown, CSU's new Master Plan, The Cleveland Clinic, the new Aldi's :-D, Lower Euclid, E. 4th, and especially Playhouse Square are all located along the Euclid Corridor. Perhaps EC will push these areas of Euclid to shoot for the stars. 3. Battery Park - Once built out, I will prefer this "Battery Park" over the original famous one in NYC. And that's saying a lot! This project will transform and create a new neighborhood in Cleveland. It's large scale and is a force to be reckoned with. More importantly, it's a model that may be replicated in the future in other parts of the city.

I've been meaning to ask fellow Urban Ohioer's this question for some while now: Since Key Tower (formerly known as Society Center) was topped off in 1991, what would you say is the single best project/building/memorial/etc. built (or currently under construction) in Cleveland since then? You can choose ANY single thing "BUILT" in Cuyahoga County since then. Yes, if you wanted to choose the large warehouse that is a mile long on I-480 near W. 150th, you could even choose that! Just to clarify some of the different things you can choose: Buildings such as the Carl B. Stokes Courthouse or The Pinnacle Mass projects bulked together as one such as Stonebridge (Phases I-VI) or The Avenue District Building re-habs such as Fenn Tower or the Cleveland Museum of Art Street projects such as the Euclid Corridor or Jennings Freeway ( :yap:) Memorials or other stuff not considered "buildings": Jacobs Field or The Firefighter's Monument next to Browns Stadium Please choose 3. The first vote gets 10 points, second vote gets 5 points and third votes gets 3 points. Perhaps the totals can be tallied and we can see what is the readers REAL favorite in Cleveland!

I have been thinking about this for the last few days. Since K&D is now going to try and develop the area on Euclid between E. 4th and E. 9th as well as the new (pending) purchase of the properties on Euclid and E. 9th, I take it that this entire area has a very bright future in store, which is MUCH needed. There is a ton of interest in this part of Cleveland, especially on Euclid in the low double-digits area. With that said, I am now assuming K&D will be shifting focus to this part of Cleveland over the next few years and will perhaps fade out on the Stonebridge project, or at a very minimum, cut down on it. I understand they are big and can handle multiple projects, but I am not sure they are big enough to handle ALL of this at once. Euclid from E. 4th to CSU is becoming an entirely new street as we speak. I remember the old Euclid of the 1990's and it's much different today. Imagine in 10 years what it's going to look like!! I hope K&D realizes they are embarking on what I see as the single best intersection in all of Cleveland. Regardless of anything that comes out of this: this Bauhaus masterpiece has been saved - there is a very rich history to this "ugly" beautiful creation by Marcel Breur! Thank the LORD for it's been saved!

^ Awesome news! I have high hopes for this area in the coming years! It's looking good!

I have been tracking Cleveland and Akron homicides for parts of 2005, all of 2006, and all of 2007 using Microsoft Maps. I definately have been able to pinpoint where the clusters or pockets are at, especially when combining more than 2 years worth of homicides. Here is what I can say as of 1-2-08: The west bank of the flats, the CMHA neighborhood underneath the Shoreway, and the area of W. 25th and Detroit had 9 homicides in 2 years. I might be missing 1 or 2 that happened this year, but they almost all happened near Mulberry/Hemlock, which is basically a nomansland if you ask me. There are 2 clubs which accounted for SOME of the murders but not all. In 2006 and 2007, the Buckeye neighborhood, particularly south of Buckeye and areas a bit further south along Kinsman and Union accounted for 10+ The area between I-77 to the west, E. 71st to the east, Fleet to the north, Harvard to the south had 5+ in '06 and '07 including a church that was set fire on Fleet. All along Clark from W. 25th to W. 105th, north to Lorain/Madison, south to Storer are a lot of homicides. Most were near W. 73rd/Madison and Clark/W. 50th. Surprisingly, 4 took place near Lake/Detroit, 2 of which were the artists killed on the same day, the 3rd was W. 80th/Detroit, a 20 year old male, and the 4th was a deli clerk at Lake near Clifton. 5 in the entire Hough neighborhood. ALL AROUND E. 105th between St. Clair to the north and Chester to the south. Now, important to note is that I charted sex offenders, major crimes such as arson, attempted murder, and major drug raids, etc.. Most of the areas above also have a lot of these things as well. My point is, these neighborhoods have many BAD things happening in them besides homicides. As for Akron, I would say based on my map, that the areas surrounding the junction of I-77/RT-8 on ALL sides had the most homicides including south of U of Akron, east of Summit Lake, west of Goodyear and north of Akron Fulton Airport. I am continuing to track these crimes, so in 2015, I should have an even better representation! *sigh*

^ Landscape architect Peter Walker has been engaged to enhance Cleveland Clinic's main campus. He plans a broad, tree-lined mall, or Allee, with a reflecting pool running down the center. The Allee will go from Chester Avenue to the front door of the Miller Pavilion. Wow, a step up from a big green lawn. Why don't they transform the existing green lawns into this and use that parcel for something better - Oh wait, this area is notorious for not being "urban".

From the Board of Zoning Appeals: The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, owner, and Rite Aid, lessee, appeal to construct a one-story 11,157 square foot retail store, proposed to be situated on an acreage parcel in a General Retail Business District on the southwest corner of Chester Avenue and East 101st Street at 10090 Chester Avenue; subject to the driveway regulations for General and Local Retail Districts and Section 343.18.©, a driveway providing access to a property shall be located so there is not less than 15 feet between the point of tangency of the driveway apron radius and a prolongation of the property line to the curb line measured at the curb line; and the parking of motor vehicles within the established 10 foot building line setback along East 101st Street is prohibited as stated in Section 357.14 of the Codified Ordinances. (Filed 6-27-07) Now that the new Rite Aid is open and the old one is closed, the CCF is already laying foundation for new construction up against the street corner of E. 93rd and Euclid. I assume the project will expand north to Chester once the old Rite Aid is torn down - which will happen very soon. The big question is, what is being built here?? It's not in the masterplan and it's the parcel directly across from the new heart center and also across the street from the new parking garage, it's also adjacent to the Guesthouse for the Clinic. UPDATE: "Allee And Reflecting Pools" is what will occupy this site, the entire length of E. 93rd between Euclid and Chester and from E. 93rd to E. 97th on Chester - ultimately an inverted 'L' shape. Now someone please tell me, what the hell is this supposed to be????????? And for a main entrance it better be better than a pond!